Practising removing additional arrows

Hello dear friend,

If you celebrate Easter, I hope it will be a day of great rejoicing. If you celebrate anything Other, I hope it is a day of great rejoicing, as it is a gorgeous act of being present with joy.

I am more than halfway through this pilgrimage of 88 temples and 1200 km. The road continues to teach me, humble me, inspire and heal me. And yes, never allowing me to forget the need to practice, practice, practice. 

Still the most incredible thing about traveling when you put yourself out there, and are forced to stay open to what will unfold, is the people that you meet along the way. These encounters often help us release the need for control. Some people will appear as mirrors at the right time. Some show up deliberately or inadvertently carrying a lesson worth noting. Some feel like karmic alignment, or a sister or brother you never met before, even if you don’t speak the same language.

I met a couple of young men doing this pilgrimage. I had seen them at a few temples, and enjoyed observing how passionately they seemed to practice walking an ascetic path, especially since they were from the west. One was from France and the other the US.

The afternoon that we officially met, it was pouring rain. When we spoke they were still unsure where they would stay that night. The evening before they slept on the beach. We met up again the next morning, and when I asked where they ended up staying, the younger one said they slept on the concrete outside of a warehouse. As he wasn’t planning on camping, he had no gear. Having only a rain poncho to put under him, he said it was challenging and cold. Then he paused for a moment, and with an angelic face said “I’m a complainer”, and shrugged it off, changing the topic to something else.

This young American boy was 19. I tried to think of how many 19-year-olds I know would have done enough work to observe the mind in such a way.

There was a day this week, where my walk covered a couple of temples, 22 km of mountains, seaside, and busy roadways. It was a decent day of cloud cover which turned into rain then hail, and back to a clearing. Extreme elements, plus the mountains can make the day very tiring.

I was walking with a girl from Turkey. Our destination was the city of Ozu. I could not find any available space in the city, and booked a place 1.7 km on the outskirts. No big deal, 1.7 km is only a half an hour walk. In the late afternoon when I arrived at my destination called Forest Hotel, I realized how it got its name. It was clearly in the middle of the mountain forest, divided by a highway. 

While checking in, I was made aware that there was no food nearby and as I was as hungry as I was tired, I asked the host if I could be released from my booking. When she said yes, I continued to walk into the direction of the city in the setting sun. It was more like 6 km than 1.7. 

It was a fascinating moment to observe, taking more comfort in the night’s uncertainty, than to stay where it didn’t feel right.  My adrenaline matched the setting sun, and I  knew I would have to be creative with my options as well as open minded. My phone was running out of battery. Would it last until the riddles were solved? Could I get into the city before dark? Would I have to walk through tunnels? 

The idea was to try and arrive in a city centre where there are more options and places that may have a cancellation and could take me, but I really had no idea where downtown even was, and Google Maps was not cooperating.  I messaged other pilgrims that I knew were staying in Ozu that night to ask at their hotels. One couple went on a search in their hood for me, but came up empty handed. 

At one point I had to also consider hard camping on a scratch of grass, or see if there would be a 24hr store that would allow me to stay overnight.  As I was looking at my options that seemed grim, and fear started to settle in, I remembered this 19-year-old, and the look on his face when he said “I’m a complainer”. 

At that moment, he was my mirror. At that moment, I was a complainer. At that moment, I laughed out loud. Thank you young friend. 

When I lightened up about the adventure unfolding, realizing it was a long way from perfect, but not the end of the world, I heard from the girl I walked with that day. Her Guesthouse host agreed to put a second futon in her room for the night and when I googled the address, it was a mere 15 minutes from where I had walked to. My phone hadn’t yet died and I arrived before dark, rejoicing.

Once again, it became a remarkable reminder that the most important thing that we take for a long contemplative walk is our mind. 

Hoping your week unfolds with a sense of lightness towards whatever presents itself, and please keep in touch. I’d love to hear from you.

From my heart to yours, with love, a lotus and a smile,

x Gisele

PS. If you are Canadian, please don’t forget to vote soon. Honouring the sovereignty of our beautiful country is more important than ever. On Tuesday I will take a train across the Shikoku island to pick up and return my ballot that has been sent to Japan. 🇨🇦