Breadth

CAMINO STAGE 17- Llanes to Ribadesella. Camino Del Norte Route of El Camino De Santiago. 20 miles, Day 18, 19 days to go

“The depth of life is found in the breadth of living.” Richie Norton

On a visit to the Uffizi museum in Florence, Italy, I went to find a painting entitled Judith Slaying Holofernes, done by a woman named Artemisia Gentileschi. In the early 1600s, in Rome, Italy, few women had the opportunity to pursue artistic training, but Artemisia’s father, Orazio Gentileschi, already a renowned artist, saw his daughter’s aptitude in painting and taught and encouraged her to expand the breadth of her talents. By fifteen Artemisia was already selling her work. She painted strong, capable women, like Judith, in the apocryphal Old Testament, who had the courage to do difficult things. In Artemisia’s broad inspired brushstrokes, I could see the depth and breadth of her resilience after being attacked by her father’s apprentice. Despite injury, Artemisia continued to paint and became the first woman to be accepted into the prestigious Accademia delle Arti del Disegno which allowed her to purchase artistic supplies without the permission of her father or future husband and to sign her own contracts.

“Length without breadth is like a self-contained tributary having no outward flow to the ocean. Stagnant, still and stale, it lacks both life and freshness. In order to live creatively and meaningfully, our self-concern must be wedded to other concerns.” MLK Jr

Continuing the Camino through the more rugged Asturian coast along mountains, down to beaches, we found new life breathed into us even with residual and new injuries. It has been a point of admiration for me to note the breadth of endurance in the human body. When one area of the body is injured and exhausted, other parts kick in and are utilized in order to carry on. And even in pain, the body generously allows less focus on self and more concern for each other and those around us. Each day unfolds with an opportunity to live more gratefully and purposefully even though it’s fraught with finding creative ways to keep chunks of toes from falling off. Humor, the antidote to all despair, has expanded the breadth of our perceived capacity to endure.

Fascinating wooden Hórreo on rock stilts that have held grain since the 3rd century grabbed my attention on today’s walk. These granary were raised to keep rodents out and damp soggy soil from seeping in and destroying the crop inside. I could see the parallels to us as pilgrims keeping our socks dry to prevent new blisters from forming and finding the absurd and silly to keep despondency from seeping in. Suspending moral to stay high in the rain and pain was our Hórreo, and the way to preserve us on our journey.

Arriving in Ribadesella, I noticed a little church perched above the city. The map revealed it to be a hermitage resting on a hilltop called the Mirador de la Grúa. After dumping our backpacks at our lodgings, and doing laundry, I tightened my shoelaces and started up the Mirador. A mirador is an extensive outlook, and these belvederes with extended views have a magnetic draw for me. Making it to the summit, I found old cannons from yesteryears, a lighthouse glistening on a distant rise, and our hotel winking from far below. Ribadesella sprawled out in its beauty before me.

Gradually my shoulders relaxed and loosened and my mind wandered and my own personal outlook spread like a mirador before me. New eyes viewed the breadth of the 500 miles we had undertaken to complete—it was not only a challenge to the body, but also a vehicle to expand the breadth of our spirits, and to appreciate the resilient combined strength of each other. Like Artemisia, who dug deep and kept painting after challenges, I could draw on my reserves and keep walking, as deep within I knew I had the bandwidth to endure.

“There is nothing more tragic than to find an individual bogged down in the length of life, devoid of breadth.” Martin Luther King Jr

By pushing past what is thought possible, there lies our true depths waiting for us. Remaining stagnant and still is not living, so tomorrow again we choose to flow like a river to the ocean and be refreshed and broadened by the Camino.