He doesn't speak the language
He holds no currency
He is a foreign man
He is surrounded by the sound
The sound
Cattle in the marketplace
Scatterlings and orphanages
He looks around, around
He sees angels in the architecture
Spinning in infinity
He says Amen! and Hallelujah!
-"You Can Call Me Al"
Paul Simon
The Camino de Santiago is an exaggeration of everything. Ten times the pain, ten times the peacefulness. It is very intense, and I am learning hard lessons about life and about myself.
I find it difficult to ask for, or even to accept an offer of help from anyone, but here, I have been completely at the mercy of others... Lost in cities, running out of water, having few language skills, feeling pain and frustration, and then, suddenly, angels appear. I must accept their help, whether it's a woman refilling my water bottle from her kitchen tap, or kids pointing me the right way when I am lost, or a fellow pilgrim bribing a hostel hostess to allow us to sleep on a floor. I must accept, though I know that I can never repay that person, or even adequately express my thanks. It is humbling and powerful.
I don't know how I'm even going to begin paying all of the kindness forward: there has been so much.
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