The Conversation
by jphiker
One of the fun things that happened to us during our Camino walk, was the experience having dialogue, or a “conversation”, all along the walk with so many pilgrims from all over the world. As we slowed, we would make new friends. Other times friends we made during one part of the walk, we would later meet again. The “Camino grapevine” was so real and alive. During a stop or lunch or a coffee, we often would pick up tips from fellow pilgrims. At the end of the walk, there was great joy when we ran into the our pilgrim friends again and learned how the rest of the journey went for them. It is the way of the Camino it seems – It is a conversation.
It seems to me, that all of life, is a conversation with everything. During a recent trip to Northern California, my family and I had a very special experience with an ancient grove of Redwood trees in Humboldt Redwood State Park. We hiked through the Bull Creek/Rockefeller grove. This Rockefeller forest is the largest remaining contiguous old-growth coastal redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forest in the world. These amazing trees soar to immense heights that seem to disappear into the sky above. There is such a different feeling than walking through an old growth forest in the Pacific Northwest due to the spacious feel of the open under story and the carpet of the simple Redwood Sorrel and needles spread out at our feet.
It was a breath-taking and humbling experience. It was as if these magnificent trees we speaking to us. I dare say, that almost anyone that goes there, is likely to changed by the “conversation” with this most “sacred space”. I can not wait to return someday and spend more time having a “deeper conversation” with the Redwood trees of Humboldt Redwood State Park.
During our return home from California, we passed through a section of the Oregon coast where we spent a month this past Spring. It was like having a having a “conversation” with an old friend. We stopped at our favorite beach and ate at one of our favorite restaurants. As we passed by the familiar parts of this coastline that we spent so much time getting to know, the memories flooded back to us. We had such a different conversation then the brief ones we might have if we are simply passing through an area where we never stayed long of enough to have a deeper conversation.
Life is a conversation. Let’s keep this conversation going by really getting to know each other and see our connection to each other. Return to spaces you love to go to over and over during different seasons. Keep the conversation going!
All things are connected,
John
Photograph of the Month
I decided to try a little something different and share a few of the photographs I took during our hike through the Redwoods. I am was really disappointed in my attempt to capture the beauty and awe of these trees. Here is a slideshow of some of the images I captured.
weareallpilgrims 