As I prepare to walk the Camino de Santiago, I want to heed the advice of poet David Whyte: "Don't make new declarations...bring what you have." But how do I know if what I have is enough?
This essay is stunning and brought tears to my eyes. I feel such delight for you and Marielle and cannot wait for the rich retelling of this sacred pilgrimage you are about to experience.
This right here: “I will carry a small vial of my mother’s ashes and her photograph. I will see things through her eyes as well as my own. I will hear her voice, reminding me, “You’ve have always had exactly what you needed, Amy.’” Oooof. Freda will be stepping right along with her girls. Carrying her girls. 💗
Oh those questions that have no right to go away. They rip into us and sit for a while, sometimes we don’t know they’re there until the exact ripe moment they jump into consciousness. I love that you are stepping into this journey open. With each step, as David says, you’ll open up to something beyond yourself yet more yourself.
Thank you Allison for your beautiful and heartfelt witnessing of my journey, the Camino & all of it. Grateful to be in this time of self discovery together.
Such a beautiful and poetic weaving together of your grandparents' pilgrimage and the one you and Marielle arw going to embark on. I wish you great fulfilment of the soul as you take each step on the Camino, carrying Freda and your grandparents' legacy with you on your back. Bon voyage!
Amy, once again you've so eloquently expressed multiple layers of profundity in the act of pilgrimage. ♡ I love that you & Marielle will be walking, witnessing and writing together in your grandparents' journal. What a gorgeous honoring of ancestry, family and future. ♡
I love that you're carrying your mother with you and Marielle carrying Stephanie.
I wish you to experience peaceful awareness that yes, Amy, you already have what you need. You are enough.
With lots of love,
Kristin, who someday hopes to walk the Camino as well.
And who 'walked' her own version through the personal pilgrimage last year.
Thank you for this beautiful comment, Kristin, it touched my heart. And for the reminder of the peaceful awareness that I already have what I need. I am proud of the pilgrimage you have walked and continue to walk!
Amy, I woke this morning to your beautiful comment. And, after a difficult night, a sort of descent into this thing we call change, your words in the comment on the inviting @anneboydrioux post - and now this incredible piece have also "breached the wall" . I woke thinking I was coming upon a new door and I have to close the one behind me. And there you were with your words from David Whyte about the door so , there you go, I had tears with my first cup of coffee! I so feel your departure, another one for you, right? So many letting gos when we choose to change, to grow. I am right there with you and can't imagine a more honorable tribute to your grandparents , to your mother, to your daughter, than this walking. Step by step, always and only in the present moment whether it is known or not. Godspeed! Keep us on the path with you by writing the walk!
Tears in your coffee? Is there anything a writer could hope for more:-) I am glad my words reached you at the reach time to breach your own wall, to open that new door, with David Whyte's wise advice. The letting go is the only way to change, isn't it? I had actually originally thought my phrase for 2024 would be LETTING GO but chose "abundance" instead--and they are related. Sometimes we have to let go of what we no longer need, or what doesn't serve us, or even let go of something we love--to have the abundance, freedom and flow we seek. "Writing the walk" is a wonderful phrase. In my grandmother's journal, I will be doing just that.
Love this quote. And the history of the travel diary. The corsage! For a trip! Such a different time. Looking forward to following along on the Camino with you!
I know, wasn't the corsage a lovely touch to my grandmother's journal? Perhaps my daughter and I can revive the tradition and carry corsages on our first day of walking--although the traditional Camino symbol for good luck is to carry a scallop shell. It is considered a metaphor, its lines representing the different routes pilgrims travel from all over the world, all walking trails leading to one point: the tomb of Saint James in Santiago de Compostela.
Wow, Amy!! A 14 day journey on foot! Make sure you break in those hiking boots before you start on your pilgrimage.
I love reading about how you connect your grandmother's journey with your own and Marielle's. And that you are physically bringing Freda with you. Connecting our pasts and our presents and our futures are truly the meaning of our life's journeys. It's a relay race - to travel for a while together and then to hand off the baton to the next generation. Like your mom giving you your grandmother's journey book. Lovely.
