This Dangerous Business

[VNwalking]

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door. You step onto the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to."

I seem to be stumbling upon wonderful Tolkein quotes today, and just had to share this one because it makes me smile at the simple mystery of it all.

And it's a perfect explanation of the pre-journey nerves we all feel.
Where will this go?? Well, yeah. Who knows!?
But the Camino has shown me again and again that all shall be well--deeply so, even if on the surface and on the worldly level it's an unfolding disaster.
I'm a slow learner. Which is a good thing...because the Camino isn't going anywhere.

Buen Camino...wishing a wonderful and deepening walk to all of you who will soon be going out the door--or who are out there right now!

 

[NualaOC]

Thanks @Viranani, I love that quote too and I always associate it with the Camino.

 

[Terri B]

"Not all those who wander are lost" is one of my favourites!!

 

[NualaOC]

"Not all those who wander are lost" is one of my favourites!!

Mine too!

 

[Deacon Jason]

Eothain: 'Do we walk in legends or on the green earth in the daylight?'

Aragorn: 'A man may do both. For not we but those who come after will make the legends of our time.'

From Two Towers

 

[VNwalking]

"Not all those who wander are lost"

Wandering but not lost. Nice.
Obviously you 'keep your feet,' Nuala and Terri!
And even being lost every once in a while can be interesting. I got off track twice this year (I was not on the Frances then) and saw the most amazing things as a result. Things I'd have missed entirely, if I'd have stayed on the camino I thought I was on.
A herd of deer nibbling on the first green of spring...a hot air balloon floating silently above a mesa in the early morning sun against a backdrop of snowy mountains. An old movie set.
Wild stuff.

Deacon Jason, so right--especially since most of us are making our own legends moment by moment. Now that's where I don't want to get lost! Off the map is fine. Lost in my stories about me me me... Gaak.
And off topic...may I ask? What does the Greek quote under your signature line mean?

 

[Deacon Jason]

@Viranani It is a quote from St. Paul's letter to the Romans (12:2):

"Be not conformed to the things of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind."

 

[VNwalking]

Well, Deacon Jason. How not to like that!?
That's the whole point, isn't it?

 

[Deacon Jason]

Indeed it is!

P.S. it has some subtlety in the original Greek that makes it interesting:

The word translated as conformed (suschēmatizesthe) has its root in 'schemata' - a predefined plan or shape.

The word for transformed (metamorphousthe) is the same word we, of course, use to describe the caterpillar's journey to a butterfly, and the word for renewal (anakainōsei) literally means to be made fresh again.

Finally, the word loosely translated as "mind" (noos) was used by Plato to refer to the deepest part of the human self--the "I" underneath the intellect.

Putting it all together, Paul has a vision of rejecting those tired, predetermined ways of being and, like the butterfly, emerging from the 'cocoon' of our preconceptions and allowing the deepest part of ourselves to find a true refreshment!

As you can tell, I really like the quote

 

[VNwalking]

I can see why!
Don't live a cookie-cutter life determined by the things of the world, but emerge into the fullness of who you deeply are. Interesting that bit about refreshment--in Asia (where mind and heart are seen as the same) the benevolent connection and empathy of an open heart is described as cool and peaceful. Same. Very nice.

those tired, predetermined ways of being

The Camino demolishes those pretty quickly, doesn't it? And then what? Wonderful.

 

[trafferty]

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door. You step onto the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to."

I seem to be stumbling upon wonderful Tolkein quotes today, and just had to share this one because it makes me smile at the simple mystery of it all.

And it's a perfect explanation of the pre-journey nerves we all feel.
Where will this go?? Well, yeah. Who knows!?
But the Camino has shown me again and again that all shall be well--deeply so, even if on the surface and on the worldly level it's an unfolding disaster.
I'm a slow learner. Which is a good thing...because the Camino isn't going anywhere.

Buen Camino...wishing a wonderful and deepening walk to all of you who will soon be going out the door--or who are out there right now!

