Noticing the Familiar

From A Million Steps by Koontz: "Walking into a clean bathroom was a simple pleasure of life that had been nonexistent since St. Jean... At home and during most of my previous vacations, this was the life I took for granted. Until something is gone, its value seems to diminish with familiarity. Like many things on the Camino, happiness is found in some very simple places."

That, in particular, was not my experience. Every single albergue (think "youth hostel" with bunk beds) offered a spotlessly clean bathroom. I must admit, however, that some of them were a bit difficult to negotiate modestly if someone else were even washing their hands. The place to hang your clothing was outside the shower where the public sinks were. Some of them had an all-in-one private facility: shower, toilet, sink, and hooks to hang your clothes. By the time one person had showered, the entire floor was wet! But still clean. So, I never felt that sense of relief that Koontz did when he stepped into a clean bathroom. In fact, the albergues were well cared-for in each place we stayed. I never had a sense of "roughing" it.

But I did have a similar experience regarding walking. The Tuesday after I returned home, I led a Centering Prayer group. As I walked slowly around the benches in Chapel, before sitting down for 20 minutes of Centering Prayer, I became acutely aware of how good it felt to walk without pain! No blisters! Walking is such a familiar daily "activity" that I often do it without giving it much thought. Taking that time to slow down, I felt the joy of comfortable shoes.

The beauty of the Camino scenery never rivaled my present environs at the Mount. Our House of Prayer is called an "Oasis off Route 22." The trick in every day life is to remember to notice!!!

Be, Here, Now

The Camino experience was so much like ordinary life. Not in the details, certainly! My present activities are vastly different from walking miles every day; sleeping in a bunk bed; enjoying the company of CJ and Jean; eating a Torta de Santiago (daily!); following a clearly marked out path along my journey...
But the experience of God... yes! In the everydayness of life, God pops up gently in unexpected places. On the Camino, my struggle to walk with an especially painful blister gave me the opportunity to be alone and pray a Rosary, thinking of the many people who rely on my prayers every day. Each person I encountered had his/her special story - so similar to all the people I encounter in my daily life in the States. The beauty and abundance of Nature surrounded me - as it does here at the Mount - or at the Jersey Shore! God's presence was all over the place! Not in "mystical" or "out of body" experiences, but in that ordinariness I experience every day.
God of surprises, show me your face! -- and let me have the eyes to see you!