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Not the high mountain monastery
you had hoped for,
the real face of your spiritual practice
is this:
The pearl of sweat on your cheek
when you tell me the truth;
your silent shriek in the night
when you think you're alone;
The trembling in your own hand
as you reach out through the years
of overcoming
to touch what you had hoped
you would never need
again.
Kim Rosen
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Just for Today
Just for today I will try to live through just what the day brings up to me. I will not tackle all of my life's problems all at once. I can do something for this day that would not appeal to me at all if I thought I had to do it for a life time.
Just for today, I will try and stay focussed on just today.
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It was so lovely to wake up and have the room all to myself. I took a little time just to lie in and appreciate that I had just enjoyed the most blissful sleep I've had since I came.
I was still up and enjoying a good breakfast by 06:30 and on the road by 7am. It was a very cool morning, last nights storm had certainly taken the heat out if the air. I had a choice of routes for the first part of today's stage, I could follow the motorway or take the mountain route. It was a no brainier really so I headed up the mountain. This route was about 4km longer and involved a lot of climbing compared with the other route. For the views alone it was worth it, the higher the better the views got. Maybe it's a bit like getting closer to heaven. The other advantage of taking this path is that is the path least travelled. So it was very peaceful with only a handful of other pilgrims choosing this route. I walk alone for most of the day, feeling very much at peace and enjoying the silence that the mountains offered. I walked briefly with other pilgrims and enjoyed exchanging a few words with them. I also 'walked alone' with Anny-Sandra for much of the day, sometimes together in silence and other times completely on my own. By 2pm I had enough, 5km short of the guide book but still a significant 25km. The guidebook also suggests that when altitude is accounted for that the walk would have been well over 30km, so not a bad days walking both physically and mentally.
I got to the albergue in La Faba, a tiny little village of one shop and bar. Tucked about 500 metres outside the village in a grove of trees was the albergue and a tiny church. It is the most beautiful tranquil setting I have come across. After doing the usual chores done i lay down to begin writing but soon I fall asleep. I nap for almost 3 hours!! I have a really relaxing evening in the company of pilgrims from all over the world.
I feel today I have reached a new level of inner peace and have totally relaxed into this environment. Happy days!
Buen Camino
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