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600km Walking Pilgrimage through Spain

Written by Denise Chng Lisan & published on September 2 2008

From the moment I discovered an ancient pilgrimage path in Spain in June last year, the attraction of walking hundreds of kilometres towards an assured destination grew on me daily. My eagerness to go on a month-long journey on foot across the steep slopes, lush valleys and forests of the Pyrenees, and through countless small towns and villages, was part of a subconscious quest to find depth and meaning in my life. At the age of 33, I was approaching – prematurely, perhaps – what seemed to be a mid-life crisis.

Straits Times Life! Article,Denise Chng Lisan,Camino de Santiago,Camino Frances

Letter from Quebec: Preserving Heritage

Written by Denise Chng Lisan & published on November 8 2008

'TRAVEL is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living,' wrote Miriam Beard. Life in Quebec is now my teacher, pointing out my knowledge gaps and honing my ideas of living - be it language, culture, life-skills, or the environment.

Denise Chng Lisan

In loving memory of my mother

Posted by Denise CHNG Lisan On Monday, October 27, 2008
The autumn season, to me, represents the season of maturing and dying. It is easy to forget because it is so beautiful.
But it affirms to me that dying can be beautiful and graceful.

During this autumn day of October 27, I remember my mother. She left us two years ago on this day. It was a shattering day for us all.

However, her death and the months leading to it, reminded me constantly of living. She became the reason that I chose to live. It was because of her that I went on my journey, in search of the full meaning of my life. A friend put it rather straightly to me, "she died, so that you could live." It sounds morbid, but it is true.

Like the water in the pulp that makes paper, it has to leave so that the paper can come to life. My mother's strength and courage seep into me, carried in my heart.

I was inspired by my mother and grandmother, who were both named after Mother Maria, and who left the world within the year, to make the journey to Lourdes in France. It was there that I understood why I was brought there in the first place.

Love never dies. It just transforms. I hope the video conveys my experience of this love in this sacred place.

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2 Response to 'In loving memory of my mother'

  1. Evan Low Said,
    http://denise-camino.blogspot.com/2008/10/in-loving-memory-of-my-mother.html?showComment=1225097880000#c4426726665235387858'> 27 October 2008 at 01:58

    Very touching. I see most of the scenes are from Lourdes.

     

  2. Denise CHNG Lisan Said,
    http://denise-camino.blogspot.com/2008/10/in-loving-memory-of-my-mother.html?showComment=1225115940000#c386545191079954994'> 27 October 2008 at 06:59

    Thank you, Evan. Yes, it is a video of Lourdes. I was there before I started my camino.

     

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    Ave Maria - Lourdes, France
    IN MEMORY OF MY MOTHER

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