To read more context for the letter below, check out this post here:)

Dear Pilgrim,

As you head onto the well-trodden road beyond Astorga, it will become even more apparent that you are a part of something larger than yourself. The footsteps of millions that came before you mark the way as you mark the way for the millions that will come behind you. Your footprints tamp down the earth, shifting the angle of the next pilgrim’s step. Trails previously too steep to climb now feature the stone-and-mud staircases built by the last million walkers.

Find comfort in the idea that someone is arriving in Santiago and someone else is just getting off the train at St. Jean. You have a uniquely shared camaraderie with people you will never meet and a new opportunity for empathy for those facing the challenges you’ve already overcome. Call to past pilgrims for strength and imagine the advice you’d give to others still planning their journey. This is just one way to embrace the role you now play in contributing to an ancient pilgrimage.

It’s easy to assume we are nothing like those who walked in our place hundreds of years earlier. Look for signs of where your minds intersect. Answer the natural pull to touch a tree that hangs over the trail or to sit on a stone destined to be a bench for hikers simply due to its placement.

As you walk in the pitch-black morning, think of others who have longed to see the sky lighten after a night of long shadows. Breathe in their bravery, and when the sun does rise, thank it for rising just as they did.

You are not far from the end now. When you return home, it will be difficult for even the people closest to you to understand what you’ve seen, what you’ve felt, and who you’ve met. Take these last couple of days or weeks to revel in a deeper understanding, an unbreakable bond with those who understand your specific pains and joys. Hold it close to you and call to it when the loneliness of an afternoon overwhelms you back home.

      You will always have this bond with those who have come before and will come after. By walking here, you will never again walk without hints of this timeless company. Count yourself in the footsteps of history and know, for certain now, that you left your mark.