Leaving a tiny town....actually a street junction, a little late. Last night at this Albergue we met some older American ladies ....one started in St. Jean with her husband and then her husband left her in Leon and a friend joined her in Astorga.
They were about the 3rd group of people who told me that when you go to the Pilgrims Mass, if there isn’t enough people they won’t light the incense. Tradition is they light a huge incense burner about 6 feet high and then swing it through the church....they did it in the past ....not as a religious ritual ...it was done to get rid of the smell of all the pilgrims.....it takes 12 men to swing the burner. Looking forward to it.
We left late and moved slow...the knee is a little better but I can feel it with every step.
We stopped in another little town called Arca.....it is crowded tonight and it is about all my knee can handle today.
One thing we have noticed here in Galacia Providence are these little thin houses...every house has it is in every yard (see pics) they sit high off the ground on stilts about 2 ft wide, 10 ft long, 5 ft high, with religious symbols. It took me a while, but we found out in Galcia providence...this building was more important than your house. This is where you held your grain and this kept it dry and blessed. It was a sign of a good economy and very important to keeping the economy running. If yours was full you could get credit or trade. It is a symbol of Galcia.
I'm used to kind of leading people or always being in the lead.....very competitive, but the thing you learn on the Camino is a little or a lot of humility. You can be walking with someone on the path and all of a sudden they say......well I'll see you later and they start to walk faster......my head says wait....I’ll keep up ....but then you realize they don’t want you to keep up....they want to go off on their own. I have had some people say after a while I’m going to hold back a little and walk by myself. You get done walking and you get a bunk bed with everyone else, public showers and public washrooms and then dinner is called a Pilgrims meal....you don't get to place an order...you get what they are serving tonight, .....and yet we meet great people, great host and hostess and can really enjoy these simple pleasures.
How does this work in business? When I was a sales manager, I always considered myself as an employee of my salespeople....my job was to help them sell more....not necessarily make it easier....but to perhaps get out of their way at times.
Same concept for the CEO, your job is to get our of your people’s way and let them do their job.
Lesson Learned:
See the greatness in others.
P.S. Walked a bit with Vegas
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