CHRISTMAS

December 16th…..I have been home for almost two months from the day I walked into Rome

along the Via Francigena.  Two months….two days….two lifetimes…..the concept of time  muddled just as it was after completing the Camino Frances last year.

And, as last year, the draw to don my backpack and wander off onto yet another pilgrim path pulls.

Yet, for now, I know am where I am meant to be.  Holidays and family are ever present….a gift in themselves.  A gift I have, for several years, either missed completely or raced through, trying to do everything ...be everywhere..  This year I am blessed with time to slow down and savor the moments...live in the now.  

This Christmas has been a time of lessons for me….a time of contemplating where our hearts are safe and secure - where our souls are fed…. the love of family and friends.  Christmas season prompts us to remember that the giving of resources, as valuable and necessary as it is in a world where many are without, is only a part of what we have to share. The giving of ourselves….our time sharing a mug of coffee with an elderly relative, taking a winter walk with a friend we have not seen….sitting and watching a silly Christmas movie with the kids- all phones OFF - these are our greatest gifts to give.   

So for now my backpack rests in its corner.  The time will come again….the energy pull of the trail will draw me back….but not just yet. Right now it is time to focus on those closest and most important to my heart, because two days become two months become two lifetimes

in a blink of an eye and this year….. I choose home.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

LOVE,

KATE - Walking Woman