The Camino and Me Counselling and Psychotherapy

The Camino and Me Counselling and Psychotherapy
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    • Cork – St Jean Pied de Port
      • Day 1; St Jean Pied de Port – Roncesvalles
      • Day 2; Roncesvalles – Zubiri
      • Day 3; Zubiri – Pamplona
      • Day 4; Pamplona to Obanos
      • Day 5; Obanos – Estella
      • Day 6; Estella – Los Arcos
      • Day 7; Los Arcos – Logroño
      • Day 8; Logroño – Ventosa
      • Day 9; Ventosa – Cirueña
      • Day 10; Cirueña – Santo Domingo de la Calzada
      • Day 11; Santo Domingo – Belorado
      • Day 12; Belorado – San Juan de Ortega
      • Day 13; San Juan de Ortega – Burgos
      • Day 14; Burgos – Hontanas
      • Day 15; Hontanas – Castrojeriz
      • Day 16; Castrojeriz – Frómista
      • Day 17; Frómista – Carrión de los Condes
      • Day 18; Carrión de los Condes – Ledigos
      • Day 19; Ledigos – Calzadilla de los Hermanillos
      • Day 20; Calzadilla de los Hermanillos – Mansilla de las Mulas
      • Day 21; Mansilla de las Mulas – León
      • Day 22; Leon – Hospital de Órbigo
      • Day 23; Hospital de Órbigo – Astorga – 15 km
      • Day 24; Astorga – Foncebadón – 27.2 km
      • Day 25; Foncebadón- Ponferrada – 25 km
      • Day 26; Ponferrada – Villafranca del Bierzo – 23.5 km
      • Day 27; Villafranca del Bierzo – La Faba – 25 km
      • Day 28; La Faba – Triacastela – 26 km
      • Day 29; Triacastella – Sarria – 25 km
      • Day 30; Sarria – Portomarín – 22.4 km
      • Day 31; Portomarín – Palas de Rei – 24.8 km
      • Day 32; Palas de Rei – Ribadiso – 25.8 km
      • Day 33; Ribadiso – Lavacolla – 32 km
      • Day 34: Lavacolla – Santiago and Goodbye
      • The Camino and Me
  • Themes
    • Stepping into the Ring
    • Enjoying the mystery
    • Fear and Courage
    • Risk and Vulnerability
    • Meeting and Letting go
    • Giving In
  • Tag: Carrion de los Condes

    • Day 22; Leon – Hospital de Órbigo

      Posted at 3:25 pm by Mary Murphy, on April 1, 2020

      After a breakfast of tea and toast supplied by the nuns, Kathy and I departed the albergue in high spirits; in fact, it was the most carefree I’d felt in three weeks. Although, initially I enjoyed mingling with other pilgrims as we exited the City, after an hour or so I felt tired and I longed to return to stillness.

      With the busyness behind us, the rhythm of the day fell into place as we all spread out again. And in the quietness of the unfolding day, an easy peace settled upon us. We were reunited with life without distraction of any kind and we had nothing to do but put one foot in front of the other. In Kathy’s presence I felt held in a sacred, invisible and powerful container, and I experienced an inner stillness that gave me access to a deeper layer. There was no need to speak, and out of the silence the phrase follow the footsteps of Jesus came to me. It was, in fact, exactly what I felt I was doing in that moment.

      It was evening time when we arrived in Hospital de Órbigo, a really beautiful town, but I had no interest in exploring it. My needs were basic after walking 37.5 km and all I wanted was a bed. Kathy planned to reach Santiago a couple of days ahead of me, and for her that meant some very long days. As our time together was limited, I was prepared to push myself for one day, while knowing the next would be a much short one for me.

      After dinner I advised Kathy that there was no need to set an alarm. We were sharing the dorm with Toby, a young German man I had first met in Carrión de los Condes, where I discovered that one of his habits was to leave each day by 6 a.m., and I thought he couldn’t do that without disturbing me.

      Posted in Day by Day | 0 Comments | Tagged albergue, Camino, Carrion de los Condes, Hispital de Orbigo, Jesus, Leon, peace, Santiago, stillness
    • Day 20; Calzadilla de los Hermanillos – Mansilla de las Mulas

      Posted at 7:27 pm by Mary Murphy, on March 30, 2020

      As I stood in the hallway putting the final touches to my departure preparations, the hospitalero came over and thanked me for staying while he hugged me goodbye. This was an unusual occurrence. Then he pointed me towards the much anticipated seventeen-kilometre section ahead without café or shelter of any kind. Thankfully my visit to the local shop the previous evening had provided me with the necessary sustenance for such an adventure.

