Carpe Diem #1140 Arriving at the Right Moment

My Response to Carpe Diem #1140 - Road to Santiago - Arriving at the Right Moment

Well ... here it is finally we have reached Santiago De Compostela. 

Here at the end of the Road we finally can see the connection with the divine Tarot, which was mentioned in one of my earlier posts this month.

Here is the lesson:-

[...] "Father Jordi sat at the table, leaving me standing. 

He took some herbs and lit them, filling the place with their perfume. 

More and more, the situation reminded me of my encounter with Mme Lourdes. 

‘First, I want to tell you something,’ said Father Jordi. 

‘The Jacobean route is only one of four roads. 

It is the Road of the Spades, and it may give you power, but that is not enough.’

‘What are the other three?’

‘You know at least two others: 

the Road to Jerusalem, which is the Road of the Hearts, or of the Grail, and which endows you with the ability to perform miracles; 

and the Road to Rome, which is the Road of the Clubs; it allows you to communicate with other worlds.’

‘So what’s missing is the Road of the Diamonds to complete the four suits of the deck,’ I joked. 

And the father laughed.  ‘Exactly. That’s the secret Road. 

If you take it someday, you won’t be helped by anybody. 

For now, let us leave that one aside.” [...] (Source: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho)

Photo Credit

Christians in the first millennium considered three routes to be sacred. 

Each of them offered a series of blessings and indulgences to those who traveled its length. 

The first led to the tomb of Saint Peter in Rome; its travelers, who were called wanderers, took the cross as their symbol. 

The second led to the Holy Sepulcher of Christ in Jerusalem; those who took this road were called Palmists, since they had as their symbol the palm branches with which Jesus was greeted when he entered that city. 

There was a third road, which led to the mortal remains of the apostle, San Tiago – Saint James in English, Jacques in French, Giacomo in Italian, Jacob in Latin.

 He was buried at a place on the Iberian peninsula where, one night, a shepherd had seen a brilliant star above a field. 

The legend says that not only San Tiago but also the Virgin Mary went there shortly after the death of Christ, carrying the word of the Evangelist and exhorting the people to convert. 

The site came to be known as Compostela – the star field – and there a city had arisen that drew travelers from every part of the Christian world. 

These travelers were called pilgrims, and their symbol was the scallop shell.

Photo Credit

 Pedroso mountain, Laraño, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain

We have succeeded the Road, an equivalent of the Road Jesus had to take on His final days, but here it is not going to stop. 

Here at Santiago De Compostela, it starts ... the final piece of life as we know it ... here at Santiago de Compostela, we have seen the Lamb and we have seen our future ... 

Here at the end of the Road we finally can see the connection with the divine Tarot, which I mentioned in one of my earlier posts this month ... 

We have conquered life and we may enter into the Love our Creator, Higher Spirit or what ever name that you choose for that Power.

Finally, Paulo recovers his sword what was taken from him at the start of his Road to Santiago ... he finally gets it back from his Master.

I need share a short piece of text from "The Pilgrimage" to celebrate that we have, together with Paulo done.

[...] "As the lamb looked at me, I could read all of this in his eyes; 

now he had become my guide along the Road to Santiago. 

For a moment everything went dark, and I began to see scenes that were reminiscent of those I had read about in the Apocalypse: 

the Great Lamb on his throne and people washing his vestments, cleansing them with his blood. 

This was the moment when the God was awakened in each of them. 

I also saw the wars and hard times and catastrophes that were going to shake the earth over the next few years. 

But everything ended with the victory of the Lamb and with every human being on earth awakening the sleeping God and all of God’s power.

I was worthy of my sword because I knew what to do with it." [...] (Source: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho)

[...] "The Master held out the sword to me, and I grasped it. 

I looked about for the lamb, but he had disappeared. 

