Pilgrims' nearness

[Rosina Lila]

Gosh!...
.... so many messages from you all, so caring, so affectionate, so very
comforting. I've shown some to friends and neighbors in bereavement and they,
and I, thank you for your emotional friendship and companionship.
-You are perfectly right, there is a way of automatically deleting, unread,
messages from e-mail addresses which have proven to be offensive,
destructive, vulgar or worse;
this is technological defense necessary in this faceless and open medium.  I
knew how to do it but overwrought as I was a couple of days ago I did not
think about it at the time. It's been done.
I, for one, need your fellowship very much.
As you pilgrims know,  oftentimes in the Camino, walking alone, one always
knew that there was another pilgrim around the bend, or beyond the top of the
hill or just behind the cluster of "pirules" and what solace and warmth  such
knowledge brought.  You are that to me now and, through me, to those in
greater need of an extended hand.
We are slowly moving towards some normalcy and have found hands-on ways to
help out.  Those of us unable to lift charred steel or slabs of concrete have
been busy   rescuing stranded pets.... giving temporary refuge to evacuees
not yet able to return to their apartments.... and trying to console the
bereaved.... there are so many of them.
My little Maltese dog, Chris, has brought many a smile and licked many a tear
among the groups of those still clustered around the hospital and information
centers. Some would say that he licked the salt.... but I know him and know
better.
The Mayor and the Governor are setting up impromptu centers to find jobs and
relocate all those who have lost their jobs, or their companies, as speedily
as possible.  We all know that work is the best therapy.  Many of us have
volunteered to work in that effort and do all we can.
It seems that the wheel needed by our shoulders is taking shape and we are
rolling up our sleeves and going at it.
When I finished the Camino two weeks (and a lifetime) ago I stayed in
Santiago for a few days hanging out a lot around the Cathedral, of course.
While there I heard it said, more than once, and in more than one language,
that the end of the pilgrimage signifies the beginning.  I did not ask the
beginning of what.... and it has been a riddle to me since I heard it....
does anyone of you know or understand with greater clarity than I what it
means?
Love you all.... thank you, thank you, thank you.
Rosina