Strangers

Strangers. The very word is usually enough to put us on our guard and make us grip our possessions a little tighter. We do not know them or what their true intentions are in approaching us, but there is almost always a brief moment of tension as we size them up. We do not trust them, but then again there is normally little reason or need to. Most people we pass in the street are not really that important to us, they are not likely to become features in the landscape of our life, so why would they matter? We do not think about talking to them, or walking with them, or inquiring about their lives because we have little interest in them. Our society teaches us to care about what is or what could be immediately useful to us and to ignore that which is not.  

This is not the way of the Camino though. The pilgrimage of the Camino takes this cynical view of our fellow man and how to treat them and buries it in the nearest churchyard. Like the Catholicism from which this trail was born, the Camino forces its pilgrims to open their eyes and see the beauty of living in a world with relationships based on mutual respect and thoughtfulness. Relationships that are built on interest in another's life, in caring for others and  their well being and not simply using them. I saw glimpses of love for another’s well being every day on the walk. A young pregnant mother who bent over to clean off the sticky face of her child knocked over one of her walking sticks propped up behind her and she since she was preoccupied she didn't notice. An older man who had just been talking about his many aches and pains with his buddy wordlessly bent all the way down with those aching legs and back to pick up the walking stick and set it back, straightening their position so that they wouldn't fall. Then he gathered his stuff and moving on back to walking with his friend. She never noticed and he didn't say anything. At another point I saw an older father and his college aged son hiking together, not even talking, just enjoying the weather and each other’s company. Next time I see them it was raining and they are engrossed in conversation with an old woman, with the son carrying all her stuff plus his own. I saw groups of pilgrims greet each other time and again after bumping into one another for the first time in a few days or even after several consecutive days of trail sharing.

This is what the Camino does, it takes the people who walk along it and through the trials and tribulations of the trail sets the stage for its pilgrims to learn about what their relationships with the world and other people could be like. It shows them how a little effort in getting to know strangers can go a long way in forging friends as well as learning how simple it is to do kindness for others when you pay attention to what their needs could be. As one fellow pilgrim to another, I give you these words to reflect on as they were given to me by an Aussie gentleman I met along the way, “there is no such thing as strangers, only people I haven’t gotten to know yet.”