But that did not matter: 

the Water of Life fell from the sky and caused the blade of my sword to glisten.' [...] (Source: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho)

Tanka - Arriving at the Right Moment

the moment has come

the road to santiago

arriving on time

recovering the lost sword

a small medal to treasure

Photo Credit

Carpe Diem #1139 - Listening

My Response to Carpe Diem #1139 - Road to Santiago - Listening

Listen to the sound of the wind it will reveal you the sacred wisdom of the Road to Santiago.

Petrus, Paulo’s guide, asks him to sit down and then he told him about the 

                                     “Listening Exercise”

[...] 'Relax. Close your eyes. Try for several minutes to concentrate on all of the sounds you hear in your surroundings as if you were hearing an orchestra playing its instruments. 

Little by little, try to separate each sound from the others.

Concentrate on each one, as if it were the only instrument playing. 

Try to eliminate the other sounds from your awareness.

When you do this exercise every day, you will begin to hear voices. 

First, you will think that they are imaginary. 

Later, you will discover that they are voices of people from your past, present, and future, 

all of them participating with you in the remembrance of time.

This exercise should be performed only when you already know the voice of your messenger.

Do this exercise for ten minutes at a time. " [...] (Source: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho)

Photo Credit            Squirrel listening for sound in case he needs a quick get-away.

© Chèvrefeuille Say’s

You just have to try it to experience it, and I think it's not really necessary to know the voice of your messenger, your guardian angel. It's like listening to the wind, close your eyes, experience the spring breeze, you can feel it on your face, you can feel it playing with your hair ... the spring breeze (by the way all kind of wind) whispers his/her message in your ear. You can listen what the wind does tell you, it is the word of the Creator, Higher Self or what ever name you will give it. My Tanka for Listening

listen with your heart

silence is peace to enjoy

open up your soul

voices within are true sounds

only I know why - listen

Photo Credit

Pilgrimage souvenirs seen in Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Carpe Diem #1138 - Hospitality

My Response to Carpe Diem #1138 - Road to Santiago - Hospitality

This episode is titled “Hospitality” and it refers to be friendly and loving to another human being in "The Pilgrimage”.

Along The Road to Santiago you can always find shelter at old barns, small villages, hotels, homes and more that is one of the "laws" of the Road to Santiago, 

while you are on your Road to Santiago as a pilgrim, wearing the St. James Scallop, you always will find a place to stay, to rest, to eat and drink, but also to sleep. 

Photo Credit

St James Scallop - A marker in the pavement in the town of Navarrete, La Rioja, Spain, indicates the route of the Way of St. James through the town's center.

This is also the deeper meaning of walking the Road ... be grateful for everything you got. 

The people living along the Road will give you shelter because they know that giving you a place to rest will give them a good feeling and it gives them the love, the unconditional love of our Creator.

This month we have been walking the Road to Santiago together with Paulo Coelho the world famous author from Brazil. 

"The Pilgrimage" is our guide along the Road, it has been a great inspiration to me, I have learned so much, it felt as though I was walking it myself.

Sometimes walking the road there are times when nature isn’t kind to the traveler, this could be one of the times when hospitality is welcomed.

Photo Credit

Dark stormy weather on the Road to Santiago

Tanka for hospitality

though times may be hard

walking the pilgrimage road

help available

just trust in the lord above

angels watching over you

Carpe Diem #1137 The Bridge

My Response to Carpe Diem #1137 - Road to Santiago - The Bridge

This episode is titled "The Bridge" and it refers to some of the paragraphs in "The Pilgrimage":

[...] One morning Paulo and his guide Petrus. arrived at an immense bridge, totally out of proportion to the modest stream that coursed below it. 

They had a talk over breakfast - going something like this:-

‘But it is known along the Road to Santiago as the “honorable passage.” 

These fields around us were the site of some bloody battles between the Suevians and the Visigoths, and later between Alphonse III’s soldiers and the Moors.

Maybe the bridge is oversize to allow all that blood to run past it without flooding the city.’

‘However, it wasn’t the Visigoth hordes or the triumphant cries of Alphonse III that gave this bridge its name. 

