Reunion in Leon & God Is Leading - Man Is Thinking

The blarring Latin techno dance fusion music in this internet cafe makes it a little hard to write about the Camino and a spiritual theme but I´ll give it a shot. I´m currently in Leon. I arrived around 1 pm with Javier and Ave. Javier had to leave the Camino and is on his way back to his home in Madrid. Ave and I are checked into an albergue at a monesatrio run by Benedictine nuns. It´s located in a quiet location right in the middle of Leon. We also met up with Petra who we recconected with upon arriving in Mansilla yesterday...... The word on the Camino was that Mark, Micah, and Simon would be in Leon today. I assumed we would find them drinking cafe in a Plaza. Javier had sent them a text message and their response was,´´Meet us at the cafe in Plaza Mayor¨. We found them around 2 pm and a glorious reunion it was ! We were all really happy and gave each other hugs. Javier then, very generously, treated us all to beverages and tappas. It´s was a very nice afternoon amidst good friends but one that was sadly followed with parting once again. Petra, Ave and I are staying in Leon and the others have left town. Hasta Luego ! Not sure when I´ll see Javier, Mark, Simon and Micah next but on the Camino one thing is for sure, you never know...... Now, onto a spiritual theme and the Camino. As I´ve said before people walk the Camino for many reasons but I think it is hard not to be touched in some way by the spirituality of the Camino. After all the Camino is an ancient pilgrimage route to visit a place that is believed to hold the remains of one of Jesus 12 original apostles, St. James. Occasionally I´ll ask someone why they are walking the Camino and rarely do I hear that its for religious reasons. I have noticed some pilgrims attending various church services and I do know of 2 young Polish women that are very much moved by a religious interest in the Camino. Javier prayed with them in Latin one day and said it was very special and quite moving. Until I met Javier I had´nt really felt particularly spiritual lately other than recognizing the history of the Camino. Wether a person considers themself to be spiritual or not walkers learn alot from each other on the Camino. Let me relate a recent experience.... After my last post from Sahagun we walked on to Calzada de Coto. The albergue was kind of rough but adequate and the town was nothing special with little to offer. It smelled like sheep dung. About an hour after our arrival a shepherd marched his flock thru town so that answered that question. Anyway, a few other walkers showed up and and we all made the most of the situation. Actually, it was ok. Then a walker showed up that did´nt really look like a pilgrim. Then again, what´s a pilgrim supposed to look like? My honest first impression was to kind of brush him off as some vagrant traveler off the nearby highway. Lesson 1 - Don´t be so quick to judge. Where´s I could´nt be bothered Javier took interest. Everyone has a story. The mans name is Antonio and he shares the same last name as Javier. He is divorced with 3 sons and had worked steadily until the age of 54. He then had to care for his mother with Aulzheimers for 2 years until it became too much. He´s obviously depressed but was nontheless walking the Camino from his home to Orense to get a job harvesting grapes. He has very little if any money. He was´nt walking for fun or calling himself a pilgrim. He was honestly just trying to get to a place where he could get some work. He did not ask for anything and was´nt interested in sleeping in the albergue. He may be poor but he´s not about to give up the one thing he still has, dignity. Javier really connected with Antonio. He then went to the local store and bought some food for him and Antonio. Anotonio was very shy at first but slowly opened up with Javier. What I saw was true compassion in action. The kind that Jesus talked about. Javier decided he wanted to walk with Antonio the next day to just kind of encourage him. As I said before, the man is obviously depressed and Javier felt good helping him.... The next morning I awoke anxious and ready to walk. The day offered two different routes to Mansilla de las Mulas. One is a little shorter and passes thru villages. The other and little longer and more remote. The longer more remote appealed to me. I packed and got ready to leave. Consumed by my own desire to walk for myself. Javier was´nt sure exactly what he wanted to do. I was ready to go so I went. I walked out of town at 7 am and it was still totally dark. I´m very good at directions, maps etc. but I´ll be damned if I did´nt get lost !. I retraced my steps and went back to the albergue. By that time the sun was rising and Javier was still there. Javier had decided to give Antonio money for a train ticket and said he would like to walk with me but needed about a half hour. I reminded myself that theres god way and theres Todd´s way. I tend to get too caught up in Todd´s way, my way. We then headed out of town and easily found the way. A different character who had stayed at the albergue then joined us. Again this guy looked a little questionable. His name was Avillio. I pegged Avillio as being a harmless street wise kind of charcter who lives on very little and knows how to get a hand out. Javier accepted him differently. Avillio liked to talk and Javier was willing to listen. Avilio is 44 and walks with a big pack and a big dog named Breogan. Avillio came from a rough upbringing and spent time in a reform school. He became a heroin addict and after watching several of his friends die he had enough sense to kick the habit. He now walks for months on end and works here and there. He´s a little guy but a very strong walker. Javier invited him to join us for breakfast when we stopped in the village of Calzadilla de los Hermanillos. It was then that I realized Avilio is not a bad guy. He´s just adapted to different way of surviving. After breakfast Avilio walked with us a while longer then pushed on ahead, fading into the blue sky distance... Needless to say Anotonio and Avilio are not common on the Camino but by meeting them and walking with Javier I´ve learned some lessons that felt very spiritual to me..... Mark made a statement a few days ago, ¨God is leading, Man is thinking¨........... As I said before, walkers learn alot from each other on the Camino and to me there´s something spritual about it....