Following the signs

    Both friends who have walked the Camino and books that I read said Keep your boots DRY.  So I had my ¨waterproof¨ boots which have worked great until today.   It was raining as we left Logrono so I put on my poncho.  The rain picked up and by the time I was out of town my pants were drenched.  When I stopped for breakfast I wrung out my socks and put on dry ones.  So much for dry boots.

   So as I was walking in the rain I was thinking about signs.  I think I saw somewhere that there are 500 something kilometers left to Santiago.  That means I´ve traveled at least 200 kilometers - without a map.  It´s amazing to think of walking that distance, just looking for the signs that will continue to lead you forward. 

   The symbol of the Camino is the scallop shell.  The ¨logo¨ has a yellow shell on a blue background.  As you move through villages and towns you just look for the shell on the next building, or in the direction to head.  To further guide the pilgrims there are yellow arrows painted everywhere.  It is amazing how well these two symbols work to guide us.  However, each town and region has their own little twist.  In looking for the signs I´m thinking how well some of the things I´ve learned apply to discerning our way in the bigger pilgrimage of life.

    First... you have to be alert.  The first day there were many pilgrims and I had my friend Santiago.  I tried watching to see what he was seeing and he showed me the initial symbols.  But I wasn´t always aware of what he saw.  As I´ve continued to walk I´ve learned the importance of always being alert for the signs.  I think in any discernment process there is the need to be alert to the signs that may be given to us.  We have to pay attention.

   Second...  But sometimes it´s helpful to have company while we discern.  Last Monday my friend Cathy and I consulted a number of times as we looked for the symbols to guide us through the city of Pamplona.  We both learned some skills for how to see the signs that I know I have continued to use on my own.            
    Third...  Enjoy the big signs.  Every so often there a really big yellow arrow on the side of a building, a rock, a marker.  No doubt about what we´re suppose to do.  I remember when I was discerning if I should enter into the training for Spiritual Direction (Tending the Soul in the NY-Troy conference).  I had put it off and put it off then one day an announcement was emailed and I checked the brochure.  As I looked at each of the dates (3 4-day retreats in each of the two year process) I realized I had every single date available.  I knew that wasn´t going to happen often and saw that as a big sign that I needed to register!
    Fourth...  Watch for the subtle little signs.  As I´ve walked the Camino, every so often I´m on a longer stretch and realize I haven´t seen a shell or an arrow in a while.  I start to get a little concerned: did I miss a turn off?  Did everyone else go a different way?  Then I´ll see a little sign.  Usually it is a cairn - someone has stacked rocks on the side of the road.  That doesn´t happen randomly.  I believe it is done very intentionally by pilgrims who have traveled before me.  At least three times I have seen a hillside or large area covered with 20-40 cairns.  At first it is not apparently and then as I focus, there they are.  This morning as I was walking I been following a number of pilgrims for quite a while when I noticed no one was in front of me any more.  I was looking around as I walk, and there it was, the sign that I needed.  There was a metal fence on my side (kind of like a chain link, but more open) and in it there were crosses from twigs.  People had been doing this for some time as the crosses continued as long as the fence.  They were at the top, at the bottom, and everywhere in between.  Again, I had the assurance that many, many had already walked this way.  The sign assured me I was traveling the right path.

   And fifth...  Keep looking ahead.  I had to learn to read music differently when I played handbells as you have to notice when your bell is coming up and be ready.  In watching for the signs on the Camino, sometimes you have to look ahead, and in some cases it means walking out into an intersection or to the next block to see what might be there.  This morning I was leaving town behind a Spanish gentleman.  At one point he continued straight, but it seemed to me that the arrow was pointing diagonally.  So I decided to check it out.  When I crossed diagonally I found the next shell in the pavement marking a diagonal path through a park.  I yelled at my fellow pilgrim and we continued on the path.  We sometimes have to move into the next stage to see the confirmation that we need.

    The rain let up shortly after my breakfast break in Navarette and because there was a nice cloud cover I walked my longest day - 19.5 miles.  So now I shall take a break to let my body recover - I´m not the only one walking hesitantly.

    May God be with you as you look for directional signs in your life.  Bueno Camino!