Ah yes, I love that quote and have have been happily repeating it to myself as I plan my pilgramage. 11 more days!

 

[natefaith]

"What about second breakfast?" - my favorite quote (from the film) - also very important!
Faith

 

[jerbear]

I am only lost if someone finds me!

 

[mspath]

I am only lost if someone finds me!

2004 signage on the Valcarlos alternative out of SJPdP was miniscule yellow arrows painted on popsicle-like sticks and rather randomly attached to trees, logs, etc. Eventually I sensed that I was lost and going north within a dense wood where the correct path should be basically west. Backtracking to the last marker nailed to a moveable stake I spotted with RELIEF a distant farmer; he walked towards me as I walked towards him.

When asked the way to Arneguy he simply quarter-turned the stake and replied "Oh those children they just love to confuse you pilgrims". ...Luckily that signage has VASTLY improved over recent years and there are no more moveable arrows, but a basic sense of direction is still most helpful.

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

"What about second breakfast?" - my favorite quote (from the film) - also very important!
Faith

One of my favourites too - couldn't resist setting it all down here. Often thought that the Camino was like this with all our stops at the cafes!
And isn't the Fellowship of the Ring a wonderful analogy for the Camino pilgrimage.

Aragorn: Gentlemen! We do not stop 'til nightfall.
Pippin: But what about breakfast?
Aragorn: You've already had it.
Pippin: We've had one, yes. But what about second breakfast?
[Aragorn stares at him, then walks off.]
Merry: Don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip.
Pippin: What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn't he?
Merry: I wouldn't count on it., then walks off.]

 

[natefaith]

One of my favourites too - couldn't resist setting it all down here. Often thought that the Camino was like this with all our stops at the cafes!
And isn't the Fellowship of the Ring a wonderful analogy for the Camino pilgrimage.

Aragorn: Gentlemen! We do not stop 'til nightfall.
Pippin: But what about breakfast?
Aragorn: You've already had it.
Pippin: We've had one, yes. But what about second breakfast?
[Aragorn stares at him, then walks off.]
Merry: Don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip.
Pippin: What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn't he?
Merry: I wouldn't count on it., then walks off.]

Yes! Love it! (Good commentary on Aragorn, too, ha!) I feel so desperate for food - and future food - always!

 

[David]

Buen Camino good sister

 

[VNwalking]

"What about second breakfast?" - my favorite quote (from the film) - also very important!

Oh...yes, of course.
Meri, your quote cracked me up. This is us, isn't it?

 

[VNwalking]

Buen Camino good sister

Thank you David!
I'm back, and had a wonderful walk...even made it to the top of the hill at Castrojerez.
You're back too, I'm guessing.
Hope your journey was a joy...

 

[Albertagirl]

I feel so at home in this thread. Another approach to "Not all those who wander are lost": I was lost on the camino, because I knew that I should be there, but I didn't know why.
On one occasion, I got physically lost for a day, when the camino turned left and I went straight ahead. That got me away from the crowd and into a pleasant walk in hilly country. I soon knew that I was not on the camino route (no arrows) but continued in order to have some alone time. I thought I could find a continuation of the camino route, but I could not (no sense of direction). Eventually, I came to a town and asked at the first bar that I reached "Where is the camino de Santiago?" The lady in charge was monolingual Spanish and had no idea where the camino was. Eventually I figured out how to ask her, "Where is the road to Portomarin?" and she pointed me to turn right at the gas station (very close). Eleven kilometres later, I came to the bridge and knew that I was there. It was a pleasant day and I enjoyed my alone time, but I guess I was "wandering lost." This was so much like my pilgrimage in general that I (literally) took it in my stride.
Many of us are fortunate enough to get "lost" while on camino and to eventually find ourselves in a very different place that we could not have come to on our own.

