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I just finished the Camino and when I was in Santiago I saw a fellow pilgrim and I was so happy and I said, "We did it!" and he said in reply, "No, you took a bus." I was crushed. I did take the bus and the reason doesn't matter...injury, illness, running out of time, whatever...but I walked 400 miles and that was "my camino". I felt at times that some people were too harsh and judgmental if you did things like send your pack ahead or "take a bus". I wasn't sure why that was happening. It's okay to have a different opinion or even to smile a little when you hear a pilgrim using a tour bus say, "I need to get on the bus and change into my other hiking shoes before it leaves." (which is something I heard)... but it takes maturity and love not to judge. It's a personal journey and how it's done is really no one's business but your own.
"No, you took a bus" = What a stupid thing to say!? Even if he thought that, he shouldn't say that out loud when you are all in Santiago where EVERYONE is surely proud of their achievement.
BP
I admit to taking your statement a bit out of context and not addressing your main point, David. But I don't think that's quite the right metaphor because (of course) that the Camino isn't a race.Think this - if you meet someone at the start of the London marathon and you both set off together but one of you takes a taxi for a few miles and you both meet up at the finish and the one who took the taxi says "we did it" - what would you expect the other to say?
I admit to taking your statement a bit out of context and not addressing your main point, David. But I don't think that's quite the right metaphor because (of course) that the Camino isn't a race.
Having done a few caminos and more than a few marathons, I can attest to the fact that these are utterly different activities each with its own distinct purposes and 'rules.'
We seem to be going back to the question of pilgrimage again...but if Debora qualified for a compostela (this isn't clear from her story) surely she 'did it', bus or no bus? Regardless, it was a harsh and insensitive thing to say, especially under the circumstances. Well, I think.
I guess I run it through the test of how would I react if she'd said that to me--and I think I'd have soundly agreed and shared the congratulations. And actually I said this once to someone under similar circumstances so it's not completely hypothetical. We did do it...and one of us covered a little ground in the bus. It still seemed to me that 'we did it,' this pilgrimage, and had by grace and good fortune arrived in Santiago. As you say, the conveyance doesn't matter as far as the heart is concerned.
Had Deborah said "I did it, well, most of it, I did have to take a bus for a section as I was injured/tired/bored/late" the response would surely have been different - not so?
I often think of these words when I read about camino achievements. Given enough time, anyone can walk a distance of 500 or 800 or 1500 km.
You certainly did do it, Debora. Well done and congratulations! How many people do you know who have walked that far?
It's quite amazing, really.
As for the precious "I walked the whole way and you didn't" attitude...well, Jas is right:
What he said spoke volumes, not about you but about him.
I received a prayer card at the church in O Cebreiro and it applies:
The Prayer of La Faba
Although I may have travelled all the roads,
crossed mountains and valleys from East to West,
if I have not discovered the freedom to be myself,
I have arrived nowhere.
Although I may have shared all of my possessions
with people of other languages and cultures;
made friends with Pilgrims of a thousand paths,
or shared albergue with saints and princes,
if I am not capable of forgiving my neighbour tomorrow,
I have arrived nowhere.
Although I may have carried my pack from beginning to end
and waited for every Pilgrim in need of encouragement,
or given my bed to one who arrived later than I,
given my bottle of water in exchange for nothing;
if upon returning to my home and work,
I am not able to create brotherhood
or to make happiness, peace and unity,
I have arrived nowhere.
Although I may have had food and water each day,
and enjoyed a roof and shower every night;
or may have had my injuries well attended,
if I have not discovered in all that the love of God,
I have arrived nowhere.
Although I may have seen all the monuments
and contemplated the best sunsets;
although I may have learned a greeting in every language;
or tried the clean water from every fountain;
if I have not discovered who is the author
of so much free beauty and so much peace,
I have arrived nowhere.
If from today I do not continue walking on your path,
searching for and living according to what I have learned;
if from today I do not see in every person, friend or foe
a companion on the Camino;
if from today I cannot recognize God,
the God of Jesus of Nazareth
as the one God of my life,
I have arrived nowhere.
By this reckoning, he's got some walking to do before he finishes his Camino. You're home.[/QUOTE
Each pilgrim is 100% in control of that!not feel a need to explain one's actions.
@capecorps has a very good point.I personally think it is all to the good.
Because there is always a slight chance that they would casually glance at the crucified Christ that dots the Camino; and..... Find him looking back.
And this will make all the difference.
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