several years ago when i lived on the west side of los angeles i would take my two beautiful dogs, cindarella and brody, for a dawn hike in kenter canyon.  there were a select few of us who would cross paths there, and everyone was friendly.  there was one woman who lived in kenter canyon and who hiked there almost every morning,   as cindarella, brody and i were going up the mountain, we would be quietly enjoying the tranquility, the fresh smells, the breaking light.  at least that´s what i was enjoying-cindarella and brody had their own sights and smells they were enjoying!  anyway, whenever we saw her she always said the same thing:  ¨you should have been here 10 minutes ago!¨   she would say that no matter how beautiful the sky was at that moment!  she was sure that she had seen it at its best, that what i was seeing was fine, but it was not as good as it could have been if i had only been here when she was.  it used to really bug me, until i started seeing the humor in it.  how silly a notion!  i also realized that she was caught in her own limited view of the world.  how can any one of us know what is the best, or the most beautiful for someone else?  isn´t beauty almost purely subjective?  just ask any old timer about face piercing, then ask a young goth guy, and you will find there are great differences in what people find attractive.  i don´t know if her intention was to put me down, but there was an air of superiority around her when she spoke.  i got so that i would say it with her when we came together on the path, and sometimes i reference it with friends i told about it.  she was a great teacher for me and led me to be able to let other people have their own experiences, that are undoubtedly richer than i could ever force them into.  it was good i had this lesson because i remember talking with my husband while we were still dating years ago.  i was in new york and had just gone on a long walk around the rockefeller grounds with my friend deb.  it had been so beautiful and i was sharing it with him over the phone.  at one point i said something about how i wished he could have seen it.  his response made me stop and think.  he said something like ´i don´t know if i would have seen what you saw´.  i understood that he was saying not to define for him what was beautiful.  he has his own likes and dislikes, his own ideas of beauty, and they may not be the same as mine.  i realized that i had been thinking in the same way the 10 minutes ago lady was-what I see is the most beautiful, what I think is the most beautiful, and if you see something other than me, you have missed out.  how silly i was being!  it was great to have that lesson, because as many of you know, my husband and i have very different ideas of what is beautiful, or what is a good way to spend  our relaxation time, etc.  it is nice that we can have a healthy respect for each other in this way.

anyway, the real reason i brought this up is because NO ONE on the camino does this!  there are no ´10 minutes ago´ pilgrims!!  everyone realizes that each and every camino is unique and perfect in its own way.  people stay in different albuerges and talk of them easily, without having to claim that theirs was the ultimate pilgrim experience.  it is such a lovely feeling of peace and harmony, and of respect for everyone´s journey.  so i know as i re-enter the pilgrim flow either tomorrow or the next day, i will meet new pilgrims, make new friends, and continue on my way, knowing that there is no other place i should be.  i am right where i am supposed to be, in exactly the right time.  and so are each of you, my sweet family and friends.  i am so glad that we have this link to each other´s lives, and i look forward to when our paths will cross again.  buen camino a todos!
-a