I think this deserves a separate post –

Twelve months ago – SIX months ago – if someone had told me I’d soon count a nun as a very dear friend and confidante, I would have said they were nuts.

I’m not a church guy.

But somehow, Sister Clare has stepped into my life. And she’s had a profound impact.

She’s now an integral part of this blog. And I think I speak for everyone when I say that she has brought wisdom, insight, compassion, and an irreverent humour to her writings here.

Next April, she will be my guest on a pilgrimage tour from Porto to Santiago.I know she’s wanted to walk the Camino for some time, and this will be, in a small way, my way of thanking her for being who she is. And for the work she’s done, and continues to do – here on this blog and elsewhere.

I’m looking forward to this time with her. She is a remarkable woman and I hope to learn from her. And to have fun with her!

So Sister, on behalf of everyone here on this blog – we love you, and

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATE!

Arlene has already walked the Camino.

She’s about to do it again.

Here’s her guest blog, about the power of the Camino to change you, from the perspective of an experienced Camino pilgrim –

How the Camino has Changed Me
And Why I Feel Compelled to Return

On September 1, 2012 I boarded the plane to take me to Biarritz, France.  I had been training for almost a year and felt strong and thoroughly capable of walking the Camino.  The hideous climb up to Col de Lepoeder did not look so daunting in the guidebook.

After all, I live in the foothills of two mountain ranges in Tucson, Arizona.  I trained on top of Mt. Lemmon at 9,100 feet. I trained in temperatures over 105 degrees Fahrenheit every day.  I was ready, willing and able.  The Camino was going to be a walk in the park for me.

I was Desert Hiking Chick – hear me roar!  I was arrogant in my self confidence.

First Camino Lesson – I was humbled. No, I was not Desert Hiking Chick!  I was an out-of-breath, out-of-shape old lady who had to stop every 10 feet to catch her breath with a 22 pound pack on her back climbing the Pyrenees Mountains.

The Camino removed the arrogance and superiority I exhumed so confidently.  I no longer feel the need to be smug; in fact I now believe such behavior on my part or in others is offensive.

Second Camino Lesson – The Camino showed me how being around negative people is conducive to being negative myself.  I ran into an extremely negative, opinionated woman who didn’t have a pleasant thing to say about anything or anybody.  After a day or two, I began to feel negative about the Camino experience myself.

The Camino taught me to avoid negativity.  But at the same time, it taught me tolerance of others.

Third Camino Lesson – It became very obvious that all I needed while on Camino was a clean change of clothing, a place to rest my head at night and food to sustain me.  When I returned home, I began, and still continue, to get rid of unnecessary stuff.  I’ve donated many items to those in need.

The Camino taught me I live in my own world of excess.  I may have the desire for certain material things but no true need for them.  It has caused me to contemplate seriously the need of the item before I make the purchase.

Fourth Camino Lesson – The Camino showed me on a daily basis the kindness of others.  There was always somebody willing to share or offer a helping hand.

While I was trekking up to Alto de Perdon, my trekking pole kept collapsing.  The adjusting clamp needed to be tightened.  I stopped to search for my Swiss Army Knife to tighten the clamp and two fellows from Minnesota stopped to help.

They gave me a 2 euro coin and told me not to use a screw driver it would strip the screw but to use the coin instead.  We laughed at the idea of them giving me their 2 cents.

The Camino has taught me to be kinder and more generous.  It has opened my heart to being more charitable.

Fifth Camino Lesson – Most importantly, the Camino reinforced the presence of God in my life.  God walked with me every day while I was on the Camino.  And, I am aware of his presence every day since.

I am returning to the Camino on September 15^th, just a few short days from now and then again on the PGS Camino Tour in April, 2014.

I feel compelled to return to the Camino.   I figure I have the Camino Virus or as I like to put it….Once Bitten!

But when I put all kidding aside I simply feel the Way of St. James is not finished with me. I have not yet completed the Camino curriculum.

