--PILGRIMAGE PICTURE OF THE MONTH--

Generosity

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Jo Tedesco (Australia) had this picture taken in a cafe in Kaiyū while walking the Tokushima leg of the trail in Spring 2011. Not only was the cafe owner happy to take a picture with the customer, she was happy to provide great service, and then give the customer settai as well. Yes, i know you are supposed to be the paying customer, but let me give you something as well. I have said it a thousand times or more (and will probably triple that in coming years), but i'll point out again that the people of Shikoku are some of the most generous people on the face of the planet. For reasons that aren't easy for me to pin down, the people of Shikoku continue to this day to believe that walking henro are special, that they deserve special attention, that they should be treated like family, or even themselves, even if they just met you 32 seconds ago. During that first 32 seconds they may blink as they see a foreigner walk through their door. Their minds may, for those few seconds, say "Ah, gaijin," but habit and instinct then immediately kick in and you are welcomed with open arms. Shop owners and employees will go to extraordinary lengths to help walking henro, to make them feel at home, to help solve any (even unsolvable) problems. The question i throw to all walking henro is, are you always aware of that? Do you keep it in mind when you see others who might also benefit from your assistance? How close to the tip of your tongue do you keep generous words and thoughts throughout each and every day of your walk? Can you live up to the standards set by the people of Shikoku?