Reconcile with yourself regardless of religion

Alysson 2022-04-19 09:03:03

Tom (USA), Jost (Netherlands), Sarah (Canada), Jack (Ireland)

Starting from the Pyrenees on the French border, crossing the entire northern Spain from east to west, and finally reaching the Cathedral of Santiago, this road, also known as the Way of Saint James, is one of the three major pilgrimage routes in the world. Because of an accident, Tom, a 60-year-old American ophthalmologist, embarked on a journey. And that was the way Tom's son Daniel planned to go, only to be knocked down on the first day of the trip by an unexpected storm.

Tom has never been able to understand his son's way of life. Since his wife's death, the communication between Tom and his son has not been harmonious. Daniel chose to give up when he was about to get a doctorate because he thought that the degree would not help him see the world clearly, and since then Daniel chose to embark on a journey.

"You didn't choose a life, you live one."

Daniel said this when he invited Tom to join him on the journey. Life is not for choosing, life is for experiencing.

After experiencing this sudden accident, Daniel fell on his way to see the world clearly, and Tom chose to carry the luggage left by Daniel and set foot on the road of St. James with Daniel's ashes. Maybe he wanted to walk the road he wanted to walk for his son, Tom would scatter a little bit of Daniel's ashes wherever he went, and this unexpected journey would help him understand how his son lived.

Tom is not alone, and there are many pilgrims who go on the road for various reasons:

Jost - a fat Dutch man who wants to lose weight

Sarah - a Canadian girl who wants to quit smoking

Jack - an Irish writer looking for inspiration

They each wanted something, but their destination was the same, and so Tom gradually went with them. From moving forward silently with each other, to helping each other later, they gradually established a deep friendship. Along the way, they also met a lot of interesting people.

"when I was young, I was too busy. And now I am too old and tired"

When Tom asked a hostess who ran a sanctuary hotel if she had ever made a pilgrimage, the hostess replied.

"Yes, I believe. that is my job."

When Tom asked a priest he met on the road if he believed in miracles, the priest replied. The latter had just undergone surgery to remove a brain tumor, but the tumor was not completely removed, so he embarked on a pilgrimage to seek miracles.

People make pilgrimages for a variety of reasons, they all have their own stories, and in this short journey everyone's destination is the same - the Cathedral of Santiago, they sometimes meet, sometimes separate, and then again. We meet again, and the various people and things we encounter in our life journey are not like this?

At the end of the journey - the Cathedral of Santiago, except Jack reaps the story of his quest. Yost didn't lose weight; Sarah didn't quit smoking; Tom didn't change the fact that he lost his son. Eight hundred kilometers all the way down with their own plans, and then nothing seems to have changed. And this is the spirit I learned from the original film:

You don't have to force what kind of result at the end of the journey, learn to feel life, learn to reconcile with yourself, as long as you are on the road

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Extended Reading
  • Ona 2022-03-27 09:01:21

    the tragic, the brilliant

  • Rashawn 2022-03-19 09:01:10

    Road movie, very touching story

The Way quotes

  • Tom: Have you ever walked the Camino, senora?

    First albergue innkeeper: Never. When I was young, I was too busy. And now that I'm older, I'm too tired.

    First albergue innkeeper: [as Tom silently nods and heads out the door] Buen camino.

  • Joost: I tried to quit once. But then I thought, "Why?" My grandmother, she drank and she smoked her entire life, and she lived to be 103 years old. Now what does that tell you?

    Sarah: It tells me that everyone who is trying to quit something always has an ancient relative they use as an example of why not to quit.

    Joost: I suppose that make me into a cliché, then.

    Sarah: You said it.