Maybe There Will Be Cupcakes

Ginny Bartolone's Blog of Many Years

Tag: Motivation

  • Dear Pilgrim Letters

    Dear Pilgrim Letters

    Hello lovelies. I wrote these letters to any stranger considering walking the Camino de Santiago, specifically the most popular route from St. Jean Pied du Port to Santiago. I’ve walked those particular 500 miles at two very different times in my life, and I suspect I will do it one more time someday if I’m…

  • 5. Dear Pilgrim: On Navarra Through Burgos

    5. Dear Pilgrim: On Navarra Through Burgos

    You’ve made it past the Pyrenees; past the anticipation of the first steps. Ahead of you sit the Basque hills of Navarra and the fertile vineyards of La Rioja.

  • 2. Dear Pilgrim: On Wild Boars & Other Dangers

    2. Dear Pilgrim: On Wild Boars & Other Dangers

    I’m fascinated by the brand of terror that engulfs people when I tell them about the Camino de Santiago.

  • The Power of Simple Acknowledgment

    The Power of Simple Acknowledgment

    Earlier this week, I decided to launch an account on Instagram called Dear Pilgrim. The aim of the community is to provide a home for those considering walking the Camino de Santiago as well as those who see themselves as seekers, spiritually or not. The idea is connected to a larger project I will talk…

  • An Afternoon of (Almost) Writing, or How to Make Pumpkin Chili

    At the start of this post, I have one completed article, three new article pitches, and a slow cooker full of pumpkin chili.  What I do not have, my dear friends, is a single additional word of either my book outline or actual book that I set the past four hours aside to work on.…

  • How to Return

    The past two nights, I’ve stumbled through NYC pretending that I fit in, ignoring–or hiding–that I still feel like an outsider.  I stop extra long at busy intersections–at one point so long that a feisty West Village pedestrian smacks into the back of me without a word of “Oops” or apology.  I’m in the way.  But…

  • The Counting Down of Days

    I’ve always been a calendar counter.  When I was a kid, I used to pick something in the future to look forward to and write numbers across the little boxes on my wall calendar.  I’d cross them off with big markered x’s, even occasionally adding a half slash around noontime.  As a now-Buddhist, this isn’t…

  • Wisdom for this Year’s February Thaw

    When I walked into school this morning, a flying-v of geese headed north overhead, presumably returning early from the winter.  “February Thaw,” as one of my friends recently told me this strange stretch of weather is called, is confusing to me.  Everything since November has felt like a reason to worry, this unseasonably warm weather…

  • Day 18: The Day I Freed the Horses

    Day 18: The Day I Freed the Horses

    For the final 30 days of my twenties, I am writing one personal narrative a day that has impacted my life until now.  To read more about my challenge, feel free to check out the first post.   Also, this 30 Day challenge is also to support a wonderful charity, Zara Aina.  Please check out my fundraiser here and if…

  • Day 15: The Last Day of the Camino

    For the final 30 days of my twenties, I am writing one personal narrative a day that has impacted my life until now.  To read more about my challenge, feel free to check out the first post.   Also, this 30 Day challenge is also to support a wonderful charity, Zara Aina.  Please check out my fundraiser here and if…