The Camino as the Circle of Life
The Camino as the Circle of Life
by Joseph Curro | Arlington, MA
Last year, while walking the Via de la Plata, I received a text from my brother regarding our father who had been hospitalized with complications of an apparent stroke:
Just saw Dad. I think that everyone should start thinking about possibly getting home. He was not doing well and kept saying he’s dying. I tend to believe him this time. Maybe there’ll be a turn around but I’m not real optimistic.
My brother is a professional firefighter who deals with death and illness on a daily basis. On the phone that night, he said, “In my business, when people say they’re dying, they usually are.”
He wasn’t wrong. Our father hung on for another month-and-a-half, after which we still found ourselves watching a military honor guard fire rifle volleys, fold the flag from his casket, and present the banner along with shell casings to our mother.
My wife, kids, and I were already numb by that point. As if taking my father and the girls’ grandfather wasn’t enough, God decided to display a sick sense of humor by also taking our beloved family dog which had been my wife’s constant companion and an enduring presence for our daughters since earliest childhood.
On my first Camino six years ago, I carried a piece of crumbled sidewalk brick from my town center and laid it at the Cruz de Ferro. Long story, but I had been involved in trying to remove and repair these dangerously degraded sidewalks commonly recognized as the bain of seniors and the physically disabled. I also carried an intention for my father and others suffering from mobility challenges. (What a gift it is for those of us who can walk the Camino!)
This June, I returned to the Cruz de Ferro with the prayer card from my father’s funeral. My daughter carried one of his military dog tags.
I am named for my father. How eerie it was for me after putting down the card to see a familiar pair of bespectacled, brown eyes on a shaved head looking back at me and labeled with my name. The icing on the cake was the dog tag. It not only carried my name, but the same blood type and penicillin allergy.
I know the Camino is linear, leading us from Point A to Point B. But it is also a reminder of the circle of life.
