Little Stones
Little Stones
by James Geier | San Diego, CA
Prior to my first Camino, before traveling to Thailand for a yoga-focused trip, an Indian Reiki practitioner friend gave me a little stone. She said to carry it with me as a reminder to stay grounded, to ask the spirits for permission to be wherever I was, and to be thankful for being there. The stone was just a small purple agate, not particularly special but nice. After my trip to Thailand I bought a small, dark green bloodstone to accompany the agate on my journeys.
In the spring of 2016, on the Camino Francés, on the mesa approaching Cireña between Nájera and Santo Domingo de la Calzada, there were a couple of young men at a table offering snacks and drinks for a donation. They also had a few souvenirs for sale. A pressed glass piece in the shape of a Camino shell caught my eye. Being about the same size as my little stones, I bought one to join the agate and bloodstone in my pocket. Somewhere between San Juan de Orgeta and Burgos, I lost that pressed glass Camino shell. From Burgos to Santiago de Compostela, I scoured as many souvenir shops as I could looking for another small pressed glass Camino shell to no avail.
In the autumn of 2017, I returned to walk the Camino Francés again. I was hopeful that I might once again find the young men selling their snacks and souvenirs. They were there, and they had a small pressed glass Camino shell for sale! I joined the new glass shell with the agate and the bloodstone in my pocket. These little stones were with me the rest of the Camino Francés in 2017; on several winters in Chiang Mai, Thailand; on the Via de la Plata from Seville in 2023; and on the Camino Sanabrés in 2024.
Now, I carry the agate, the bloodstone, and the small pressed glass Camino shell wherever I go. They still remind me to stay grounded, to ask the spirits for permission to be wherever I am, and to be grateful for being there. They also remind me to go forward as a pilgrim, the Camino spirit permeating me.