 

[CaminoDebrita]

I feel so at home in this thread. Another approach to "Not all those who wander are lost": I was lost on the camino, because I knew that I should be there, but I didn't know why.
On one occasion, I got physically lost for a day, when the camino turned left and I went straight ahead. That got me away from the crowd and into a pleasant walk in hilly country. I soon knew that I was not on the camino route (no arrows) but continued in order to have some alone time. I thought I could find a continuation of the camino route, but I could not (no sense of direction). Eventually, I came to a town and asked at the first bar that I reached "Where is the camino de Santiago?" The lady in charge was monolingual Spanish and had no idea where the camino was. Eventually I figured out how to ask her, "Where is the road to Portomarin?" and she pointed me to turn right at the gas station (very close). Eleven kilometres later, I came to the bridge and knew that I was there. It was a pleasant day and I enjoyed my alone time, but I guess I was "wandering lost." This was so much like my pilgrimage in general that I (literally) took it in my stride.
Many of us are fortunate enough to get "lost" while on camino and to eventually find ourselves in a very different place that we could not have come to on our own.

What a wonderful way to solve that little problem! And crossing the bridge into Portomarin is such a beautiful, expansive view. It must have felt so perfect to find your way there, then up the steep stairs you went, looking back at that wide, wide river and the big view of it meeting the sky!

 

[Aesklepius]

Thank you. Yes...this is a grand adventure!

"Still round the corner, there may wait
A new road, or a secret gate
And though I oft have passed them by
A day will come, at last, when I
Shall take the hidden roads that run
West of the Moon, East of the Sun."

Right foot. Left foot. Repeat.

 

[VNwalking]

I feel so at home in this thread.

Many of us are fortunate enough to get "lost" while on camino and to eventually find ourselves in a very different place that we could not have come to on our own.

My experience exactly, Albertagirl. It actually felt like being in a parallel universe, and a magical one, where things happened that would never have happened if I'd kept going 'as planned.'

"Still round the corner, there may wait
A new road, or a secret gate
And though I oft have passed them by
A day will come, at last, when I
Shall take the hidden roads that run
West of the Moon, East of the Sun."

Is there a Camino equivalent to Platform 9 3/4? Or maybe a magic wardrobe in a pension somewhere?
I'll have to be more observant next time I'm in Chmmartin.
Actually....the entire Camino can feel this way. It can be both a completely boring mundane experience and a mythical one...all at the same time. Or is it just me? (Honest...I don't take anything...except lots of anti-inflammatories.)

"Oh those children they just love to confuse you pilgrims".

Ha ha ha ha...Wonderful story, mspath!

 

[cherrys]

This thread is right up my ally (or camino) and has sent me searching for my favorites. I wished for elevenses many times when I had not even had my first breakfast, let alone my second. Can't finds the quote I was looking for - maybe its Frodo not Bilbo talking so back to the book shelf but here's one I like and stumbled upon looking just now - Gandalf -"You will have to do without pocket hankerchiefs, and a great many other things, before we reach our journey's end, Bilbo Baggins. And now in the words of A.A. Milne and Christopher Robin, BACKSON while I go searching.... Oh, and I played Pooh sticks on one of those bridges leading into the endless park/river section entering Burgos.

 

[VNwalking]

Love it, Cherry!
A dear Swiss friend got me partaking of Zneuni long before I hit the Camino--and the walking made that essential--whenever they happened! And ah, yes...doing without the things that turn out to be non-essentials...the best thing!

"Still round the corner, there may wait
A new road, or a secret gate
And though I oft have passed them by
A day will come, at last, when I
Shall take the hidden roads that run
West of the Moon, East of the Sun."

I think just now I'm presented with one of those secret gates. Looking online today for information about the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage, I found this, in the website's FAQs section (italics):
"Why is there a sun on the front of the credential?
Santiago is in the far West where the sun sets, and Kumano is in the far East where the sun rises. They are connected by the sun."
Goosebumps.

 

[Terri B]

Oh, and I played Pooh sticks on one of those bridges leading into the endless park/river section entering Burgos.

