In June I experienced the pleasure of hiking the Camino de Santiago for two weeks. Pilgrims have followed various paths to Santiago de Compostela, Spain since the 9th Century.
A pilgrim is one who journeys to a place of special significance. This can be a physical location or a place within yourself. Many contemporary Camino pilgrims travel for religious, spiritual or adventure reasons. My Camino impetus was a mixture of motivations: celebrating my husband’s special birthday, experiencing new vistas and being active.
However what resulted were opportunities to think about my path, fulfill a dream and discover how other travelers approach life. My fellow pilgrims and guides were mid-lifers and beyond: we ranged from 40’s to 80’s. We all possessed great life experiences, valuable relationships and accomplishments, but we were eager for more.
Being in nature provides a perfect spiritual backdrop for contemplation. And if that isn’t enough, entering each town’s sacred meeting place allowed for quiet and solitude. Creating a personalized “retreat” like this for growth and renewal is a gift everyone can use.
When and how do you take a break from the hustle of every day life? When do you think about where you are going, where you’ve been and what’s ahead? Who do you have these conversations with?
Often your talks with friends and family are around what you are doing vs who you are becoming. With strangers there is a freedom to be real. To cut through the details and get straight to what’s vital about your existence. Because you’re unlikely to see these people again, you can often have more honest exchanges. It reminds me of those conversations that occur with airplane seat mates…meeting someone and leaving changed.
Perhaps being away from home gives you permission to explore, be different, interrupt the status quo. This was a hike with a destination and a purpose. We lived completely in the present, but had room for reflection. A walking meditation works for some and for others a walk with thinking, sensing, or talking.
One special highlight of the Camino was receiving a pilgrim’s blessing on two separate occasions: one in a simple, rural church and one in the great Cathedral in Santiago. Here we were recognized, honored, supported. Walking the Camino was valuable and significant. We felt encouraged and included in a community that goes back hundreds of centuries.
“Traveler, there is no path
The path is made by walking
Traveler, the path is your tracks
And nothing more
Traveler, there is no path
The path is made by walking
By walking you make a path
And turning, you look back
At a way you will never tread again
Traveler, there is no road
Only wakes in the sea”
Antonio Machado
Closer to home, Mavis is uncomfortable. She thought she knew what she wanted to do with her life, but now is not sure. The things that at first interested her, no longer hold that attraction. What happened she wonders. How could that passion disappear? She feels lost, without a compass.
All of us have times in our lives when we are lost personally or professionally like Mavis. It could be after college, at midlife, at retirement, after a death or divorce. A bell rings signaling time to re-evaluate. It’s a tipping point. You have to change course and you don’t want to blow it. You want to get it right.
The truth is there is no “right”. Life isn’t a straight shot to the goal. It’s a series of meanders, where you head in the best imagined direction with the information you have. And then, when that no longer works, you pick up again on a new route.
One day in Madrid while in a curvy, medieval section of town with map in hand, I couldn’t find where I wanted to go. As usual the print was too small, the streets weren’t named and I was lost. But after the frustration, I instead focused on the beauty of the architecture, the joy of the people and the cloud formations above. Eventually the destination was found, but looking back I remember the journey as the best part.
Making your way:
Create your retreat experience
Leave it spontaneous or have intentions
Write down your findings
Start a thread of themes
Dare to glimpse ahead, stretch
Take one step
Buen Camino. Y a ti también.
