The Story of a Journey

I have walked
Alone over mountains and valleys
Through green forests and golden fields
Along bubbling rivers and rain drenched Mesetas
But never been lonesome.

I have seen
Some of the last committees of Griffon vultures sitting a top of the hills 
A congregation of eagles soaring against the blue sky
The softness of a smile
And the unselfish love, of strangers, in action

I have heard 
The church bells calling the faithful 
The kindness of a word
An orchestra performed by cattle and sheep bells in green pastures
The cadence of footsteps on gravel roads
The laughter of strangers around a meal

I have smelled
The earthly sent of freshly ploughed soil
Wild flowers and rain
The salty air of the sea

I have felt 
The angry wind through my hair
A cool breeze upon my skin
The warmth of the Spanish sun tinting my face
My grip around the shepherd's crook
The heartwarming gesture of a gift

I have tasted
Young wine
Home made food - balsam for body and soul
Ripe wild berries, stolen figs, cast away grapes
And drenched my thirst with the cool water of countless fountains

I have talked 
To strangers
Sang out loud songs of joy and gratitude
Sat in cathedrals in awe of their beauty
But stilled my mind in the simplest of churches
And spoke to Him, who holds us all in the palm of His hand

I have been blessed
In the busy street of a town
And my soul has chanted with the Monks 
During Completas in a small chapel of the old monastery

I have experienced
Much, some already forgotten by the mind
But not by the soul

I have walked a thousand kilometers for others
In ancient footsteps of peasants, clergymen and noblemen alike

And when the time comes 
That I should close my eyes and turn my head Homeward bound
I will know 
That I have walked to the end of the world under a field of stars 
In a faraway land
And that it made life worth living.

I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately (...)
I wanted to live deep and suck out the marrow of life (...)
And not when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
(Walden, or, Life in the Woods, by Henry David Thoreau)


Buen Camino!

Jovita

25 October 2013