Three little beads

One of my favorite possessions from the Camino is a beaded, woven prayer chain that one of my fellow “peregrinos” made. She crafted one for each member of our pilgrimage team. It is small and doesn’t add to the burden of the walk. The woolie chain has three wooden beads; one yellow, one red and one brown. And each is meant to represent a different facet of the pilgrimage.
The red bead represents passion. Passion that brought us to the Camino in the first place. Passion that carried us through some very wet days and passion that brought us to the conclusion of that pilgrimage. And passion, that put our feet onto our next pilgrimage, even if we might not know what that looks like.
The brown bead represents the journey whatever that might look like. Each of us had to make significant plans and arrangements to be in Spain. Some had to plan for congregations that would need guidance. Some had to plan for families that needed nurturing. Some had to plan for pets that needed monitoring. All had to prepare for the physical aspects of the journey. And all had to consider how their journey will continue.
The yellow bead represents peace, whatever that might be for each person. Peace may have been physical, emotional or spiritual. It may have been freedom from external or internal conflict. It may have been something we brought with us, sought there or found along the way.
This is a great tool for the pilgrimage, along the Camino, and day to day.