Are we there yet??

We went for a great hike this weekend. It was going to be one of those exceptional days,for Vic and I.
We drove to Mills River NC and found the trail head for the Turkey Pen Gap trail. It wasn't easy to find!

Mills River is a town located in Henderson County, North Carolina. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. It lies in the northwestern part of the county, covering roughly 22 square miles, and located near Etowah and Fletcher.

The first couple we met, also getting ready to start hiking. When I asked them if they had hiked this trail before, he said, "we started once before but ran into a black bear and turned around". BLACK BEAR, are you kidding me?? Not far down the trail I started to see notices, placed by the park service warning of bears. Now, I am not a person who scares easily but that was making me nervous. 

Note the bottom sign….Bear Sanctuary

Luckily, the trail was gorgeous and I was completely distracted by the tremendous beauty. The trail was filled with rhododendrons and the Mills Creek ran next to the path. Nestle is our dog, and he is never happier than when he is with us and there is  water for him to swim in. He often will swim parallel to us  on the trail.  We were off to a great start of a hike/day. 

The trail is listed as strenuous, so we knew what to expect. About 3 miles into the hike the trail started up the mountain, Turkey Mountain. And up it went. Both Vic and were looking to the sky to see the ridge. Which got me thinking about mind over matter. If I can just see the light of the top of the mountain, I feel like I can make it. And we did. We stopped and had a little lunch, rested and carried on. But now the trail was going up again. I thought we had reached the ridge?! And up it went. We reached another plateau and a fellow hiker coming the other way informed us that we still had quite a ways to get to the top. Are you kidding me? We are not at the top, I thought. Mind over matter, just put one foot in front of the other, that was my mantra. That little bit of hope that can motivate me and keep me going through the hardest part.  We had just climbed over 1800 feet in about a mile. The views to the west, of the Smokies, were spectacular.

The funny thing is the down hill was almost as hard as the up hill. It was straight down. No switchbacks or no "steps" to ease the grade, just down, down down. By this point Nestle, who had been so full of life, had lost his "pep" and was just sticking right with us and looking for water to drink..   

all of this made me think….. isn't that struggle similar to our faith?
Aren't we working towards getting to the top? Trying to find that "holy" place that is beautiful, rewarding and yet we don't know when we will get there, how far it is, or what it will be like? Yet, we have faith, that if we put one foot in front of the other, do the right thing, we will get there and there will be a reward.

The land was ours before we were the land’s.

She was our land more than a hundred years

Before we were her people. She was ours

In Massachusetts, in Virginia,

But we were England’s, still colonials,

Possessing what we still were unpossessed by,

Possessed by what we now no more possessed.

Something we were withholding made us weak

Until we found out that it was ourselves

We were withholding from our land of living,

And forthwith found salvation in surrender.

Such as we were we gave ourselves outright

(The deed of gift was many deeds of war)

To the land vaguely realizing westward,

But still unstoried, artless, unenhanced,

Such as she was, such as she would become.

The Gift Outright  Robert Frost

 Today is Easter Sunday 2013, he has risen! The ultimate day of hope and faith!

 

Is it Luck???

?Luck of the Irish??

Call it luck, call in fate, call it serendipitous, call it chance, or call it divine intervention. Today, Vic and I had an awesome experience with a group of people that  connected us with, just by chance a group of people also interested in walking the Camino. A man inquired about Vic, at work. By chance that person was told that Vic was preparing for a long walk in Spain. That man contacted Vic and said he was getting group together to talk about the Camino, in Spain. What are the chances????? 

Today that group of 9 people met in a coffee shop. Two of the nine had walked the Camino in September 2012. Others had various levels of commitment to the pilgramage. ALL were very excited to discuss it and share information. The best part was we had this instant bond of friendship, even though we had just met. We all felt it. I wasn't expecting that. But it was awesome.

The 2 that had walked, The Way of Saint James, shared some very important tips.

Some of the tips included;

1. Allow enough time to adjust to jet lag before starting the trek, i.e. take your time. It's a journey, not a destination.
2. Be prepared for blisters, but they can be minimized with good foot care. Including changing your socks twice a day.Using Glide (I don't know what this is though) and stretching.
3. Stretching and warming up before walking is critical. People do get injured and have to stop  or delay their walk.
4.  Lighten your load, then lighten it again. Too much weight is your worst enemy.
5.  Wear sunscreen and a hat. You are unprotected most of the day                         
6.  Take some Starbucks coffee and shop for groceries, to have in case you can't find food in the morning, before starting your trek.
7. There are "Camino moments" along the pilgrimage.  Be open to change, improvisation and events that you would never expect.