It was another story of love and death.'

During the first centuries of the Road to Santiago, pilgrims, priests, nobles, and even kings came from all over Europe to pay homage to the saint. 

Because of this, there was also an influx of assailants and robbers. 

History has recorded innumerable cases of robbery of entire caravans of pilgrims and of horrible crimes committed against lone travelers.’

‘Because of the crimes, some of the nobility decided to provide protection for the pilgrims, and each of the nobles involved took responsibility for protecting one segment of the Road. 

But just as rivers change their course, people’s ideas are subject to alteration. 

In addition to frightening the malefactors, the knights began to compete with each other to determine who was the strongest and most courageous on the Road. 

It wasn’t long before they began to do battle with each other, and the bandits returned to the Road with impunity.' [...] (Source: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho)

Photo Credit

You can see the original bridge that pilgrims used to cross over the Miño River in Portomarin,

It is located on the pilgrimage route known as the French Way.

The town of Portomarín was constructed and built next to a Roman bridge over the Minho River and rebuilt in the Middle Ages.

New Tanka for “the Bridge”.

beautiful bridges

rivers change courses in floods

some taking the bridge with them

like bridges built between friends

they can change directions too

Photo Credit

Carpe Diem #1136 - Imagine This

My Response to Carpe Diem #1136 - Road to Santiago - Imagine This

In Lesson 1116 we studied Saint James Scallops, the lesson for today is:- to trigger our inspiration, your muses with some more beautiful images along the Road to Santiago. 

Here is a paragraph from the study.

Mme Lourdes took a hat and a cape from the box.

 They seemed to be very old but well preserved. 

She asked me to stand in the middle of the room, and she began silently to pray. 

Then she placed the cape on my shoulders and the hat on my head. 

I could see that scallop shells had been sewn onto both the hat and the shoulders of the cape. 

Without interrupting her prayers, the old woman seized a shepherd’s crook from the corner of the room and made me take it in my right hand. 

A small water gourd hung from the crook. 

There I stood: dressed in Bermuda shorts and a T-shirt that read ‘I LOVE NY,’ covered by the medieval garb of the pilgrims to Compostela.

(Source: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho)

I have three picture which I’m sharing with you.

The first one is Backpacks with the Scallop Shells on.

Photo Credit

This is my Tanka poem I wrote for that 1116 lesson, which suits the Scallop symbol nicely.

mme lourdes ask questions

scallops symbol for pilgrims

register the walk

no guide without the password

swear obedience to your guide.

Photo Credit

These two pictures are signs with the scallop shell on them that you may see if you walk the “Road to Santiago”.

New Tanka for the signs.

imagine seeing

signs along the way like this

highlight feeling good

scallop symbols exciting

the road to santiago

Photo Credit

Carpe Diem #1135 - That Moment

My Response to Carpe Diem #1135 - Road to Santiago - That Moment

A scene which Paulo encounters while on his road to Santiago.

[...] "We arrived one afternoon at the ruins of an old castle of the Order of the Knights Templar. 

We sat down to rest, and while Petrus smoked his usual cigarette, I drank a bit of the wine leftover from lunch. 

I studied the view that surrounded us: a few peasant houses, the tower of the castle, the undulating fields ready for sowing. 

To my right appeared a shepherd, guiding his flock past the walls of the castle, bound for home. 

The sky was red, and the dust raised by the animals blurred the view, making it look like a dream or a magic vision. 

The shepherd waved to us, and we waved back. 

The sheep passed in front of us and continued down the road. .... It was an impressive scene … " [...] (Source: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho)

My thought’s - a tanka poem, 31 syllables.

wandering the path

following one behind the other

nibble here and there

enjoy the warmth from above

lord please bless the shepherds flock

Photo Credit

This photo looks just like Paulo said “The sheep passed in front of us and continued down the road”.

Carpe Diem #1134 - Beyond Control

My Response to Carpe Diem #1134 - Road to Santiago - Beyond Control

We are on our way to Santiago De Compostela, walking that famous route, St. James Way or The Camino, the Road to Santiago. 