Thank you for this beautiful telling. What a vision you've woven together. A grandmother's pilgrimage, threaded through your own. Such journeys have always inspired me. I read Joan Anderson's A Year by the Sea when I was raising my babies. It inspired the novel I never quite finished, a fiction (and a heart-dream) of a mother who runs away, with her children, to a faraway island where they make fires out of driftwood and meet a mysterious vagabond townspeople refer to as "The Goddess". More recently, I devoured The Salt Path, Raynor Winn's story of walking England's coastal path with her husband and Wintering, Katharine May's walking journey along the same path. In all of these pilgrimage tales, there is discovery - and great healing. I wish you all the joys of the journey and all the discoveries and surprises of the soul. Blessings on your way.
Lovely, always, to meet another Amy! (I've just subscribed to your Substack...you know all about walking with angels, it seems!) Thank you so much for the book recommendations, they are going on my TBR list. I think your novel sounds enchanting and I hope you return to it. Yes, I am open for whatever I discover on my Camino, including surprises of the soul. What a lovely phrase!
Sofia, how exciting for you to be moving to Madrid and making your dream come true. I know about the grief of departure mixed with the excitement of the new adventure. And thank you for sharing the Machado poem. I love it. You may also want to follow one of my subscribers, Jennifer Bush, who 3 months ago began her newsletter, "Starting Over in Spain." (She is in Barcelona): https://startingoverinspain.substack.com/
I love that Antonio Machado quote. It is also captured in the beautiful song Cantares by Spanish folk singer Joan Manuel Serrat. Welcome to Spain! I moved to Barcelona in Dec, something I’d dreamed of for 15 years, and it’s already exceeded my expectations. I hope your move goes smoothly. https://open.spotify.com/track/3sjv1TBUwUjXeyUrsH3DwJ?si=cpmOQ4vuQH6q8XEQKnHBvA
So beautiful, Amy. I love that you will do this with your daughter and carry with you the spirits of your mother and grandmother.
This essay is stunning and brought tears to my eyes. I feel such delight for you and Marielle and cannot wait for the rich retelling of this sacred pilgrimage you are about to experience.
This right here: “I will carry a small vial of my mother’s ashes and her photograph. I will see things through her eyes as well as my own. I will hear her voice, reminding me, “You’ve have always had exactly what you needed, Amy.’” Oooof. Freda will be stepping right along with her girls. Carrying her girls. 💗
Oh those questions that have no right to go away. They rip into us and sit for a while, sometimes we don’t know they’re there until the exact ripe moment they jump into consciousness. I love that you are stepping into this journey open. With each step, as David says, you’ll open up to something beyond yourself yet more yourself.
Blessed travels, Amy!
Thank you Allison for your beautiful and heartfelt witnessing of my journey, the Camino & all of it. Grateful to be in this time of self discovery together.
Such a beautiful and poetic weaving together of your grandparents' pilgrimage and the one you and Marielle arw going to embark on. I wish you great fulfilment of the soul as you take each step on the Camino, carrying Freda and your grandparents' legacy with you on your back. Bon voyage!
Thank you dear Louisa!
Amy, once again you've so eloquently expressed multiple layers of profundity in the act of pilgrimage. ♡ I love that you & Marielle will be walking, witnessing and writing together in your grandparents' journal. What a gorgeous honoring of ancestry, family and future. ♡
I love that you're carrying your mother with you and Marielle carrying Stephanie.
I wish you to experience peaceful awareness that yes, Amy, you already have what you need. You are enough.
With lots of love,
Kristin, who someday hopes to walk the Camino as well.
And who 'walked' her own version through the personal pilgrimage last year.
Thank you for this beautiful comment, Kristin, it touched my heart. And for the reminder of the peaceful awareness that I already have what I need. I am proud of the pilgrimage you have walked and continue to walk!
More love and hugs sent.♡
Amy, I woke this morning to your beautiful comment. And, after a difficult night, a sort of descent into this thing we call change, your words in the comment on the inviting @anneboydrioux post - and now this incredible piece have also "breached the wall" . I woke thinking I was coming upon a new door and I have to close the one behind me. And there you were with your words from David Whyte about the door so , there you go, I had tears with my first cup of coffee! I so feel your departure, another one for you, right? So many letting gos when we choose to change, to grow. I am right there with you and can't imagine a more honorable tribute to your grandparents , to your mother, to your daughter, than this walking. Step by step, always and only in the present moment whether it is known or not. Godspeed! Keep us on the path with you by writing the walk!
