Rilke on Darkness

I brought Rilke's Book of Hours to read as a sacred text.

You, darkness, of whom I am born--

I love you more than the flame
That limits the world
To the circle it illuminates
And excludes all the rest.

But the dark embraces everything:
Shapes and shadows, creatures and me,
People,nations--just as they are.

It lets me imagine
A great presence stirring beside me.

I believe in the night.

Starting to Walk in Leon

After taking the night train from Barcelona, we arrived in Leon at 5 in the morning. We downed donuts, croquettes and coffee at the train station, we set off to find the actual Road of Santiago. The way is marked by yellow arrows, yellow scollop shells, and brass scollop shells on the ground.

This is the first shell we saw on the ground in front of us.

La Moreneta

Sent from my iPhone

Visit to Montserrat

We have been to Montserrat before, but I kept imagining coming here to start the Road from this incredible mountain north of Barcelona. The Black Virgin appeared here in the 9th century and the monastery began in the 11th. And the monks are still here singing their prayers seven times a day.

This morning as I sat praying in the sanctuary, I watched as many of the monks greeted the image of their patroness before the first service of the day. They climbed the long staircase and then kissed the orb that the image holds in her hand. Some stood for several minutes, communing with her. This is an amazing mountain and I can understand how someone might want to live here forever.

On Our Way…

Today after arriving in Spain, we went to the Montserrat monetary, nestled in the scenic mountains. We will start the trek soon…

Follow the Scallop Shell Road

The scallop shell is one of the oldest symbols of the Way to Campostela. Legend says that pilgrims picked them up at the sea three days walk past Campostela and carried them home as proof that they had actually made the entire trip. Now the scallop shell is used all over Spain to mark the Way.

Attitudes for the Way

In preparation, I have been thinking about what others say about the pilgrim's attitude.  Confucius had a conversation with Zi Zhang about the practices of wise rulers, and they seem to also be excellent attitudes for travelers on sacred journeys.

1. Practice the arts of attention and listening.
2. Practice renewing yourself every day.
3. Practice meandering toward the center of every place.
4. Practice the ritual of reading sacred texts.
5. Practice gratitude and praise-singing.

There are other perspectives from the Center Kingdom. Loy Ching-Yuen says in The Book of the Heart, "The beauty of the Way is that there is no 'way'." Lao-tzu states in the Tao Te Ching, "The Way that can be told is not the true Way."

So following the Way seems to require a certain tolerance for uncertainty and paradox. I am okay with that.