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MoniRose said:I left for the Camino on May 26 and returned home July 12. Since then I have been writing and rewriting, documenting every detail I can remember of my beautiful journey. Tomorrow I am going back to work after three months away, but I am scared. I don't fully know how the Camino has changed me and I am worried that I do not have the same passion for my work as I did when I last worked on May 22.
Tonight I can't sleep, thinking about what tomorrow will be like and what I may continue to discover over the next weeks or months, or rather that the next weeks or months will confirm what I already know.
I don't know who else would understand. Thank you for being here. - m :arrow:
The unearthing goes on for years. Despite having completed a few pilgrimages now, I often re-read my first pilgrim journal as it is the one that sparked the most significant changes.MoniRose said:Tonight I can't sleep, thinking about what tomorrow will be like and what I may continue to discover over the next weeks or months, or rather that the next weeks or months will confirm what I already know.
...entranced by this mysterious Camino, enriched yet endless in pursuit of one's inner self, fearless of walking new paths.sillydoll said:Walter Starkie describes this state perfectly!
"...where [...] their mental plight resembles that of the monk in ancient times who lingered in the wood, listening entranced to the divine song of a bird in the tree."
sillydoll said:On the Camino you divest yourself of material baggage - and big chunks of psychological baggage. This has been transferred to the way I live at home.
When I got back from the Camino in 2002 I really suffered from the PCBs (Post Camino Blues). My house was too cluttered, I had too many clothes in my cupboards, I had too many 'things'.
I packed up ornaments, nic-nacs, souvenirs and magazines and sent them to the SPCA. I cleaned out my clothes cupboard - after all who needed 24 t-shirts (most from races I had done). Within a year my home was more minimalist than collector-of-things.
After each Camino I slough off more 'stuff'. When I go shopping I find myself looking at clothing and other things in terms of their weight - if it is too large or too heavy for my backpack I don't want it!
The only thing that is growing is my collection of Camino books and DVDs!! But then, I have become a Camino evangelist.
Oh so true. I have just come home with a lightweight reversible breathable windproof fleece. First considerations? weight and will it go in my small day-pack walking at home. My smart jacket, bought in the Rohan sale, is highly crease resistant, quick dry, lightweight etc so I can do 'style' as well as comfort with my pack.........sillydoll said:.........
After each Camino I slough off more 'stuff'. When I go shopping I find myself looking at clothing and other things in terms of their weight - if it is too large or too heavy for my backpack I don't want it!
..........
"Some people" just don't care to learn what the Camino is about, nor what it can mean to one's inner self. They are the poorer for it :shock:sillydoll said:I have found over the years that when I mention the Camino or talk about the changes it has brought to my life, some people look at me like a boring, born-again evangelist!
Rebekah Scott said:Congratulations, the camino has given you a great gift: You have seen the kind of clarity and unity and "living in the now" kind of life you are capable of. This is not a phenomenon unique to a trail in northern Spain, no matter how many times you go back and try to do it over.
The key to living a camino life at home is learning to live each moment of each day the way you did while walking the trail -- not lost in regrets or anger over what happened in the past, and not caught up in worries or plans or dreams for tomorrow or next week or next year. Just right here, right now, with these feet, this pain, this birdsong, hot sun or cold rain or fascinating or boring scenery/food/company/feeling.
It is called "awareness." There are contemplative and mediation disciplines that can teach you how to live that so-alive Camino experience back at home, even when you are at work. It is an ancient practice, familiar to contemplatives of many faiths for many thousands of years.
The outcomes are deep peace, a rugged and lighthearted character, and a loving kindness that benefits the whole wide world around you.
MoniRose, I can understand how difficult it must be for you right now to fit back into the "normal" world. You were on a journey that completely shifted the way you saw everythinfg around you, and you want to hold on to that. Your ordinary life seems pale by comparison.
But the Camino offered you a great gift. It filled you with a beautiful light and energy that you can now share with those around you. At times, I can't help but feel that we all go on pilgrimage to renew ourselves, to reconnect with the essence of who we are, for the grand purpose of bringing that back into our "mundane" world. Your co-workers, your friends, your family are in need of that light, of that energy that you brought back from the Camino, and that is your greatest gift to them. That is your service back to the Camino... to continue "walking", to remain on that inner journey, even while you are not physically on the path.
I wish you well on this new phase of your journey. And remember, the Camino is always there. You can always go back to recharge and reconnect any time you wish.
With love and light,
Mony
Have Passion for life and your fellow workmates who have not been on a CaminoI left for the Camino on May 26 and returned home July 12. Since then I have been writing and rewriting, documenting every detail I can remember of my beautiful journey. Tomorrow I am going back to work after three months away, but I am scared. I don't fully know how the Camino has changed me and I am worried that I do not have the same passion for my work as I did when I last worked on May 22.
Tonight I can't sleep, thinking about what tomorrow will be like and what I may continue to discover over the next weeks or months, or rather that the next weeks or months will confirm what I already know.
I don't know who else would understand. Thank you for being here. - m :arrow:
Just smile as those wonderful thoughts roll around in your mind.It's a strange return when coming back to your profession. I found and still find work very mundane, and I enjoy my profession and have for the past 38 years. My partner slipped back into the grind without missing a step. So I believe it must be a individual thing, some adapt back to the daily routine when others just want the feeling of being on the Camino again. Before ever walking the Camino I wrote and I still do but I can not write about my Camino, I am able to talk about walking but not how I felt while walking or how I felt upon returning. This pilgrimage is more then I can put words to on paper, more than I can put into a conversation with someone who has not walked the Camino de Santiago or any other pilgrimages that bring you out of your daily life.
Returning to work was pretty hard but I wont hang it on the Camino but more it gave me time to find myself away from normal days.
I often wonder how people can write about it, myself I don't feel I have the right. We are no different now then when we began. I think many times it is just euphoria.
Hi, it's the same for my wife and myself.I started just before Sarria in Tricastela 9 years ago. The only vibe I felt was being accepted and welcomed. What you should be worried about is getting hooked. I went back five years later and walked from SJPP to Burgos, and just got back last month from covering the last stretch from Burgos to Sarria. And I know I'm not done with the Camino!
I know it's been 2 1/2 years since you wrote the above, and I'm wondering if, in fact, you decided to join Peace Corps. I was a PCV twice, almost 30 and 25 years ago, and felt it prepared me well for my two Caminos from SJPP to Santiago the last two years. Seems to me it would be a good thing to do after experiencing the Camino --Glad I found this topic. I walked the Camino Frances in June-July 2011, and it was a life-changer, to be sure. ... In fact, I am thinking of just chucking everything and joining the Peace Corps. Let me outta here!!!!
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