Camino Gratitude

In an effort to beat the upcoming rain and wind, I decided to walk 37 km today and tomorrow, then 40 km on Friday into Santiago de Compestella. I therefore left Sarria early this morning under a full moon (I wear a headlight when walking in the dark). My first obstacle was a stream with no apparent bridge. So, I stepped onto what I thought were solid rocks sticking out of the water only to fall into the stream with both shoes totally soaked! I trudged to the first town and changed into dry socks. As every Pilgrim repeats daily, “well, that’s my Camino!”

I’ve grown to love the walking solitude on the Camino. Paulo Coelho wrote “If you are never alone, you cannot know yourself. And if you do not know yourself, you will begin to fear the void.” I see and hear this on the Camino listening to people of all ages answer the question “Why are you walking and what have you learned on the Camino?”

Listening to hundreds of responses, I’ve concluded most young pilgrims do not believe in or know anything about a Creator. This is very different from Pilgrims over the age of 50 years. Paolo Coehlo wrote “If we are cut off from divine energy, we allow ourselves to be influenced by what other people think. Instead of accepting ourselves as we are, we try to imitate what we see around us. We try to be what other people think, our soul fades, our will weakens, and all the potential we had to make the world a beautiful place withers away. But, if we resist the temptation to allow other people to define who we are, then we will gradually be able to let the sun inside our soul.” This seems so simple and true.