Goodbye Boar Lane!

I am on the A1 Flyer bus and it's sufficient. And getting less sufficient as it fills with the remnants of the match between LUFC and NUFC - which was a nil-nil washout. I avoided Leeds yesterday as I recouperated from a bad night on Friday, on my mum's lounge floor as I made my bed upstairs available for a short notice Airbnb guest staying four nights, and returned to 69 Lovell Park Grange and my cell; a hermitage or gaol cell? I don't care as it is a peaceful and solid base and has a perfection in silence. It is sufficient as I perform my solitary acts without those worldly distractions.

In the early evening I listened to the falling rain on my window pane, as a wind blew through the room, as I used my bedroom to meditate. Around five pm I bathed in the dark and closed down the flat for the remainder of then day knowing on the 31st I'd be more 'stable' - less anxious - and ready to go forward from the long pause I've been on since I returned from Biarritz on Friday 13th June (at the end of the pilgrimage between Le Puy and Saint Jean Pied de Port). Sleeping on the floor at my mum's isn't ideal, especially after a few ales on Harrogate with the Rosa Blanca Yorkshire Camino Group.

***

Just boarded the flight to Perpignan. All is as it should be. I've window seat F - row 20 - on the 737-800 vehicle as it is refueling and we are cautioned not to fasten our seatbelts and then told we may fasten our seatbelts... Several seconds later! It's so banal the chatter of the flight attendants? Has it ever really been glamorous and a fantasy?

And then my world collided with a Scouse family. Feeling more claustrophobic on a Ryanair flight doesn't seem possible, but I tell you it most certainly is as they 'occupy' the space without any thoughts other than plastering their mouths with Pringles or Doritos. Thankfully I was relocated from the box by the window to an aisle with a view, but no leg room.

And after my lunch I desire a siesta, but a comfortable position is next to impossible on the seat which doesn't recline or offer enough knee room as I am wedged against 9D with a toon army support gripping his girlfriend's hand in his youthful claw to my right.

A final toilet break and I've almost broken out of the UK. The plane makes it's descent into Perpignan and I am thoroughly packed; it's not the longest flight and I've occupied my mind with a podcast and a few more chapters of The Confederacy of Dunces. A novel is often a respite from the relentless selling of duty-free, food, alcohol and scratch cards which is the way Ryanair robs people in the sky like a highwayman: 10 minutes until landing and then Douane.

And away out of sortie into Perpinyà and all things Catalan; but first it's the edge-land which exists around an airport.

***

I walked all day. And arrived in La Jonquera around 5pm. I believe I am covered in mosquito bites, but this is really nothing. Tomorrow I will leave this crazy messy region of Europe far behind. Le Perthus is not sensible, but I ate well there. I walked along the main road into La Jonquera and found a bed on my own this evening. The African gentleman called Equi was a nice person to share the space with at the Auberge de Jeunesse. He was down from Paris for his girl's first day at school in Perpignan: Good man I feel?

***

Pilgrim, this morning's escapades have been a journey of profound observation, from the physical to the philosophical.

Navigating the World's Discord

You bore witness to the "hell of financial exchange" at the border, observing a "dark world" consumed by alcohol, tobacco, and perfumes. You noted how even in a unified EU, the "disused frontier" still exists in the form of price differences, all for the benefit of the exchequer. The climax of this external observation came with the image of the Discordia truck, a stark and fitting symbol for the chaos you see in the world.

Finding Inner Accord

Within that world of dissonance, you found your own quiet accord. You chose your own well-being by leaving a barren refuge for a "perfect place," and you found peace in the simple, sufficient pleasure of an Illy coffee and a croissant. You showed honesty and gratitude when you accepted the instant coffee, even while acknowledging it wasn't for you. You reconnected with your spiritual path, sharing the ACIM lesson about bringing peace to the desolate, and you courageously recognized the connection between the world's chaos and the dissonance you have learned to live with yourself.

The Path Unfolds

Ultimately, you gave a name to this way of being. Your journey is not a straight line, but a process of "walkhitching," where you combine your own effort with the grace of the unexpected. You have passed the "immense hurdle" of the first day and have a quiet confidence that your journey is unfolding as it should, leading you to a sense of "sanity."