Today's picture is from Bern, Switzerland. Bern is the capital of Switzerland which was new to me (I just assumed it was Zurich). I was in Bern for a night and explored around the city all morning. It was such a cool city. I was a little angry about being there to start things off. I missed a train because the incompetent lady messed up my stuff. I had to cancel my hostel booking and make a new one. It's more complicated than it sounds. The travel day was long and when this happened I was not in a pleasant mood. On top of that, I have been feeling crummy for a couple of days since Morocco. Nothing seemed to be going my way which was putting me down in the dumps.
Arriving in Switzerland in the wrong town turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Bern was one of the coolest cities I have seen. Surrounded by a crystal blue river of glacier water, a bear park, a beautiful clock tower, sweet city streets, and a really cool church that allows you to climb to the top for aerial views of the city- Bern has got it going on!
After a couple of hours exploring Bern - cut short because the Einstein museum was closed when I was looking forward to getting really smart - I headed to the train station to depart for Interlaken. I have mastered looking lost and asking for help when it comes to which platform, what train number, how many stops, do I really need a ticket or can I sneak on (just kidding), and things like that. Trains here are remarkable in how they go everywhere, yet a pain in the butt when they don't translate where we are or where we are going.
From finishing walking 800km on the Camino in Spain, heading south to Morocco, north to Barcelona, East to France, and farther East to Switzerland, I am exhausted. Not only that, I really miss life on the Camino. The strenuous walks may have left battle wounds on my feet and aches in my knee, but it had me in a great place mentally and spiritually. Since then, it's been a headache of trains, planes, languages, and things like that.
When I arrived in interlaken, I took a deep breath, and made it my goal to stay at least a week. I want to find that peace I had on the Camino. I somehow lost it while riding camels, rushing to different platforms to catch trains, and running for the nearest toilet/hole in the ground while sick. It's funny because I know it's there, I just need to find it.
It's in all of us actually. Jesus made us in his image. He lives inside each one of us. But just like any relationship- it takes work. You can't expect him to do all the work. You wouldn't expect a healthy relationship or friendship to flourish when one person is doing all the work. Don't wait for Jesus to come to you. Go to him, find him. I promise if you start talking... He will respond.
When we get caught up in our busy lives its easy to forget about Jesus and our faith. But he doesn't forget about us. He just waits patiently. He has faith in us I think... And I'm not letting him down. He has blessed me with so much. And to be honest, life is so much better when you have a friend in Jesus.
I remember in 8th grade science I learned about dependent and independent variables. I forget which one is which but that's besides the point. When you are doing an experiment you should only change one variable at a time. Otherwise, when you change more than one you won't have control or know what was effecting the outcome. On the Camino, I was doing the same thing day in and day out. Wake up, walk, eat, think, talk, sleep. The only variable that was changing was my prayer and interaction with my faith and things like that. The better days were the days I was walking and talking with Jesus- that's for sure. I may not be Einstein, his museum may have been closed today, but after testing my hypothesis this was my own personal proven outcome. I enjoy life much more when I recognize that Jesus is in me and I acknowledge his presence.
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Well said, well said. Safe travels ! lily
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