It’s So Much More
It’s So Much More
by Mary Baldree | Waterloo, IL
It’s so much more than a scallop shell hanging on your backpack.
It’s a decision to follow your heart.
It’s preparation and commitment.
It’s hard work and it’s so very rewarding!
It’s perseverance and resilience.
It’s community and friendships.
It’s scarcity and solitude.
It’s kindness and compassion.
It’s yellow arrows and Buen Caminos.
It’s a two-minute shower.
It’s handwashing your clothes and watching them dry.
It’s sleeping in dorm rooms.
It’s world peace on a centuries-old trail.
It’s alarmingly beautiful!
It’s a physical and spiritual challenge.
It’s a calling and a knowing.
It’s a symbol of the pilgrim’s journey to Santiago de Compostela.
It’s a symbol of the pilgrim’s inner journey to themself.
If you like Mary’s work, check out her poem Canceled, from our Summer 2024 issue.