      Although it was dark at first, in the distance I could see Sergio, a lovely Italian man who had left a few minutes before me. He had very little English, but still we had bonded. We had both received the individual blessing in Carrión de los Condes, and later when we spoke about it, the memory brought tears to our eyes. Sergio was a very purposeful walker so I didn’t catch up with him, nor did I try to; I was happy to walk alone.

      Although the red soil felt soft underfoot, it didn’t support any trees for shade and respite from the hot day. Yet I enjoyed walking and felt an extraordinary peace throughout. In some ways the landscape became my playground and I found myself talking to what was around me. The small creatures and the low-level prickly bushes became my companions. Looking ahead and around, everything appeared exactly the same; without anything to distract my eye, there was infinite nothingness, and in that there was everything. It was the most perfect spiritual container, spiritual in the sense that it was so pure: just me and the Camino. It felt like an encounter with God: on the one hand vast and infinite, and on the other so very intimate.

      After walking alone for five hours, I stopped at the first opportunity – a bar situated at what was more or less a crossroads. Eugene and Heather were already there when I arrived, as they had powered past me earlier. I felt relaxed in myself and had an easier conversation with Eugene than on any previous occasion. ‘This is the happiest I’ve seen you. You’re shining,’ he said. Almost immediately a discomfort arose in me. Even though he had said something nice, I felt uneasy. After lunch we left together, but I was unable to regain my earlier ease and I wondered what had happened.

      At the albergue in Mansilla, the party was in full swing and I felt happy to be there. In the dorms we were packed in like sardines, while outside in the courtyard everyone seemed to be on holiday and I felt my spirit rise. With my return to joy, I began to see the road I had travelled since my Camino began. In particular, I reflected on what Eugene had said to me a week earlier about taking it all too seriously. As I looked back, I saw that my lightness had gone and with it, my light had been all but extinguished. By way of contrast, I thought of Diane, the singing nun from Peru, and how much joy she carried in her soul. What struck me most clearly was the realisation that despite all the people I had met, no one knew me. For the first time I saw how closed I had been to others. So often I had wanted people to move away quickly or I would move myself. I didn’t want anyone to really see me, preferring to be among strangers than people I knew. In hindsight, I could piece together my story and accept without judgement that I wasn’t able to be any other way.

      Many times over the previous three weeks, I had thought about a man and a relationship that had ended, but it wasn’t until that day in Mansilla de las Mulas that I acknowledged I was still mending a broken heart. No one knew that; in some ways not even I knew that. I didn’t want my Camino to be about him or about my broken heart; I wanted to be past that and on to another chapter. What I didn’t realise was that I had to go deeper into the pain before I could be free of it; only then could I let go of the hurt, anger and resentment that I was projecting onto the world. Wanting is one thing, being ready is quite another.

      Posted in Day by Day | 2 Comments | Tagged Blessing, broken heart, Carrion de los Condes, Closed, God, infinite, infinite nothingness, intimate, joy, light, lightness, Mansilla de las Mulas, peace, projection, pure, see me, shining, Soul, spirit, spiritual container, the way Calzadilla de los Hermanillos
    • Day 18; Carrión de los Condes – Ledigos

      Posted at 6:57 pm by Mary Murphy, on March 28, 2020

      Soon after leaving the albergue I fell into step with Branu, a young Slovakian man I had met over breakfast. But we had not gone far when I stopped. My feet were sore, plus I was walking with a slight limp as the blisters made walking difficult. Unable to put my full weight on my feet, other parts of my body compensated and my natural rhythm altered. My hope was that extra padding and a rearrangement of plasters might give me some relief, but even getting my feet in and out of my shoes was painful. As I sat by the side of the road, Branu waited with me, offering plasters and anything else I needed. Then we were joined by Kirsten from Norway who waited with us until I was ready to move again.