This month we were on route to Santiago together with Paulo Coelho and his guide Petrus. 

This month we are walking the road to Santiago de Compostela as we read “The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho”.

The Reason Why Paulo Coelho has been walking the “Road to Santiago” is.  to recover and regain the power and the light of his sword, which he lost at the start of his novel.

Photo Credit

In this similarity we can see also that we aren't in control ... the Cosmos, Higher Spirit or whatever name you choose is in control. 

Again I sense that to go beyond control is letting go ...

Let us take a look at a quote from "The Pilgrimage":

[...] ‘In the life on the Road to Santiago, certain things happen that are beyond our control. 

When we first met, I told you that I had read in the gypsy’s eyes the name of the demon you would have to confront. 

I was surprised to learn that the demon was a dog, but I did not say anything to you about it at the time. 

Only after we arrived at that woman’s house – when for the first time, you showed the love that consumes – did I see your enemy.

‘When you chased away that woman’s dog, you did not place him anywhere. 

You didn’t hurl the spirits into a drove of pigs that was thrown over a precipice, as Jesus did. 

You simply chased the dog away. 

Now his force wanders along behind you, without a destination. 

Before finding your sword, you are going to have to decide whether you want to be enslaved by that force or whether you will dominate it.’ [...] (Source: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho)

Photo Credit

will you find the sword

show courage you may succeed

you have accomplished much

higher spirit are winning

are you beyond control now

Carpe Diem #1133 - Walking the Road

My Response to Carpe Diem #1133 - Road to Santiago - Walking the Road

Along the way, we have learned a lot. The Road to Santiago has really awesome and it turned out to be a spiritual adventure., which I enjoyed, learning much.

Photo Credit

clouds warming the heart

tracks twisting around the hills

pilgrims full of hope

looking for the next moment

rejoicing to the heavens

Carpe Diem #1132 - ‘The wrong answer will indicate the right one.’ (Petrus)

My Response to Carpe Diem #1132 - Road to Santiago - ‘The wrong answer will indicate the right one.’ (Petrus)

This month we have been walking with Chèvrefeuille the road to Santiago de Compostela as we read The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho.

We are almost at the goal of our pilgrimage of this month, Santiago De Compostela

We have walked the Road together with Paulo and his guide Petrus while we were reading "The Pilgrimage". 

Photo Credit

This is another exercise Paula accomplishes, interesting reading.

While Paulo and Petrus are on their way they encounter a sacred cross that has broken and fallen. 

Paulo shakes his head but doesn't do anything to resolve this. 

Petrus however, commands him to repair the cross. 

And then Paulo experiences in a spiritual way what the Saviour has felt.

[...] ‘The wrong answer will indicate the right one.’ 

The impossible solution would be to try to drag the cross to a different place; 

I no longer had the strength to do that. 

It was also impossible to try digging deeper into the ground. 

So if the impossible answer was to go deeper into the earth, the possible answer was to raise the earth. 

But how? 

And suddenly … I could raise the earth!

I began to collect all the stones nearby and placed them around the hole, mixing them with the earth I had removed. 

With great effort, I lifted the foot of the cross a little and supported it with stones to raise it higher off the ground. 

In half an hour, the ground was higher, and the hole was deep enough.  

Now I just had to get the cross into the hole. 

It was the last step, and I had to make it work. 

One of my hands was numb, and the other was giving me a great deal of pain. 

My arms were wrapped in bandages. 

But my back was all right; it had just a few scratches. 

If I could lie down beneath the cross and raise it bit by bit, I would be able to slide it into the hole.

I stretched out on the ground, feeling the dust in my nose and eyes. 

With the hand that was numb, I raised the cross a fraction and slid underneath it. 

Carefully, I adjusted my position so that its trunk rested squarely on my back. 

I felt its weight and knew that it would be heavy to lift but not impossible. 

