Winged Heart

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

A black-crowned heron is standing on the rocks,

her wings and plume folded close to her body.

She’s gazing down at the water,

her beautiful eyes catching light from its surface.

She doesn’t move.

She barely seems to breathe;

and I hide behind a tree

barely breathing myself, to see her.

It is a gift to find her here,

in daylight, waiting patiently for fish to come.

resting, trusting her skill

and trusting the earth to provide

in its own good time.

Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving.

Khalil Gibran

It’s hard to describe how lucky I felt to walk just a few blocks from home and find this beautiful night heron just standing by the water patiently watching. The rocks where she was standing are below the level of the concrete path between the water and the buildings near the marina. There is a short wall above the rocks. It would have been easy not to see her there, below me and as still as she was, but I was actively looking. It was unusual, but not unheard of to see a night heron in daylight. I was very careful not to disturb her. Her absolute stillness made it so much easier to take clear pictures. What a magical experience. (If you want to know more about black-crowned night herons, click here.)

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Thank you so much for being here. See you next week.

The first night heron I ever saw was this yellow crowned night heron, in February 2022. I was hoping to see the moon rise over the ocean, but it was a cloudy night. When I walked back home through the park - I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I didn’t know what kind of bird it was when I took the picture. It’s grainy; the only light source was a park lamppost; but I still love this. Just the two of us, walking in the dark.

Scenes from a Long Walk

Walking sometimes means undertaking an inner voyage of discovery. You are shaped by buildings, faces, signs, weather and the atmosphere…Walking as a combination of movement, humility, balance, curiosity, smell, sound, light and - if you walk far enough - longing. A feeling which reaches for something, without finding it.

Erling Kagge, from Walking

A seagull flying into the sunrise over the Atlantic

fighting for scraps of food in the air

lizard basking in sunshine on the rocks at the marina

Fish crow gazing into the water of the shipping channel

rock dove perching on a ledge above a small local grocery store

egret fishing in a public fountain.

a single white flower floats on the surface of a pond

Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.

Steven Wright

This was not just a single walk, or even a single day, but in hindsight it felt like one continuous experience. I am on the cusp of a change, trying to decide how and where to focus my time in the near future. I may begin blogging a little less frequently to make space for other work. Decision making is hard. Walking helps.

Thank you for being here.

El Camino de Santiago

Truth is one, paths are many.

Mahatma Gandhi

Day one. The Path begins.

Prologue

My mother asked me for a truth

She knew would hurt her in the telling

And I told her, and it did.

The Way

I began to walk this storied path

Heavy hearted and confused,

Humbled by seeing myself

A little more clearly.

A truth unspoken for years -

Was just dishonesty.

I began to walk

But I was not a pilgrim,

I was just a traveler walking an old path

For the exercise; and to see a bit

Of the world I hadn’t seen-

To experience a little beauty.

Then I listened to the stories,

Told by other travelers.

Saw the weary man,

Who walked

Hundreds of miles from the north –

And I began to sense the power

of the road I was on.

As we climbed a steep rocky trail

I heard a man say

There was a place up there

To lay your burden down

symbolically

In the form of a stone -

At a cross in the woods

With a pillar of other stones

Beneath it.

.

We found the spot,

Sunlight streamed through,

lighting the cross.

A woman I had met walked up,

and placed her stone there,

bowing her head - letting it go.

Was her burden lifted?

I don’t really know,

But soon after that

I went looking my own stone.

Calla lilies bloomed along the roadside.

A humble pile of stones and a cross made of broken limbs where pilgrims symbolically lay down their burdens

Day 2 - Ponte de Lima - The Medieval and Roman Bridge and its church, The Igreja de Santo Antonio.

Along the route, there are many mementos from pilgrims who have passed through. Words of encouragement on a stone…

burdens symbolically left behind under a cross in the woods.

Day 3 We walk to the remnants of an ancient civilization overlooking the sea and the mountains beyond on our first day in Spain

the ancient ruins overlook the more modern fishing town of A Guarda below

The walk led us through sculptures of the stations of the cross to a little town on the top of a hill.

Back down at sea level, horses grazed along the Coastal Camino

while signposts and red breasted birds pointed the way

We arrived in the colorful fishing town of A Guarda for a lunch break.

We ended the night at one of the Paradores hotels (a nationally owned chained) in the town of Baiona.

On Day 4, We took a boat to the Cies Islands - pictured here is the long winding pathway we walked to see the lighthouse.

My fellow travelers lead the way

A mist in the distance created a magical blue haze over the islands and mountains.

On Day 5 We began the final trek into Santiago de Compostela - stopping at the little church of Santiago Apostol, where a kind volunteer stamped our trail passports and offered us a moment to rest and appreciate the beauty of the altar and its sculptures.

A final walk through the woods into the city.

When we reached the square, after passing through an arched tunnel where a man played the Spanish bagpipe to welcome pilgrims, the sight of the Cathedral made me burst into tears. I didn’t expect to feel that way, but it washed over me all at once. There was something really special about this journey - even if I only experienced a part of it. New friendships were forged, and an older friendship deepened. People come here for all different reasons, but everyone I met was changed by it in ways they didn’t expect.

On the 6th day, we walked back to the town from our hotel on the outskirts of Santiago, back to the church to get a tour of the Cathedral and its Museum. The sun was just beginning to crest over the trees and the old part of the city in the distance.

On this path let the heart be your guide.

Rumi

Thank you so much for being here! I will see you next week!

P.S. I want to thank my friend Kat for walking this path with me! It wouldn’t have been as special for me without her.