What I love about Matthew

The last few weeks I've spent walking, walking and still more walking with a brief few days spent in Michigan visiting my kiwi brother and long time pragmatic friend, Matthew.
Matthew's lifestyle and belief system is completely different from mine but somewhere, beyond reason and a mystery to many, our core's connect. In karmic comedy we have been thrown together this time around living out our own corrupted version of the Odd Couple. Our twenty year friendship includes a decade of being flatmates. Who ever said the eyes are the window to the soul never shared a kitchen and bathroom with Matthew. In addition to the insight provided, it was a trial by fire of my intestinal fortitude ....Matthew's Oscar Maddison, challenged the Felix Unger in me without apology. Although it had been five years since we'd last seen one another and much had changed in our personal lives, we had no trouble picking up from where we left off. Our Camino conversation went something like this;

"So, you still haven't found yourself and are hoping that walking 500 miles will turn you, up...man, why don't you just get a treadmill?"

"Because I hate to exercise."

He screwed up his face, momentarily stumped. In traditional Matthew fashion, he moved on.

"What exactly is supposed to happen to you on this thing...this walk? Is it like enlightenment or something?"

"Enlightenment would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath on that one. I'm hoping that it ends up being a very good walk...maybe gain some insights, some direction...witness a few miracles. That sort of thing."

"Mmmhmm." He nodded in support and in the spirit of true friendship did not allow the lack of detail to cloud how important it was to me. He posed a final question about my journey.
"When you get back, will you get a tattoo to say you did it?"

Now, up until that moment, I really hadn't considered a tattoo. Within a split second my response was out of my mouth and set in stone....surprising even me!
"That's a great idea! Yes, I will get a tattoo to say I did it. A scallop shell with a hint of something meaningful ....It'll come to me."

"Cool. That'll be awesome."

My enthusiasm for his suggestion instantly validated the Camino for him. He now had something concrete, a purpose, for one enduring such a long walk when simply purchasing a treadmill should suffice. The spiritual pieces of the puzzle were, in his mind, secondary to the mystery of choosing the perfect tat that would somehow explain it all. It is in visiting his world of unconditional support, heavy metal and horrendous habits that I am reminded what I love about Matthew.

Intent

Intent. We enter this week, our minds, hearts and spirits seeking to make clear, to embrace and understand that which we intend to do. We begin with a series of whys to unearth the seeds of desire. In meditation we contemplate it, in prayer we seek answers and while walking among wooded trails which helps us physically prepare, we talk amongst ourselves, Rena and I, in search of our personal truths. In search of our intent.



Since committing to the journey of a million steps, give or take a few hundred thousand depending on ones' stride, it's apparent that intent is a crucial piece of the Camino puzzle. Honoring the desire. Heeding the call of the ancients who walked before and whose essences remain en route to Santiago is a desire so hypnotizing, so seductive, that in the spirit of exploration, we must uncover the root of the mysterious allure for ourselves. For a journey so significant, so ethereal to produce the transformational effects we sense bubbling just beneath the surface, Rena and I believe we must set forth with clear intentions in order to reap the sacred alchemy of our pilgrimage.



"We'll loose at least twenty pounds each." I say enthusiastically as we walk. "I'm not saying that's my only intention, but it definitely beats the Jenny Craig way."

Rena agrees. Since officially marrying in 2006, giving up cigarette smoking AND free falling past the forty milestone we have both become well rounded women in the biblical sense. We never thought such drastic change could happen to us. Our once tidy bodies, smooth and firm in all the right places have seemingly been taken hostage by the demons of middle age and lethargy.



It's no surprise that weight loss is one of the many givens when walking the Camino. There is no way you can walk 20-25kms a day, for thirty five days, in peak summer temps, living on broth, bread and wine without shedding some baggage. Quite honestly, the prospect of dropping weight and doing so while on the spiritual discovery of a lifetime is thrilling to me. I acknowledge that it may not be the highest of spiritual principals, but the intention is definitely there.

Slightly higher on the list is the intention of renewing and deepening my relationship. With television and worldly distractions far removed, the Camino is certain to deliver a relationship experience that is rather in your face, so to speak. It is my intention that the road to Santiago provide us many opportunities to deepen our understanding, respect and love for each other. Should things go South, should patience take a vacation and intolerance raise its' middle finger in defiance, it is my intention to conquer those aspects of myself then and there in a final revolutionary showdown. It is my intention to come through the experience a finer lover, friend and partner. While on the sideline, the shadow of my former self celebrates the personal evolution. And that, is my intention.

Lastly, a series of intentions join together under the Umbrella of miscellany. A mosaic of hopes, dreams and intuitive glances. We walk as an offering, a homage to all that is. We walk to honor those whose footsteps came before us, whose calling we heard. We walk to honor those who'll come after us, who've yet to be called. We walk for healing. For ones we love, ones we do not know and for ourselves. Finally, we walk with a willingness to be vulnerable, open to whatever the lessons in store may be. We do so with excitement, hope and a resounding belief that we are meant to travel this path, at this time in this way.