According to my 2017 post About the new banner image, apparently I only update my website/banner image on sabbatical. So here I go again! This time I chose an image from my Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, which I made in September 2025, alongside my friend and collaborator Andrea Webb. I am eternally grateful for this opportunity.
This image captures the view looking back down a mountain we just climbed under a sky full of stars. The sun is rising above Castrojeriz, a hillside town in the midst of fields smelling sweetly of harvested hay. The flecks of light between the town and us are the headlamps of fellow pilgrims. We formed a snaking line, each following the footsteps of a thousand years of pilgrims, each setting out toward a common destination, each on their own journey. We adventurers in teaching and learning sometimes point our efforts in the same direction for a while, though we are never really on the same internal journey. We walk the path of the knowledge makers who have gone before us, guided by them in ways within and beyond our awareness.
The day that followed was tremendous. Our hottest day, our longest one-day trek (24k), through mostly treeless fields. It was our third day on foot, having started in the lovely city of Burgos (due north of Madrid), heading west across Spain. By day’s end, we were a mess. The greeting we received at that day’s destination was so gracious it brings tears to my eyes. Instead of lining up for check-in, we were invited to sit and rest with refreshments. How we welcome and treat each other matters. Transactions are part of teaching and learning, yes. But it is the grace of caring for our common humanity that opens hearts for transformation.
May I always remember and practice the many lessons of pilgrimage.