Hadn't thought of that, but I might have to give it a try in Seotember!!

 

[VNwalking]

Me neither. I'm too serious.

 

[Albertagirl]

Me neither. I don't know how to play Pooh sticks.

 

[cherrys]

Well it took a bit of reading but the quote I was looking for was from Frodo as he, Sam and Pippin set off from Bag End "I pity snails, and all that carry their homes on their backs".

 

[VNwalking]

Re Pooh sticks:
You stand on the upstream side of a bridge with a friend, each with a stick--and both drop sticks into the water at the same time. The person whose stick comes out from under the bridge first wins.
A bit of harmless fun. But in Burgos, the traffic might be an issue. Be careful out there, kids!
'Peregrinos run over playing pooh sticks' would be an awful headline and an idiotic tragedy.

 

[VNwalking]

"I pity snails, and all that carry their homes on their backs".

Guess I'm not a Hobbit.
I quite like being a snail and feel for the folks who have McMansion albatrosses around their necks. (Sorry, very mixed metaphor...)

 

[cherrys]

The bridge I played it from was a small foot bridge and I played myself (walking solo as usual)!

 

[cherrys]

One more, then it's back to dishes and laundry -
The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

 

[VNwalking]

Thanks Cherry...me neither!
I'm off...to a celebration of the Buddha's birthday.
And who knows where else!
Buen camino to us all!

 

[cherrys]

He (or she) symbolized my progress! Taken in Muxia

 

[Albertagirl]

He (or she) symbolized my progress! Taken in Muxia

Beautiful!

 

[William Garza]

Do they serve some of that Lembas bread along the Way.
I hear one bite will keep a man fed all day?
How bout some with honey to share in some cafe?

 

[Rebekah Scott]

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began

we painted this above the doorway to our bodega, one of those in the hillside pictured on the sello you see on the left of this post.
Pilgrims are always asking us if these little doors in the hill are Hobbit Houses, so last time we painted the bodega door we thought it apropos quote Mr. Tolkein, a man who understood the call of the road!

 

[VNwalking]

Do they serve some of that Lembas bread along the Way.
I hear one bite will keep a man fed all day?

No, and anyway that would ruin the fun...then we would not need second breakfast.

Here's another few for today--I had no idea Tolkein was such a rich vein of gold! So right, Reb--he understood the call of the road and the need for fearless engagement with everything on it!

“Home is behind, the world ahead,
And there are many paths to tread
Through shadows to the edge of night,
Until the stars are all alight."

And...in the service of that:

"No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly.”

 

[trafferty]

One of my favourites too - couldn't resist setting it all down here. Often thought that the Camino was like this with all our stops at the cafes!
And isn't the Fellowship of the Ring a wonderful analogy for the Camino pilgrimage.

Aragorn: Gentlemen! We do not stop 'til nightfall.
Pippin: But what about breakfast?
Aragorn: You've already had it.
Pippin: We've had one, yes. But what about second breakfast?
[Aragorn stares at him, then walks off.]
Merry: Don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip.
Pippin: What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn't he?
Merry: I wouldn't count on it., then walks off.]

Yes! And thank God the fate of middle earth doesn't depend on me finishing it!

 

[trecile]

As I gather together what I'll need to pack for the Camino what I think I really need, rather than a backpack is Hermione's bag from Harry Potter:

"'When you say you've got the Cloak, and clothes...' said Harry, frowning at Hermione, who was carrying nothing except her small beaded handbag, in which she was now rummaging. 'Yes, they're here,' said Hermione, and to Harry and Ron's utter astonishment, she pulled out a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, some maroon socks, and finally the silvery Invisibility Cloak... She gave the fragile-looking bag a little shake and it echoed like a cargo hold as a number of heavy objects rolled around inside it."

At one point she pulled a tent out of it!

 

[DurhamParish]

The road goes on forever and the party never ends.