I thought about the Seed Exercise, and very slowly I squirmed into a fetal position, balancing the cross on my back. 

Several times I thought it was going to fall, but I was working slowly; 

I was able to sense the direction it might take and correct for it by repositioning my body. 

I finally achieved the position I wanted, with my knees in front of me and the cross balanced. 

For a moment, the foot of the cross shook on the pile of stones, but it did not fall out of place.

‘It’s a good thing I don’t have to save the universe,’ 

I thought, oppressed by the weight of the cross and everything it represented. 

A profoundly religious feeling took possession of me. 

I remembered that another person had carried the cross on his shoulders and that his damaged hands had not been able to free themselves from the wood or the pain as mine could. 

This religious feeling was loaded down with pain, but I forgot about it immediately because the cross began to shake again.

Then, slowly raising myself up, I began a rebirth.

I couldn’t look behind me, and sound was my only means of orientation. 

But just a while ago I had learned how to listen to the world, as if Petrus had guessed that I was going to need this kind of knowledge. 

I felt the weight of the cross and sensed that the stones were accommodating each other. The cross rose bit by bit, as if to help me in this test. 

It was as if the cross, itself, wanted to return to its position, framing that section of the Road to Santiago. 

One final push was all that was needed. 

If I could get into a seated position, the trunk of the cross would slide down my back into the hole. 

One or two of the stones had been dislodged, but the cross was now helping me, since its foot remained in place where I had built up the wall. 

Finally, a pull on my back indicated that the base was free. 

It was the final moment, just as at the waterfall when I had had to fight my way through the current: 

the most difficult moment, because it is then that we fear failure and want to give up before it occurs. 

Once again I sensed how absurd the task was, trying to raise a cross when all I really wanted to do was find my sword. 

But none of these thoughts was important. 

With a sudden thrust, I raised my back, and  the cross slid into place

At that moment I recognised once again that fate had been directing the work I had done. 

I stood there expecting the cross to fall in the other direction, scattering the stones I had placed. 

Then I thought that maybe my push had not been strong enough and that the cross was going to fall back on top of me. 

But what I heard was the muffled sound of something hitting against the bottom of the hole.

I turned carefully. 

The cross was upright, and it was still trembling from the impact. 

Some stones were rolling down their slope, but the cross was not going to fall. 

I quickly put the stones back in place and embraced  the cross so that it would stop wavering. 

I felt alive and hot, certain that the cross had been my friend throughout all of my work. 

I stepped away slowly, improving the placement of the stones with my feet. 

I stood there admiring my work for a long time, until my wounds began to hurt. 

Petrus was still asleep. 

I went over to him and nudged him with my foot. 

He awoke with a start and looked at the cross. 

‘Very good,’ was all that he said." [...] (Source: The Pilghrimage by Paulo Coelho) 

Photo Credit

the weight of the cross

takes a man to bare the pain

while walking the trail

with the right musical cord

the head can overcome all

Carpe Diem #1131 meditation

My Response to Carpe Diem #1131 - Road to Santiago - Meditation.

This month we are walking with Chèvrefeuille the road to Santiago de Compostela as we read The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho.

Today the word is Meditation - Meditation is a precise technique for resting the mind and attaining a state of consciousness that is totally different from the normal waking state. It is the means for fathoming all the levels of ourselves and finally experiencing the center of consciousness within. Meditation is not a part of any religion; it is a science, which means that the process of meditation follows a particular order, has definite principles, and produces results that can be verified.

In meditation, the mind is clear, relaxed, and inwardly focused. When you meditate, you are fully awake and alert, but your mind is not focused on the external world or on the events taking place around you. Meditation requires an inner state that is still and one-pointed so that the mind becomes silent. When the mind is silent and no longer distracts you, meditation deepens.

These couple of paragraphs were copied from - https://yogainternational.com/article/view/the-real-meaning-of-meditation  check it out.

Chèvrefeuille Tells how Paulo and Petrus (his guide) are on their way to Santiago use several exercises to find their deeper grounds. 