I am ready for some time to reflect, and commune with fellow pilgrims, share in random acts of kindness.  It is the draw for many pilgrims, I think, to have this experience and come away feeling better about humanity and possibly yourself. That is not something I encounter each day.
Don't get me wrong. I live a comfortable life, have WONDERFUL friends, family and love the people I work with. But you've got to admit, life is hard, and people are not always kind :(.  And maybe we just are not open to these small acts, in our busy, busy lives?

The group plans to meet again in about a month. Everyone shared in the excitement of a shared goal. We also plan on doing some group hikes together, in preparation. I am so stinking excited about this!

I wish we had time to walk the entire Camino. Work gets in the way of my life!!

"As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you."
~ Mere Christianity CS Lewis

Finding that holy place

I have talk in this blog about various religions and what they do for their faith. The power of faith is amazing and fascinating to me. One expression that I like and often use at various times in my life.., "Fear is lack of faith". That little slogan has comforted me many times.

I am not perfect person, and certainly not a perfect Christian, but these simple steps I can do. that's how I operate best, simply. Sad but true.

Again, I am asking about faith. I guess this is because I feel that my faith is unworthy. 

Here is a definition that I like;

"Faith involves accepting claims about the character of a deity, nature, or the universe. While some have argued that faith is opposed to reason, proponents of faith argue that the proper domain of faith concerns questions which cannot be settled by evidence."

The word faith is often used as a substitute for hope, trust or belief.

I am frequently my worst enemy. Questioning myself frequently, and lacking in confidence.

Back to the Camino, and the draw to this infamous place and our desire to walk there. 

I have told you about The Apostle James and his process to Sainthood in Spain. Now I am going to share some of the "miracles" attributed to him. 

His time is Spain, evangelizing was not very successful. He converted only a handful of people. He then returned to Jerusalem. Where he was beheaded as the 1st apostolic  martyr. His head and bones where brought back to the west coast of Spain.    

The Apostle James and his legend was forgotten for hundreds of years. Then when Moors invaded Spain the "miracles" of James returned. There are legends of these miracles where James inspired warriors to fight ferociously against the Moors. There are also miracles of injustice, where James brought the spirit of a person back to life to prove that persons innocence. This is what inspired people to fight for his Sainthood, and to make him the Patron Saint of Spain. It was the beginning of the Camino

What is a miracle??   We all think we know…

I like this definition by C. S. Lewis

"I use the word Miracle to mean an interference with Nature by supernatural power."

C.S Lewis is a favorite of mine because he is a deeply spiritual person, but he speaks to me when he uses rational thought to explain faith.

 

“Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see." 

C. S Lewis

For God gave us a spirit not of Fear but of power and love and self control. Timothy 1:7

Those gorgeous Italian red shoes

The conclave 

I don't profess to be a theologian. I have a complicated and confused faith.But I was raised in the Catholic church. I can make fun of it, but when I hear others make little of it, it makes me uncomfortable. The rituals of the church are ancient and the absolute beginning of the Christian faith as we know it. I love the rituals of my church. They bring me so much comfort. But this week I got annoyed when I saw the cardinals at the Vatican. The expensive cars, the vestments with genuine gold inlay and the finery. I do know that all priests and nuns profess a vow of poverty, when they enter the faith. The contradiction flew all over me (all of your Protestants please bite your tongue). My prayers today are for MY church to elect a man with true faith, that can administer the Vatican and help bring the ancient rituals into the 21 Century with grace and intelligence. 

Now I will tell you what I have recently learned about the conclave.

Conclave = Latin cum, with, and clavis, key; a place that may be securely closed.

There are 115 Cardinals who are eligible to vote from all around the world. Cardinals over the age of 80 are ineligible. Two Cardinals that were eligible but will not be voting — a seriously ill Indonesian cardinal and a Scottish cardinal who acknowledged sexually inappropriate conduct.

From the start of the conclave onward, the Cardinals are completely cut off from the outside world and stay inside a hostel within the Vatican. Voting takes place inside a locked Sistine Chapel. Tweets and texts will be completely banned (that is so comforting to know), and Cardinals are supposed to be completely cut off from the outside world — TV, radio, and newspapers are all banned.

