9 days into the journey

9 days into the journey seemed like an eternity and yet it still seemed quite new. I began walking the Camino de Santiago on May 15, 2019. The first week was one of many tests. It took me about a week to settle into my new routine and to focus on what it was the Camino had to teach me. On the 9th day I wrote this reflection, which I shared with my Facebook and Tripcast followers:

Lessons learned

Each day as I walk along the Camino, I try to think of one thing I’m grateful for that day. One day it was rain because although I was walking in it, I truly enjoyed it. Another day it was answered prayer. Today it was my blisters. Why you ask? For a few reasons:

First, because as I walked in pain I was reminded of how awesome a creation we are. The fact that our bodies are able to defend themselves against injury is amazing to me. We just have to stop and listen to the warning signs our bodies give us in order to avoid serious issues.

Secondly, I noticed that as I walked in pain, I was forced to walk with intention. Every step I took today, everywhere I placed my foot was intended. My blisters caused me to raise my awareness of the moment. Each moment mattered today, each step intended – because without intention I would have experienced more pain.

Third, my blisters caused me to depend heavily on my trekking poles, which I named Jesus and Maria. As I walked, I was reminded to call on Jesus and Mary to get me through the day, but I was also reminded that they are a great source of comfort and strength to anyone who needs it.

My hope on this journey is to become more mindful of the present moment and today my blisters helped me get there, while Jesus and Maria were at my side, holding me up and helping me through. God bless you!

Continued reflection

As I continue to reflect, I remember all the different situations along the Camino that required our intentionality. It was not only my steps. The lesson was being driven home each day even as we discussed what to eat.

We had to make a conscious effort to get to our destination and eat BEFORE Spain shut down for siesta. If we got distracted with other things that effected our intention we would have to wait until the restaurants reopened for dinner (which was usually past our bedtime). This meant wait up or have something small. One day it was two yogurts and a nectarine. Another time it was yogurt and melba toast and some laughing cow cheese. And yet another time it was a frozen pizza that tasted like cardboard. We’re slow learners! The painful part was that we had no one to blame but ourselves (another lesson to discuss at a later date!).

One more thing: As much as we would have liked to attend mass on a daily basis, this was not an option for us – either because churches were closed or did not have an available priest or again – the mass was late and usually past our bedtime.

We realized early on in our trip that Sunday mass was offered one time in the day. It was not like in the United States where we usually have at least 4 options, sometimes 5. In Spain, Sunday mass was usually around 12 and that was it! Regardless of the time, it was obvious to me that we had to be intentional about our mass attendance as well. We couldn’t go around, as we do at home, fitting mass into our day – we had to fit our day into the mass.

That was a big deal to me because it made me realize that having too many options on when we can attend mass actually takes away from the focus and the importance of such great a gift – the source and summit of the Christian life! Having only one option made us focus on that one mass and how we were going to plan our whole day around that one event because it was important and it was all we had! I don’t know if that was the intention of the Spanish, but it was certainly a powerful message in my eyes.

Here and now

So intention was a big lesson on the Camino. Intention all around – intentions in walking, intention in planning, intention in prayer. Intention leads to presence and Presence.

When we are intentional, we show up in the present moment. We’re not in the past (depression), not in the future (anxiety) but in the here and now (gratitude). Just imagine how happy we could be if we remained here and now, aware of the Presence of Christ all around us! Here is an old post that touches on this subject. The journey continues……can’t wait to see where it leads.