The Blue Sphere Exercise

Seat yourself comfortably, and relax. Try not to think about anything.

1. Feel how good it is to be alive. 

Let your heart feel free and affectionate; let it rise above and beyond the details of the problems that may be bothering you. 

Begin to sing softly a song from your childhood. 

Imagine that your heart is growing, filling the room – and later your home – with an intense, shining blue light.

2. When you reach this point, begin to sense the presence of the saints (or other beings) in which you placed your faith when you were a child. 

Notice that they are present, arriving from everywhere, smiling and giving you faith and confidence.

3. Picture the saints approaching you, placing their hands on your head and wishing you love, peace, and communion with the world – the communion of the saints.

4. When this sensation becomes strong, feel that the blue light is a current that enters you and leaves you like a shining, flowing river. 

This blue light begins to spread through your house, then through your neighborhood, your city, and your country; it eventually envelops the world in an immense blue sphere. 

This is the manifestation of the great love that goes beyond the day-to-day struggle; it reinforces and invigorates, as it provides energy and peace.

5. Keep the light spread around the world for as long as possible. Your heart is open, spreading the love. This phase of the exercise should last for a minimum of five minutes.

6. Come out of your trance, bit by bit, and return to reality. 

The saints will remain near. The blue light will continue to spread around the world.

This ritual can and should be done with more than one person. 

When this is the case, the participants should hold hands while they do the exercise.

It's a wonderful way of meditating. 

I will bring you the comfort, peace, love and silence you need to break loose from your daily life. 

You just have to try it to experience it. It's really awesome.

My Tanka - Meditation

surroundings are quiet

mindfall of past happenings 

light bright but not blue

grandmother is standing near
offering her hand to peace

Carpe Diem #1130 - Road to Santiago - Intuition.

My Response to Carpe Diem #1130 - Road to Santiago - Intuition.

This month we are walking with Chèvrefeuille the road to Santiago de Compostela as we read The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho.

Today the word is Intuition the Noun meaning of Intuition is - the ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning.

In "The Pilgrimage" Paulo learns a beautiful exercise named "the water exercise'. 

The Arousal of Intuition (The Water Exercise):

Make a puddle of water on a smooth, nonabsorbent surface.

 Look into the puddle for a while. 

Then, begin to play with it, without any particular commitment or objective. 

Make designs that mean absolutely nothing. 

Do this exercise for a week, allowing at least ten minutes each time. 

Don’t look for practical results from this exercise; it is simply calling up your intuition, little by little. 

When this intuition begins to manifest itself at other times of the day, always trust in it.

The results of Paulo’s feeling when he does a "water exercise": 

[...] I emptied the remaining water onto the cement and a small puddle formed. 

I did not have any image or shape in mind, and I wasn’t seeking one. 

I swirled my fingers through the cold water, and I experienced the same kind of hypnosis that one feels when staring into the flames of a fire. 

I thought about nothing; 

I was just playing – playing with a puddle of water. 

I made some streaks at the edge of the puddle, and it seemed to become a wet sun, but the streaks quickly rejoined the puddle and disappeared. 

With the palm of my hand, I batted at the center of the puddle; 

the water splashed away, covering the cement with droplets, black stars on a gray background. 

I was completely lost in that absurd exercise, an exercise that had not the slightest purpose but was delightful to do. 

I felt that my mind had stopped working almost completely, a feeling I had previously achieved only after long periods of meditation and relaxation. 

At the same time, something told me that down deep, in places that my mind could not reach, a force was being born and becoming ready to manifest itself. 

That puddle of water established a contact – however fragile – with the Milky Way above me. 

It reflected the stars, created designs I could not understand and it gave me the feeling not that I was wasting time but that I was creating a new code for communicating with the world. 

It was the soul’s secret code – the language that we know but so seldom hear. [...] 