      The guidebook advised that there would be no facilities for seventeen kilometres. In other words, most of the day would be without any comfort whatsoever. When I mentioned my feelings about this anticipated situation to Branu I was met with optimism. He thought that some enterprising individual would have set up a mobile unit somewhere along the route, and about two hours into our walk his prophecy was realised. A mobile unit selling coffee appeared at the side of the road, and while the taste might not have been up to much, the break was very welcome. We relaxed for half an hour or so and I enjoyed being with my new friends. But as time passed it became apparent that Branu and I were not going to be compatible walking companions. He didn’t mind being out in the sun all day, whereas I did. So I left Kirsten and Branu at the impromptu café to set off again on my own.

      The albergue in Ledigos was an interesting collection of somewhat random buildings built onto the rear of a bar that had a large garden and paddling pool. Once settled inside, I discovered that two pilgrims I knew, Anna and Kelly, had a room upstairs in the main building, which I suspected was a bit nicer than the packed outhouse that was my home for the night. In the garden, Christine was paddling her feet in the pool while her friend Sylvia lay in the sun. By contrast I couldn’t take any more of the heat; I was only in the garden to hang out my clothes. After a while, Christine came over and I sought her advice on treating my blisters before enquiring how she was coping. Each day was a struggle for her to remain on the Camino; she wanted to go home. Although I struggled, I never wanted to go home. Maybe that’s because I just wouldn’t give up! But I also had faith in the process, and even though there were times when I really didn’t like what I was experiencing, I knew it would pass.

      That evening, while I joined Anna and Kelly for dinner, Christine and Sylvia were short of cash. Instead of the usual pilgrim meal, Christine told me they had two eggs, some bread, yogurt and enough cash for a beer. She wouldn’t take any money from me and later when I saw them in the garden again, I understood why. They were tucking into an appetising omelette sandwich in the evening sun and I could see nothing more was needed. Simple, wholesome and nourishing.

      Posted in Day by Day | 2 Comments | Tagged Blisters, Camino, Carrion de los Condes, Ledigos, pilgrim meal, Simplicity
    • Day 17; Frómista – Carrión de los Condes

      Posted at 5:57 pm by Mary Murphy, on March 27, 2020

      I had been walking the Meseta for a couple of days and felt I had entered a different phase of the Camino. There were fewer people, stops and shelter, along with much less variety in the terrain and an elusive horizon far off in the distance. Everything seemed to stretch out. Maybe I had stretched out too; I had certainly slowed down. At last I seemed to accept that there was no such thing as getting ahead.

      When I arrived in Carrión de los Condes, I headed for the parish albergue where I met two beautiful young nuns, Maria from Spain and Diane from Peru. At the check-in desk, Maria sat with the male hospitalero inviting pilgrims to join her and Diane for a sing-song before evening Mass. At the appointed time, about twenty of us sat in the foyer in anticipation of being entertained – well, that’s what I anticipated anyway – but before any singing began, we were each asked to introduce ourselves and say what we were looking for from the Camino. I hadn’t expected that. Not only did I feel the discomfort of the truth in the pit of my stomach, I was also first in line to speak. With a shaky voice and a pounding heart I said I was looking for oneness, and just to add to my discomfort, I was asked to repeat what I had said! My mind questioned then whether I had said too much – or perhaps too little; had I been understood? Worst of all, had I sounded too holy?

      After Mass the priest, with the help of Maria’s translation, invited the pilgrim congregation to join him around the altar to receive a blessing. Twenty or so of us stood in readiness for what I anticipated would be a group blessing when unexpectedly, the priest asked us to approach him individually. As he laid his hands on each person’s head, Diane sang in joyful accompaniment, and when I looked over at her through my tears she just nodded. I felt she was saying, yes, it’s all here for you. Then when it was my turn, I walked slowly and as consciously as I could to stand in front of the priest. It was an experience I wanted to savour. I didn’t want to miss a thing, and when I received the blessing, I felt the innocent gratitude of a child truly received. In fact it was like making my first communion all over again.

      Over the previous two weeks I had received a number of blessings, some particularly special, but none compared to that night.

      Posted in Day by Day | 0 Comments | Tagged albergue, Blessing, camino de santiago, Camino Frances, Carrion de los Condes, Meseta, oneness, pilgrim
    • Mary Margaret Murphy

    • Recent Posts

      • Taking the plunge! 30/01/2021
      • Guided by Intention 30/01/2021
      • Day 34: Lavacolla – Santiago and Goodbye 13/04/2020
      • Day 33; Ribadiso – Lavacolla – 32 km 12/04/2020
      • Day 32; Palas de Rei – Ribadiso – 25.8 km 11/04/2020
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