I would certainly urge all pilgrims to go on to Finisterre - although it takes a high degree of motivation to walk there after the highs of arrival in Santiago (especially if you have walked from SJPDP).
I took the bus all the way (very easy from the big bus station in Santiago), but a couple of people got off before Finisterre at a small village whose name I don't recall, so they could walk for a day to Finisterre.
Personally, I felt a greater sense of completion and wonder for the future at Finisterre than at Santiago. At Santiago you are bombarded with so many sensations and experiences - meetings and partings with fellow pilgrims, celebrations and so on; that there is little opportunity for quiet reflection on the meaning of it all.
At Finisterre you walk out onto the cliff, with the lighthouse behind you - which in itself has symbolic value in the sense of a having a guide and protector against perils. You look out over the vast and trackless ocean, wondering not only what the future holds, but also what lies beyond the ocean on the far shores of the spirit. You can reflect in tranquillity and inner calm. I found it very moving.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Saturday, December 8, 2007
A New Beginning at Finisterre
There is a custom among some pilgrims of burning some small personal item, or throwing it into the sea, on reaching Finisterre. The act may be a form of spiritual completion, or of a hoped-for new beginning rising Phoenix-like from the ashes.
In my case, I threw a small, inexpensive (but treasured) pocket knife into the sea. The little knife had cut my queso and jamon for lunch over 35 days and it was a wrench to let go of my little friend. But in the ocean it would slowly corrode and form part of the life of the ocean and even the substance of our planet, completing a great cycle begun years ago when its component parts were made from materials taken from distant parts of the earth.
Sometimes we get too attached to objects and material things. It is good to make a small material sacrifice occasionally to bring home to us the importance of other values in our lives.
Recently I watched a BBC TV series about five men who spent 40 days in a Benedictine monastery. The series was a form of reality TV, but it had some interest for me in its potential for insights into the Camino de Santiago.
In one episode, the “novice monks” were advised to write on a piece of paper whatever was troubling them, or something they wanted to let go of; then burn the paper as a ceremonial act of breaking with the past.
It occurred to me that such an act would also be a good way to end the pilgrimage at Finisterre. Some pilgrims may decide in advance what they will write on their piece of paper. For others, insight will come during the pilgrimage itself.
In my case, I threw a small, inexpensive (but treasured) pocket knife into the sea. The little knife had cut my queso and jamon for lunch over 35 days and it was a wrench to let go of my little friend. But in the ocean it would slowly corrode and form part of the life of the ocean and even the substance of our planet, completing a great cycle begun years ago when its component parts were made from materials taken from distant parts of the earth.
Sometimes we get too attached to objects and material things. It is good to make a small material sacrifice occasionally to bring home to us the importance of other values in our lives.
Recently I watched a BBC TV series about five men who spent 40 days in a Benedictine monastery. The series was a form of reality TV, but it had some interest for me in its potential for insights into the Camino de Santiago.
In one episode, the “novice monks” were advised to write on a piece of paper whatever was troubling them, or something they wanted to let go of; then burn the paper as a ceremonial act of breaking with the past.
It occurred to me that such an act would also be a good way to end the pilgrimage at Finisterre. Some pilgrims may decide in advance what they will write on their piece of paper. For others, insight will come during the pilgrimage itself.
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