Steve has sent through a guest blog which went up as a comment, but I post it here for clarity, and to give space for others to respond to.

Steve and I met through this blog – he walked his Camino with his wife Jill about a month after me. They got rained on. I got sun. It still bugs him, that…

😀

We’ve since become very good friends, as some of you might know, and we’ve spoken a couple of times on the phone. The extraordinary thing abut this blog is that it has engendered the most unlikely friendships from all over the world – and I feel like I know some of you as though we’ve been friends for years.

So here’s Steve’s blog in its entirety. No edits. Thank you Steve for these thoughts, and for your friendship…

I have learned to say that just because I don’t personally understand it does not make it wrong.  Just means I don’t see it the same way.  There are many gray areas in the world that we would like to make black and white.

 I believe one of the beautiful things about aging is that we are able to accept the gray in the world.  It does not have to look exactly like I see it.

 

We just had a pretty active contributor leave the blog for reasons known only to himself but I think it might have stemmed from this topic of judgment.  Does that make him wrong in some form or fashion or less than the rest of us who continue on with it.  Of course not.  He was just following his own pgs and decided that for him, he did not need to be affiliated with the blog.

 

The beautiful thing about this blog is that we all are able to live and let live and I don’t see much of anyone ever trying to change another’s point of view.  It is a good healthy interaction.  Some people choose to comment on every thread, and others like to lurk in the shadows as someone put it and get their pleasure from reading but not participating.

 

Does that make them less a member of the pgs family?  Of course not.  Each of us can take what we want from the blog, and leave the rest and allow all other viewers to do exactly the same thing.

 

I truly do try to live my life without judgment or expectation.  I have found that if I can manage my own life that it is a full time job, and I have nothing left over to manage another’s.

Given that there’s been some interesting discussion here about how the Camino changed me, it occurred to me that it would be interesting to get other instances of people being changed –

So here’s what I’d like to do –

For the next seven days, I’d like to offer the blog to anyone who wants to post a guest blog talking about how the Camino HAS changed them, IS changing them, or WILL change them.

In other words – you either have walked the Camino, you are currently walking the Camino,  or you plan to walk the Camino.

What you need to do is just post a comment here saying you’d like to be involved – then when you’re ready send me your Guest post either in email form or MS Word – and a photo if you’d like that included – and I’ll do an edit if needed (will get your approval on final edit) then post it.  (My email is billpgsblog@gmail.com)

I’ll do that for the next week. Seven posts.

(It won’t stop me posting blogs during that time too!!)

But it will be fascinating to get some other perspectives on the transformative power of the Camino.

We each see life through a prism.

No prism is the same.

That prism refracts our image of life in ways that are particular to our DNA, to our upbringing, to chance experiences, to the circumstances of our place and time.

I believe that angels cross our paths, at various points in our lives, and try to guide us. Those angels might manifest in moments of synchronicity, in chance encounters with an old friend, or a stranger, in a piece of wayward music at a critical point in your life – in ways that are not obvious. Not necessarily as an ethereal being with translucent wings.

At a crossroads, they are there to point the way.

This is my personal belief.

We each see life through our own particular hand-hewn prism, and our refracted view is unique to us. To you. To me. To us all.

I have asked that anyone contributing to this blog, and the forum too, not hide behind a user name. That they identify themselves. Because I believe you should stand behind your comments. I believe this transparency is the first step towards honesty in expression, and respect for others.

I have been on forums in the past – photographic and film based forums, and a Camino forum too – where people have said the most horrible and vicious things to one another, hiding behind user names.

Would they say those same things had they posted under their real names? I don’t think so. Anonymity gives a person license to be cruel, judgemental, and at times hateful. The Ku Klux Klan wear masks. Drivers exhibit road-rage in the protective shells of their cars. A bandit holds up a convenience store wearing a balaclava.

Anonymity leads to contempt.

This blog isn’t large – nor the forum. And I like that. Because I know most of you. And there are many that “lurk” – who read and don’t post. And that’s cool too. Hopefully you guys  are getting something from the crazy banter that happens here sometimes.

