Attitude is Everything


The weather has been beautiful the past few days and I had a wonderful sleep on Sunday night.  Last night, however, it was hot so sleeping was difficult, and then the rain started around 3:00 AM.  My train tickets were prepaid and a bit confusing for me too.  However, this morning I was reminded of one of my favorite Ray Brook sayings:  “Attitude is everything!”  Starting this adventure could be the most challenging part.  Lord, let my attitude be positive and focused on the privilege of this journey.






Thus far, the Kumano Kodo is a lot steeper and more natural than the Camino de Santiago.  Today’s walk was entirely in the forest and only emerged in the town where I am staying.  The common part of the journey is the lovely people!  I started noticing backpacks when I left Osaka and then the bus was full of pilgrims.  I am the only American that I know of, so far, and most of the folks are from Europe.  Climbing up step paths kept the conversations few;  however, the rest areas were full of pilgrims and wonderful discussions.  My first 2 pilgrim friends are from Amsterdam. 




Many thanks to Cindy who encouraged me to book nicer (single) rooms ahead of time, so I expect a wonderful rest tonight as I won’t have fellow pilgrims keeping me up.  The view from my room is amazing and very peaceful. 




Overall, the thought for today is to lean into the person that I want to be.  Blessing people with conversations, bling and encouragement seems like a worthwhile objective for day one.



Side note:  I am enjoying nicer rooms, but I still decided to carry my bag.  I found one young lad willing to carry it, but it just didn’t seem right.



Location - Takahara @ 33.796301, 135.53232

Distance - 4km

Elevation Gain - 430m

Elevation Loss - 200m

Steps - 10,828

Total Distance - 5.2 miles 

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 8, 2025 at 3:04 PM

    That young lad is too cute!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 8, 2025 at 3:04 PM

    I hope you compensated him for his generous heart ❤️

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Transitioning

Image
I came to Japan a week ago to work at Yumori Bible Camp.  This is the fourth year that I have spent Golden Week with the local Japanese team of folks who own and run the camp.  It is a labor of love to rescue the camp that was started by a friend’s parents back in 1968.  This was travel for service and I find it very rewarding. Today was a day of travel for tourism.  It was good to have a slow day as I wandered around Kyoto. The Kyoto Tower provided a lovely view of the city.  I did just a little shopping for small items as anything I acquire now I will have to carry for the next week.  I found a wonderful local restaurant and enjoyed chatting with the owner who is my age and loved The Carpenters.  Sometimes it is good to be a tourist. Tomorrow I will have an early morning train ride, followed by another train and a bus to reach the beginning of the pilgrimage.  If all goes according to plan, I will start walking the Kumano Kodo tomorrow.  Th...
Read more

Perspectives

Image
  Last night's dinner was fabulous!  We started with some sashimi and a personal beef hotpot.  Then came a plate of Spanish tapas to celebrate the Dual Pilgrimage and the two countries.  Dessert was cheesecake and coffee.  Afterwards, we enjoyed some Spanish guitar music, played by our host.  I was seated with a woman who has also walked the Camino de Santiago.  Today started with a fascinating breakfast conversation with a woman who works for nonprofits.  (Let’s just say her life has more challenges lately.)  She is from Minnesota and we agreed that way too many Americans need to get out and experience more of the world.  She is accompanying a friend on her first trip to Asia.  So many things here are hard to appreciate until you experience them.  Like why people will stand and wait for a traffic walk sign when there are no cars around on a street that is only a few feet wide. ...
Read more