Feel the fear and do it anyway

[wilkinsonsworld]

Hi everyone

I’ve read many threads about people who have fears about doing the Camino – about the distance, their fitness and ability, etc. Would you mind if I share a little story with you, that may inspire others who are feeling fearful?

As a young girl I was in a very bad car accident that left my mom with a broken neck and me with a fear of traveling in cars for the next 40 years. I became a fearful adult, very protective of my family and not wanting to travel in a car anywhere with them, fearing I would have to see my husband or kids lying bleeding on the road. When my husband died of cancer unexpectedly I realized that I had no control over fate and that my fears were limiting my life. I decided to do all the scary things I’d avoided doing. The most scary being a bungy jump (at age 46 that was frightening). Once I did it, and astounded friends and family, I realized that it’s only when we tell ourselves we can’t do something that we actually can’t.

So now, after having driven myself across Australia in a car, been in a hot air balloon, abseiled down a cliff, I am look to walking the Camino in September/October, which in my mind is so overwhelming and huge, to tell myself that I CAN do anything I set my mind to. Reading how others have done it is my inspiration. Our only limitation is our mind. People who know me think I’m mad – I may be, but since I let go of my fears I have truly started to live.

Warm wishes
Jane

 

[jl]

Hello Jane - trust me, if you have driven across Australia - whether north south or east west, you will have already experienced the vastness of the camino! You did it in a car and this will be (I am presuming) on foot, and no doubt they take about the same time, but you will have the opportunity to absorb every little thing that you see on the Camino:- the ants crawling along the ground, the slugs, the beautiful and stark Meseta, the grass silhouetted against a sunrise or sunset, the chatter (and the snoring!) of pilgrims in the albergues and so on. I could give you an endless list, and after your Camino you will have your very own list of the exciting, exhilarating, and interesting things you will have seen, heard and smelt!

Almost 30 years ago, when my husband died of a brain tumor, leaving me with two little babies aged 18 months and 3 months, I adopted as my motto "live each day as if it is my last" and also decided that I would try to never end a day without saying what I wanted to say to the people who are important to me. Of course in those early years I was terribly busy, but now it is my time for "adventure" My two wonderful sons just nod and raise their eyebrows when Mum announces which Camino she is doing next (and my youngest even walked with me on one for a week last time!)! We only have a limited time on this wonderful earth, and none of us knows how long that will be and so - yes we do have to grasp life with both hands and get out there and "do" (travelling / working / volunteering - and LIVING!)

Happy planning for your Camino. Enjoy and be exhilarated, regards, Janet

 

[Whalleyranger]

When I was on my second Camino in 2006 I met a lovely Italian lady called Romina. On one of her first few days she was exhausted, her feet hurt, her legs ached, her pack was too heavy, it was too hot, she was tired, hungry and feeling generally wretched.
She stopped and sat on a rock to have a little cry as she was feeling very sorry for herself. Looking down at her feet she found a silver pendent that had fallen away from the bracelet or necklace it belonged to. She put it in her pocket and carried on along her weary way. This was to be her last tiresome Camino day; every day after that became easier and easier.
A week or so after this when I met her she was positively racing along the Camino. She showed me the pendent and told me that when she got home she was going to have it cleaned up and buy a necklace for it, to remind her that she can do anything she puts her mind to.
You mustn't be afraid of the Camino. It's daunting, but you just have to take it one step at a time. Let us know how you get on.

 

[wilkinsonsworld]

Thank you so much for your replies, J & W. I always love the positive and reassuring replies that are given to people to encourage them on this forum. You two are no exception. Thank you - and I will let you know how the Camino goes for me in due course.

Best regards
Jane

 

[Br. David]

Jane, I love you!! (in an appropriate way of course) - what a fantastic post!

I once listened to an American woman from the poor area of Los Angeles, who had had the most awful childhood and teenage experiences and survived them and gone on to college and was then out there literally liberating people from their traumatic experiences and subsequent fears ... she said a line, simple but profound .. that we are all full humans who had experienced certain things - but that to think that we were victims of those experiences because of those experiences was an error, that we are not actually reduced by those things, but instead, in reality, are full and complete humans who had only experienced those things.

You survivor you, you 'full of life person'.

You will do very well on the Camino - very well indeed.

xx

 

[jl]

Thank you Br David. Today has been a day when these words I wrote earlier have been rammed home.

We only have a limited time on this wonderful earth, and none of us knows how long that will be

Today I attended the funeral of a good friend who was only 60 years young, came home and had to visit my next door neighbor to check on her (at her son's request), only to discover that she had collapsed and died earlier in the day. Neither of these dear people had walked a Camino in person, but both have walked them with me in spirit, following my paths as I wrote home to them about it.

Whether on the Camino, or after a Camino, we need to count our blessings - for we have so many things to be grateful for and perhaps the most precious thing of all is our family and friends. Many of us walk the Camino on our own - maybe leaving a family at home to await our return - but on the Camino we are never alone, just as in "normal" life. There are always people to give a smile, a comforting word, an encouraging word, or to lend a hand in support - just like the people here on the forum.

Yes - we have many reasons to be grateful, and to count our blessings. Janet