Sharing the Way to Sigueiro
“ Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter.” —Izaak Walton
I wanted and needed to be on this pilgrimage on my own. I had issues to work through, research, and writing to consider, and wanted to test my emotional mettle. While walking along a wonderful stretch of trail, forest to one side and farmers’ fields to the other, I paused to take a photo with my selfie stick. As I struggled to get the background in, a pilgrim approached and offered help. Deirdre from Dublin. She kindly took my camera and stepped back to take several photos. For some reason, her own camera wasn’t working, so I took the photo below which I forwarded to her. It was the only one she’d have of herself on her Camino, she said. We decided to walk awhile together and take several more.
We talked about her life in Dublin, a city I’d visited five times and still couldn’t get enough of. As her words and accent settled gently upon me, I thought of how my Irish ancestors might have sounded as well. I talked about my research on Ancestry, my screenplays, and my life in Canada. We talked of our Camino experience thus far - and possible pilgrimages to come. We shared stretches of silence, in awe of the beauty. We laughed, too. Like when Deirdre tried to correct a misattributed quote graffitied on a bus shelter wall - her ballpoint pen no match for the abrasive surface.
When we reached Carrás, the point where I was to stop for the day, Deirdre invited me to continue on with her to Sigueiro. There was no pressure in her words, accepting that I knew my own limits. I decided that if ever there was a time and reason to push myself, it would be then, and I rose to the occasion. That day, I walked two stages as one. Not only did I survive, but I also transitioned from a feeling that I was merely a tourist on a walking trip to a real pilgrim! Like the Velveteen Rabbit becoming real. My feet paid for it but my spirit of adventure would soothe that and more. The ice-cold beer we had on arrival in Sigueiro helped, too. Afterward, Deirdre headed to her hostel, and I made my way back to Á Rua. We exchanged numbers and made plans to meet again in Santiago de Compostela, which we did. We’ve also kept our connection going on Facebook, hoping to one day meet and walk together again.
In my screenplay, Wayward, Farren began her Camino alone, then with young Dora. Later she’d walk with Dora and her boyfriend, Pietro, and Dora’s father, Liam. She’d walk with Liam on their own later as well, fanning a flame. But in the end, like me, Farren would need to walk the final stage into Santiago de Compostella and, if need be, into a future on her own.
Because I hadn’t met up with my transfer service in Carrás, I had to make my way back to Ordes by local transit and be picked up there. It was a long wait in the heat at the bus stop and I met a young foreign worker in the company of a relative seeing him off. When he boarded the bus and waived out the window, he looked so vulnerable. It turned out that we both spoke French as a second language and we chatted for the shared portion of our ride. He was going to A Coruna for work and it would be his first time away from home on his own. Before getting off the bus, I gave him some money “for an ice cream cone or a sweet treat,” I said. He started to cry and I put my hand on his shoulder. “Why you do this?” he asked - his first words to me in English, his voice heavily accented. I told him that he reminded me of my son and that I always wish the kindness of strangers on him. He smiled, wiped his eyes, and thanked me. Even on solo pilgrimages, we can pepper each other’s paths with a conversation, words of encouragement, or random acts of kindness. Deirdre had done that for me and I, without intention, paid that forward.
Have you been blessed by someone’s random act of kindness, or by doing one? How did it feel?
They can leave tangible positive energy behind for those who witness such things as well.
Gentle acts and kind words can soften the impression we have of people, in life, and on the screen.
Blake Snyder calls it a “Save the Cat” moment that can win over our impression of even the surliest of characters.
His book, “Save the Cat,” is a great read even if you write in other genres.
I challenge any writer to read it! I also challenge you to do a random act of kindness for a stranger.
Ultreia! Forward, together.