Security at the Sisten Chapel will be tight. Sweeps are frequently done  for bugs or recording devices, and jamming devices will be used to detect any cellphones.The famed chimney was installed in the Sistine Chapel on Saturday.

After the first day, four ballots will be held each day, with the cardinals writing "Eligo in summen pontificem," or "I elect as supreme pontiff" and then the name. Ballots are then stuffed into an urn and counted.

A two-thirds plus one majority are required to elect the Pope.In the last few hundred years, the typical Conclave has lasted 2-4 days.

Three Cardinals delegated as Scrutineers count the ballots, to ensure everyone has voted

each make a count and then burn the ballots. The scrutineers douse

discarded ballots with chemicals to make the smoke black if there isn't a Pope, and make the smoke white in the event that "Habemus Papam".

Fit for a POPE

When we have a new Pope then he must be dressed as a Pope!!! Before the start of the conclave, multiple sized outfits will be delivered to the Vatican and left in a room next to the Sistine Chapel, where the newly elected pope changes into his new clothes.

Papal dress code: So what exactly does a pope wear?  The basic garment is the hand-stitched white wool cassock with white cape and wide silk sleeves. The cassock is fastened by 33 silk buttons recalling the years of the life of Christ, and is worn with a silk brocade sash with gold fringe. Later this sash will have the new pope’s papal seal embroidered on it. Over the cassock he will wear the classic burgundy red mozzetta, a short elbow-length cape worn by high prelates for formal occasions, and a gold embroidered stole.

The pope wears a white “zucchetto,” the beanie-like hat that bishops wear in purple and cardinals have in red.

Now the shoes…my favorite part!

Pope Benedict wore bright red shoes, which were made by Prada.  In fact, red shoes make up part of the traditional papal garb. Until the mid-1960s, popes wore red velvet slippers embroidered with a gold cross, and until not long before that people paid homage to the pope by kissing his slippered foot.

I love those red shoes…

So bear with me as I continue to share my feelings and thoughts about my church and my faith. I don't claim to the expert, just a very simple person looking for my way. 
 And a love of red shoes…..

But with all that being said I still believe, and have faith in my church and in my loving God.

"You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; It never was between you and them anyway."  Mother Teresa

War and passion in Spain

On July 18, 1936, a conservative army officer in Morocco, Francisco Franco, led a mutiny against the government. The civil war that followed lasted three years and nearly a million people died.

Pablo Picasso 1951

This artwork is the classic man versus man and also some man versus society. The unarmed and naked civilians are about to be brutally killed.

 Several hundred leftist Americans served in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade on the side of the republic. Approximately 2,800 Americans served the Republic during the Spanish Civil War. More than 700 were killed in action or died of wounds or sickness. Most American volunteers returned in December and January 1938. This is the militia that Vic's father "Poncho" was a part of, as a boy of around 15. It is hard for me to fathom that a Mother would let her teenager go to war. But I think that is the passion that Spanish people feel for their country!   

Francisco Franco

Then in 1947, the Spanish people approved a Franco-drafted succession law declaring Spain a monarchy again (in theory only). Franco was the chief of state, and the the King was a just puppet. In 1969, Franco and the Spanish “states” designated Prince Juan Carlos Alfonso Victor María de Borbón to become king of Spain when the Fascist government of Franco ended. Franco died on Nov. 20, 1975, and Juan Carlos was proclaimed king on Nov. 22 1975.
The transition back to the Monarchy began in 1975. The transition relied on  support both inside and outside of Spain. Western governments, i.e. the United States, favored a Spanish constitutional monarchy, as did many Spanish.

The period from 1975 to now has been a time of tremendous change for Spain. It has been an exciting time but there have been growing pains as well. The diversity and creativity that was squashed by Franco, has come to the forefront and resulted in turmoil and tensions in Spain.

A fellow blogger described it this way  "one Spain is heavily Catholic, reactionary, and centrist, the other a secular (anti-clerical), progressive, modern and in this sense more 
post-Enlightenment European Spain" .

From what I have learned, this resulted in a

rich pluralism of Spain's many cultures and people today. 

"We must be willing to let go of the life we planned.....so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” -Joseph Campbell