Be quiet and listen

Yesterday was a great day. I woke early and had the chance to look through some of my photos.
I managed to also have a conversation with one of my camino friends. .it was lovely to swap experiences and talk about return visits to the camino.
As I finished the conversation though I realized that I was talking AND working on my computer at the same time. Normal enough but I felt uneasy..not sure why.
After breakfast I headed over to church ...strange driving after 3 months of not driving... and did my normal camino thing of talking to god / prayer while walking (well driving now). I started off and was told to be quiet.

Humph

I started again...again I was told to listen..just listen.

So the trip over was different..just listening.

Didn't hear much... just the clear blue sky,
a flock of birds swirling in the distance,
an elderly couple walking hand in hand,
someone hurrying into church,
sheep in the paddock,
ducks in the creek...not much to hear at all!

So I arrived at church thinking 'o.k. that was lovely 'hearing' the world around me enjoying the beautiful winters day. I still felt uneasy about the multitasking during the viber call earlier and as I walked into church...again came the 'request' to listen.

Whammo

It was like the readings (and Helen's introduction to them) and the sermon were aimed just at me.
..removing distractions and listening to god...taking time out to listen...once you have listened, making sure you have put it into practice. ..
The gospel was about Martha and Mary...again in a way that reminded me so clearly that part of the process of stopping and listening is actually acting on it.

My conversation earlier in the day should have been single tasking not multi tasking, just like my time with god.
 

You get the picture.

So, I enjoyed a number of conversations after church where I worked very on listening and not talking.

I headed to orienteering all ready to listen...and guess what...it was great !

Firstly it was nice not to be recognized by many people at orienteering, (apparently I look different now) but out on the course in the lovely winter sun...I had 90 minutes of being back on the camino...by myself, sun on my face, mud, uneven surfaces...and just listening. I was disappointed that the course finished for me but very grateful to discover a way of recapturing that camino feeling of being so close to someone who knows me better than I know myself.

So..the camino actually begins...