Tears in your coffee? Is there anything a writer could hope for more:-) I am glad my words reached you at the reach time to breach your own wall, to open that new door, with David Whyte's wise advice. The letting go is the only way to change, isn't it? I had actually originally thought my phrase for 2024 would be LETTING GO but chose "abundance" instead--and they are related. Sometimes we have to let go of what we no longer need, or what doesn't serve us, or even let go of something we love--to have the abundance, freedom and flow we seek. "Writing the walk" is a wonderful phrase. In my grandmother's journal, I will be doing just that.
Love this quote. And the history of the travel diary. The corsage! For a trip! Such a different time. Looking forward to following along on the Camino with you!
I know, wasn't the corsage a lovely touch to my grandmother's journal? Perhaps my daughter and I can revive the tradition and carry corsages on our first day of walking--although the traditional Camino symbol for good luck is to carry a scallop shell. It is considered a metaphor, its lines representing the different routes pilgrims travel from all over the world, all walking trails leading to one point: the tomb of Saint James in Santiago de Compostela.
Wow, Amy!! A 14 day journey on foot! Make sure you break in those hiking boots before you start on your pilgrimage.
I love reading about how you connect your grandmother's journey with your own and Marielle's. And that you are physically bringing Freda with you. Connecting our pasts and our presents and our futures are truly the meaning of our life's journeys. It's a relay race - to travel for a while together and then to hand off the baton to the next generation. Like your mom giving you your grandmother's journey book. Lovely.
What a poignant journey, carrying your beloved people with you. I hope you get everything you need. I’ll be excited to read more.
Thank you, Mary. I look forward to sharing what I discover on my Camino. It is particularly special to be walking it with my oldest daughter.
Thank you for this beautiful telling. What a vision you've woven together. A grandmother's pilgrimage, threaded through your own. Such journeys have always inspired me. I read Joan Anderson's A Year by the Sea when I was raising my babies. It inspired the novel I never quite finished, a fiction (and a heart-dream) of a mother who runs away, with her children, to a faraway island where they make fires out of driftwood and meet a mysterious vagabond townspeople refer to as "The Goddess". More recently, I devoured The Salt Path, Raynor Winn's story of walking England's coastal path with her husband and Wintering, Katharine May's walking journey along the same path. In all of these pilgrimage tales, there is discovery - and great healing. I wish you all the joys of the journey and all the discoveries and surprises of the soul. Blessings on your way.
Lovely, always, to meet another Amy! (I've just subscribed to your Substack...you know all about walking with angels, it seems!) Thank you so much for the book recommendations, they are going on my TBR list. I think your novel sounds enchanting and I hope you return to it. Yes, I am open for whatever I discover on my Camino, including surprises of the soul. What a lovely phrase!
Buon camino, Amy. One day I hope to walk it too. Thank you for this newsletter.
I do hope you have a chance to walk the Camino one day and thank you for being here and reading and leaving a comment. I appreciate you!
Sofia, how exciting for you to be moving to Madrid and making your dream come true. I know about the grief of departure mixed with the excitement of the new adventure. And thank you for sharing the Machado poem. I love it. You may also want to follow one of my subscribers, Jennifer Bush, who 3 months ago began her newsletter, "Starting Over in Spain." (She is in Barcelona): https://startingoverinspain.substack.com/
I love that Antonio Machado quote. It is also captured in the beautiful song Cantares by Spanish folk singer Joan Manuel Serrat. Welcome to Spain! I moved to Barcelona in Dec, something I’d dreamed of for 15 years, and it’s already exceeded my expectations. I hope your move goes smoothly. https://open.spotify.com/track/3sjv1TBUwUjXeyUrsH3DwJ?si=cpmOQ4vuQH6q8XEQKnHBvA
Thanks for yet another song, Marielle! I can't wait to see you in Barcelona.