Green Dots and Red Dots of Life

During ‘normal’ times the albergues, hostels for pilgrims, along the Camino routes are supported by people called ‘hospitaleros’ many of whom are volunteers from all over the world.  In order to volunteer at a wide network of albergues  one must be trained and certified. They are all closed at this time, but we hope that a day comes in the next year that the demand for housing along the Camino returns and hospitaleros are once again in demand.

I chose to take the hospitalero training offered in the US by the American Pilgrims Of the Camino (APOC) organization before moving to Spain with the thought that I could give back and especially I could be a quick fill-in for someone who was unable to serve during a time they had volunteered for.  I lived in Virginia and, of course, the training was in San Francisco that year.

There were 19 students and two teachers in the class.  We bonded immediately with Camino glue and began the first exercise.  A long roll of brown paper hung horizontally on the wall of the training room. It had a line on it representing the path of the Camino Frances.  We were all seated in a curved line facing the ‘map’ as one instructor gave us instructions and the other passed out a red sticky dot and a green sticky dot.  The instructions were to spend some time thinking of the highest point on our personal Camino and then to think about our lowest point.  Quiet time just going over that process in your own mind.  

If you have walked the Camino I invite you to do that right now. If you didn’t, you may want to think back upon your life.  What was the highest point?  No words - just picture the situation, maybe others that shared it with you, the moment you realized it, the place, weather, how you felt.  You didn’t know yet that this would be the high point, it was just a point along the Way.

I struggled.  I think everyone did.  Here we were in paradise (Muir Woods area) and thinking back to a period filled with high points.

The silence was broken by the instructor now asking us to think of the lowest point on our Camino.  Again it was difficult to say which was the LOWEST point.  Again we had some quiet time.

Silence broken and the task to be completed was to walk up, one at a time, to that 12 foot long paper map and place the green dot where you had the highest point and the red dot where you had the lowest point.  They started from the right end of the line, and I was thrilled to be about number 14.  

I needed more time to figure out where these things happened.  I’m not much on geography.  

Some of the people explained their moments in great detail and some were very brief.  There were some tears.  I was still not sure where these events happened and even if I were, not sure where that place might be on the wiggly line.

I was getting close to being expected to do this first exercise.  Everyone was nailing it, walking right up and sticking the green dot on the paper, telling the story and then placing the red dot and telling that story.

The person to my right walked up and was very brief.  

I was next.  I still had no idea.  

So I walked slowly to the map and explained that I needed help finding the right place.  I told them a few things about the place I had in mind and almost all of them exclaimed “Agés.” in unison.  Did the same for the red dot and they exclaimed “Logroño.” I made it!  

I won’t tell you the learning outcome of this wonderful exercise in case you decide to take this good training and they happen to use this exercise again.  It was a wonderful ice breaker and intro to being a hospitalero.

I tell you all this as a reminder that one doesn’t know what the high point of one’s life is when it is happening, nor the lowest point.  For years I have used the hang-nail parable (don’t worry, it’s not in the bible, I made it up) that reminds me that even though a hang-nail is really annoying and hard to ignore it is nothing compared to other conditions like cancer, or even allergies caused by the trees blooming.  But if all is well in our lives except that darn fingernail - well, we can overreact and even feel sorry for ourselves.

Think again of the high point of your Camino (or life), and the process that you went through to select just one, and realize that at each of those points along the Way you were really stoked and joy full.  You know, the same is true today, be mindful and recognize the high points in your journey, knowing you are free to take the joy and squeeze every possible drop of goodness from it, even sharing it with others.  And likewise, if you are struggling with the low point and no juice is coming from the effort you are making, keep your eyes up, looking ahead as another high point is on the horizon.  You might need some lemonade from the blessing walking along beside you.

Get your red dot and stick it someplace in your memory and then gaze upon the location (in space AND time) of where you are planning to stick that green dot.  But take a moment to fold over an edge of that green sticky dot so that you can peel it up and move it to the next high point along the Way.

We wish you joy from Astorga, only 262 km from Santiago, or about 11 days walk, where Spring is showing beauty and creation refreshed all around us.  Keep on walking!

Buen Camino

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The Other Jew of the Day is Abraham who was the example of Hachnasat Orchim - hospitality - welcoming strangers and offering a place and a meal in his tent.