Magic Dust

On El Camino de Santiago,

there is a vernacular term called “Camino magic.”

Whenever beautiful and small yet miraculous events happen to pilgrims along the Way,

such as a local offering you a night’s stay in their home

or a pilgrim giving you a small, cherished stone,

we call that “Camino magic.”

And after finishing the Camino

and moving back to the United States,

I’ve often thought that I left the Camino magic behind,

like one can only find it along the trail

as little sparkly dust

that falls on us

while we walk among the stones

and kick it up with our boots.

But I’ve recently realized

that the earth beneath my feet

is the same as the one below the Camino stones.

That this is the same ground

and the same people

as those we find along the trail.

We all put our feet in the same ocean

that holds the same treasure

protected in its belly.

The only difference

between our world

and El Camino

is that the water is a bit clearer

along the Way.

Pilgrims live a simplistic life on the trail.

They carry their few belongings on their back

and spend their days walking

and thinking

and praying

and spreading love.

Their environment allows them to calm down their perilous waves

so they can ever more slightly detect

what’s hidden underneath their surface.

But we can find the Camino magic without being in Spain.

We can make our water clearer

so we aren’t blinded by the rocky waves

that are formed by everything else

except ourselves.

Let’s shine a light into the air

so we can see the beautiful, diamond-speckled dust,

the magic,

the treasure,

that’s floating

right in front of us.