- Robert Earl Keen

 

[William Garza]

No, and anyway that would ruin the fun...then we would not need second breakfast.

Here's another few for today--I had no idea Tolkein was such a rich vein of gold! So right, Reb--he understood the call of the road and the need for fearless engagement with everything on it!

“Home is behind, the world ahead,
And there are many paths to tread
Through shadows to the edge of night,
Until the stars are all alight."

And...in the service of that:

"No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly.”

Haa!

 

[cherrys]

we painted this above the doorway to our bodega, one of those in the hillside pictured on the sello you see on the left of this post.
Pilgrims are always asking us if these little doors in the hill are Hobbit Houses, so last time we painted the bodega door we thought it apropos quote Mr. Tolkein, a man who understood the call of the road!

Perfect - hopefully I'll get to see that this September. I missed your section last time due to injuries.

 

[cherrys]

As I gather together what I'll need to pack for the Camino what I think I really need, rather than a backpack is Hermione's bag from Harry Potter:

"'When you say you've got the Cloak, and clothes...' said Harry, frowning at Hermione, who was carrying nothing except her small beaded handbag, in which she was now rummaging. 'Yes, they're here,' said Hermione, and to Harry and Ron's utter astonishment, she pulled out a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, some maroon socks, and finally the silvery Invisibility Cloak... She gave the fragile-looking bag a little shake and it echoed like a cargo hold as a number of heavy objects rolled around inside it."

At one point she pulled a tent out of it!

I could go for that. It would surely beat the 10% weight bit we all struggle with when packing. She had a whole library of her favorite books in there, too. We could bring all the great authors quoted above to read in our "spare time".

 

[Albertagirl]

I could go for that. It would surely beat the 10% weight bit we all struggle with when packing. She had a whole library of her favorite books in there, too. We could bring all the great authors quoted above to read in our "spare time".

@cherrys:
I have a library of great books on my ipad, thanks to Gutenberg websites. Volunteers scan great books, which no longer have copyright, and they are uploaded for general use. Among many others, I have Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, in case I want to follow other pilgrims on their journeys. But I wasn't really into reading anything but the guidebook on my last pilgrimage. Of course, that could change.

 

[VNwalking]

I have a library of great books on my ipad, thanks to Gutenberg websites.

Oh? Wow, interesting. Thanks Albertagirl.
But not so much non-fiction that I could find. Or am I doing it wrong?

 

[Albertagirl]

Oh? Wow, interesting. Thanks Albertagirl.
But not so much non-fiction that I could find. Or am I doing it wrong?

@Viranani:
I have downloaded from two Gutenberg websites: gutenberg.ca (a Canadian website) and gutenberg.org (American). Most of what I have downloaded has been on religious topics, if not non-fiction. For example, I love the books of the Inklings: J. R.R. Tolkein, C. S. Lewis and Charles Williams: fiction with religious themes. I have downloaded a lot of poetry, much of it on religious themes, copies of the Bible (King James version) and the Koran, Thoreau's Walden and Walking, and on specifically religious themes: The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis, Pascal's Pensees, The Practice of the Presence of God, by Brother Laurence, Fox's Book of Martyrs, William James's The Varieties of Religious Experience, The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit by R. A. Torrey, Everyman (a mediaeval religious play), Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England, Flavius Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews and The Confessions of St Augustine. These reflect my Anglican tradition and an extensive and eclectic education. Most of the above I have read all or part of. There are a few books simply for entertainment, and one or two that I think I should get around to, like the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. Of course, these are not just books for my pilgrimage, but rather my travelling library. Like Hermione, I love to have my books with me. It takes some time to play around on Gutenberg, but I think that it is well worth doing. Have fun.

 

[VNwalking]

Albertagirl, thanks, I will! I had only tried one of those websites.
The kind of works that you've downloaded are exactly the sort of things I was thinking of but couldn't find.
(And same. Not that I'd imagine reading all that on a camino, but it's good to have the books at hand.)
Try try again!