We are approaching 6,000 comments on this blog. And we’re now almost at 85,000 page views. This since April.

I think that’s pretty amazing, given that I refuse to tag, do search optimisation, take out Facebook or Google ads or post on other forums etc to direct traffic here.

The people who land here are meant to be here. The people who leave obviously don’t feel a connection, or they’ve got from it what they wanted to get. That’s cool either way.

Transparency breeds honesty, and respect. Not only on this blog, but in life. Make processes transparent, you make them honest. Make politicians transparent, you make them honest. Hopefully!

Put sunlight through a prism, it breaks up the different wavelengths into colours. Each of us has a different wave length. And we each have a different prism. So our energy, our “light” creates our own particular colour.

That’s what makes this world such a beautiful place. All the different colours.

And this blog, too.

I thought I would check out some other people’s Word Press blogs on the Camino.

I went onto this one site, which I won’t name, and it presented on first glance to be very professional and very spiritual. The blogger was obviously quite religious, because there were Biblical references everywhere.

What upset me though was the substance of the blog, where he listed the characteristics of a pilgrim versus the characteristics of a tourigrino.

I suppose he was trying to be funny, but there was an element of judgement from on high which really upset me.

I shouldn’t have allowed it to upset me, but perhaps it was the pious environment of the blog that bothered me so much.

And I thought about the hypocrisy of some people who hide within the confines of religiosity, thinking that gives them a superior right of judgement.

I left a comment saying Pilgrims don’t judge. Have you learnt anything on your Camino?  But I shouldn’t have done that really.

It’s just that it upset me.

The posts keep on comin’ today!

Here is Arlene’s packing list for her Camino, which starts very soon now.

Camino Necessities

Documentation:

Credencial
Flight tickets & Flight Insurance Card
Passport
Euros & $US
Debit cards
Credit card
Medical Insurance Card

Being worn on person:

Baggallini Purse
Walking poles
Camping Shirt
Short sleeve shirt
Boots
Long trousers
Silk Money Belt
Baseball Cap
Sun glasses
GPS
Road ID

Being carried in Baggallini Purse:

Pens x 2
Jotting pad
Personal Intro Cards – contact info
Reading glasses
SGN Smartphone
Galaxy Note 8.0
Camera
All Documentation

In Backpack:

Osprey Backpack Aura 47 litre
Ziploc Pack bag (if in albergue)
Hydration bag empty
Duffle bag (Osprey Airporter small)
Fleece Sleeping Bag
Sleeping liner
Ziploc bags for lunch & along the trail

Clothing (not worn):

Fleece Vest
Altus Poncho
Socks x 2
Undergarments
Long Jane bottoms
Hiking pants
Long sleeve shirt x 1
Short sleeve shirt x 1
Buff & Sweat Band
Crocs

Electricals in Pack:

Phone: Battery charger & extra battery
Camera: Battery charger & extra battery
GPS charger & lead
Galaxy Note 8.0 charger
SGN charger lead
Headlight
Power socket doubler

Washing & toiletries etcetera:

Safety pins (used as clothes/nappy pins)
Soap
Tech Towel
Toothbrush & paste
Shampoo
Floss/Tooth picks
Deodorant
Comb
Disposable Razor
Small personal razor
Tissues & Personal Hygiene items
Q-tips
Body Glide
Waterproof electrical & document holder
Mascara & Eyeliner
Facial Moisturizer
Foot care (Compeed & Toe Caps)
Ear Plugs
Spork
Advil
Anti Diarrhea tablets
Needle, thread & small scissors

Weight Grams Ounces  Pounds

Total Weight in Backpack                                      6341.78      223.70   13.98

The manuscript is now finished.

I’ve sent it off for e-book formatting. I’m also getting a re-design for the cover.

I’m hoping all that will be done by the end of next week.

Keen to get it out there!

Here’s the first chapter –

Download… The Way, My Way – Ch 1