The standard image of a pilgrim is a walking figure. I enjoy the figure on the Mount of Forgiveness only a few miles outside Pamplona. The pilgrims are walking or riding. I thoroughly enjoy the lone pilgrim outside O Cebreiro who holds his hat as he strides into the Atlantic wind. Pilgrims moving!

Yet pilgrims don’t always move. They need to rest. There is a need to stop. Either to unloosen one’s shoes laces or even take the shoes off. A need to rest my walking poles. There is a need to drink. Even with a water bladder, I enjoy those mouthfuls of water taken from my water bottle. There is a need to simply look around. What did I pass? What will I pass? Benches offer all of this and more.

One of the “mores” that I grew to treasure, is if the bench is given in memory of a person. And, sometimes, when a bench isn’t available, a large fallen tree works fine!

I wonder “Do I appreciate enough my benches back in Atlanta?”