2nd Thursday Musing - One for the Road

 In the song “One for my Baby” written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the 1943 movie “The Sky’s the Limit, the protagonist is sitting at a bar at closing time lamenting the end of a relationship. Originally sung by Fred Astaire and made popular by Frank Sinatra in many recordings not only does the singer have One for my Baby, but One More for the Road.

As we come to the end of this trip, I’m raising a proverbial glass to my fellow pilgrims who enriched my experience and more than made this something that has helped shape and focus me. We talked about how our shared experiences at Regis gave us a bond we didn’t know we had but each brought something different for me that allowed these musings to morph from a series of unconnected thoughts to whatever it is they became when I typed them on the page. So, just like in the song it’s a quarter to 3 (really) and I have a little story you might like to know about my companions, my perspective of what they brought to me as we moved forward in our journeys.

John - Quiet, thoughtful, introspective and determined to seek out answers to questions long thought about. From the moment we walked in the early mornings in Bilbao, I felt a connection and a desire to see and hear about what he was experiencing 

Joe - Exceptional strength and compassion who went from not walking in January to completing the hikes each day with an unending determination. Who overcame an immense tragedy to walk beside us and showed us what love could bring

Mike - His love for his family comes across in all conversations and who persevered, overcoming obstacles and finishing despite exhaustion. Who, despite not saying much, drove me to share things about myself I wasn’t sure I could do

Istvan - His presence, positive attitude and emotional intelligence helped me confirm and shape many of my thoughts and feelings as we walked and talked together

Paul - The spiritual center for the group who’s daily meditations gave each day purpose and who’s passion for Ignatius’s pilgrimage and life gave us all a reason to be be on this journey and to move the needle on our religious journeys.

Ed - My lifelong friend, without who I never would have joined up to do this and, despite the number of years I’ve known him, continued to surprise me with his insights, reminded me to not overthink things and gave me a space to have conversations i likely never would have considered.

And while some of the above may seem deep, I’d be remiss to not mention how much fun we had together. While you’d think all the we accomplished we’d be spent, but we always had enough left to thoroughly enjoy each others company and the trip.

I’d be remiss to not talk about Fr Jose, who’s passion and intelligence made the Camino Ignaciano and who took on this smaller group (minimum should have been 15 pilgrams) and who remained steadfast yet flexible in making sure we all got what we needed. His experience with us as with all of his pilgrimages was unique, his outcomes were not.

So yeah, One More for the Road guys. A road that has just started here in Spain and a road I hope to continue to travel with all of you.