(Source: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho)

            My Tanka about Intuition

child in a puddle

watching the ripples spread out

little mind enjoying fun

reading the thoughts of a child

enjoying a puddle splash

Carpe Diem #1129 - Road to Santiago - Friendship

My Response to Carpe Diem #1129 - Road to Santiago - Friendship

“Friendship ... cherish your friends, cherish them because they will always be there for you not only in life but also after life …”.

The above quote was copied from “Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. The warmhearted and loving virtual family that have become my friend”.

Now in my late seventies, I still have my husband and family.

As for my friends they have all passed away, one day I will meet up with them again if I go to heaven.

My Tanka - Friendship

friends may come and go

as many years disappear

all the pitfalls have vanished

my real friend are virtual now

making everyday special

Carpe Diem #1128 - Imagine the Road to Santiago

My Response to Carpe Diem #1128 - Road to Santiago - Imagine the Road to Santiago.

This is an episode of Carpe Diem Imagination. 

Here is the image to inspire us. 

It is taken somewhere along the Road to Santiago.

My tanka inspired by the image above.

twist and turns beware

heat storms are always brewing

shelter hard to find

we the pilgrims seeking peace.

walk with the spirits blessings

Carpe Diem #1127 Penitence

My Response to Carpe Diem #1127 - Road to Santiago - Penitence. 

 I will continue telling a little of the story that Chevrefeuille is teaching us, so you may understand what the tanka I will write below is all about.

Creating a picture about what is happening on the “Road to Santiago”.

 Why is this post called Penitence?

This is a story that was told by an old man Paulo and Petrus met along the road.

Many centuries ago, a princess who was walking the Road to Santiago, Felicia of Aquitaine, decided, on her way back to Compostela, to give up everything and live here. 

She was love itself, because she divided all of her wealth among the poor people of the region and began to care for the sick.’

‘Her brother, Duke Guillermo, was sent by their father to bring her home. 

But Felicia refused to go. 

In desperation, the duke fatally stabbed her there in that small church.

‘When he came to his senses and realized what he had done, the duke went to Rome to ask the pope’s forgiveness. 

As penitence, the pope ordered him to walk to Compostela. 

Then a curious thing happened: on his way back, when he arrived here, he had the same impulse as his sister, and he stayed on, living in that little church that his sister had built, 

caring for the poor until the last days of his long life.’ [...] (Source: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho)

Photo Credit - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camino_de_Santiago

So you see why this post is called Penitence - it means “affected by sense of guilt”, now to write my tanka.

strange word penitence

meaning feeling sense of guilt

road to santiago

retreat for spiritual growth

full of unconditional love

Carpe Diem #1126 Depend on yourself

My Response to Carpe Diem #1126 - Road to Santiago - Depend on yourself.

In my last post #1125 my Tanka introduced you to Father Jordi

Now Father Jordi introduces us to the meaning of the picture below by the quote below.

[...] ‘The Jacobean route is marked with yellow pointers, painted all the way across Spain. 

If you should lose your way at any time, look for the markers – on trees, on stones, and on traffic signs – and you will be able to find a safe place. 

Try to depend mainly on yourself ". [...] (Source: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho)

This is part of the teachings, Chevrefeuille, is creating in our mind about the Road to Santiago. While Paulo is on the path seeking his lost sword.

My Tanka

depend on yourself

like water flows over rocks

follow the true path

it will help enrich your life

seeking the holy spirit

Carpe Diem #1125 - Road to Santiago - is part of the Tarot

Carpe Diem #1125 - Road to Santiago - is part of the Tarot

My Response to Carpe Diem #1125 -  Road to Santiago - about this is part of the Tarot

Now there is a mystery involved with the study of “The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho”.

Father Jordi is a sorcerer in the Tradition, he and Paulo have a conversation together which I will reproduce here in my tanka

Photo Credit

perfume of the herbs

bring sweet smells when lighting 

father Jordi tells

there are four roads to follow

but there is a secret road 

 This is getting interesting I wonder that will be coming tomorrow?