The title is a tease, of course and K fans may spot an oblique reference to "Freedom from the Known" or maybe just the too literal take on it ... anyway the topic is prompted by the submission of the blog to preferred publisher, the Findhorn Press, who also publish the well known guide books to the Camino de Santiago by John Brierley .... a confession to never having read them or any other guide books ... the routes were left rather to chance and intuition, though of course the ubiquitous yellow arrows are a help .... as for hostels, they were never booked ahead ... anyway many of them do not allow it ... first come first served as long as there is the credential ... walkers get first crack, with horse riders next (though stabling is presumably a requirement), and cyclists last. Being a walker and loving the meditative pace of it, there is a sense that cycling is more recreational than spiritual .... and happy to be corrected by cycling pilgrims ... also there are plenty of walkers focused on the physical achievment ....
Another prompt is provided by a request to guide a friend along a nearby route so she can describe it, risk-assess it and log it with the Council as a permitted Walking for Health route. You can imagine the struggle to take such a concept seriously ... another example of the reductionism in daily life .... based on what could go wrong and folks with responsibility to implement measures determined to ensure their fingerprints are not at the scene if it does .... interestingly the friend is better adapted for such a world, holding the stupidity in awareness and complying in order to gain the benefits of fresh air, exercise and company for herself and others less confident in wandering about the countryside freely ....
Meanwhile back to the camino, the very uplifting trip to the retail experience yesterday, led to several warm exchanges with elders ... Wendy on her first trip out to the house for months after nearly passing on with the pneumonia in the winter, others talking about their life experiences ... and in the contemporary version of the department store, a dvd called The Way ... Hollywood's version of the Camino, with Martin Sheen, walking his son's ashes along the Way, gathering an assorted group from Holland, Canada and Ireland, managing some clumsy product placement for the outdoor gear, some superficial spiritual references, unlikely adventures and an inspiration for lots of Americans following the route ... if anyone wants to borrow it, let me know!
Having suggested asking John Brierley to write an introduction to Wear and Dao the book, it seemed appropriate to buy a copy .... also available for loan sometime soon (the library is growing again) ... as for Wear and Dao the film .... you'll have to wait for that .... or maybe skip it all and go for your own walk ....
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