James van Hemert
Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino de Frances April 2022
Hola! my fellow peregrinos!
In 3 weeks I begin my pilgrimage on the Camino Frances!
I seek the joy of discovery, the pain of sore muscles,
the delight of conversation, the sweet bliss of boredom,
the communion with other pilgrims, the disgust with dirt and sweat,
the peace of spiritual contemplation, and the annoyances of other pilgrims.
I’m prepared to get lost, to be embarrassed, to be uncomfortable.
I seek the full and deep experience without the pacifiers of the Internet and the comforting connections back home.
I seek a full stop mental switch so I can be present in the moment.
To that end I will be signing off the Forum shortly and for the duration of my pilgrimage. I’ve learned a lot here and enjoyed the conversations, but I don’t want to learn anymore. No more pictures, stories, advice, what is better or worse. I will also disable my social media –Instragram, Strava (oh no!), Facebook—and email accounts. I will maintain only Telegram with my immediate family who wish to hear from me occasionally and know that I am still alive.
I did a pilgrimage before during the pre-Internet Cloud era and it was life transforming. It was a 4,500 km journey across Canada on bicycle in 1978 with two high school friends. We were 17 years old. There was no on-line forum, there was no email, no guides, no apps, no social media. Even telephone calls were so expensive that we took turns making collect calls weekly back home to one of the three sets of parents. And we sent a few postcards. For three months we figured things out on our own using paper maps and face to face advice on the road when we ran into trouble or got lost. We experienced the amazing kindness of strangers along the way, the exquisite pain in the heat on the mountain passes, deep spiritual yearning and comfort, intense homesickness, the unexpected delight in discovering places like Notre Dame Cathedral in Montreal, the pain and misery of unanticipated hills and rain storms along Lake Superior, and the joy of friendships that last to this day.
I seek the full joy and pain again.
Buen Camino!
(If you are interested in exploring being present, I recommend reading Nancy Frey at walkingtopresence.com)
In 3 weeks I begin my pilgrimage on the Camino Frances!
I seek the joy of discovery, the pain of sore muscles,
the delight of conversation, the sweet bliss of boredom,
the communion with other pilgrims, the disgust with dirt and sweat,
the peace of spiritual contemplation, and the annoyances of other pilgrims.
I’m prepared to get lost, to be embarrassed, to be uncomfortable.
I seek the full and deep experience without the pacifiers of the Internet and the comforting connections back home.
I seek a full stop mental switch so I can be present in the moment.
To that end I will be signing off the Forum shortly and for the duration of my pilgrimage. I’ve learned a lot here and enjoyed the conversations, but I don’t want to learn anymore. No more pictures, stories, advice, what is better or worse. I will also disable my social media –Instragram, Strava (oh no!), Facebook—and email accounts. I will maintain only Telegram with my immediate family who wish to hear from me occasionally and know that I am still alive.
I did a pilgrimage before during the pre-Internet Cloud era and it was life transforming. It was a 4,500 km journey across Canada on bicycle in 1978 with two high school friends. We were 17 years old. There was no on-line forum, there was no email, no guides, no apps, no social media. Even telephone calls were so expensive that we took turns making collect calls weekly back home to one of the three sets of parents. And we sent a few postcards. For three months we figured things out on our own using paper maps and face to face advice on the road when we ran into trouble or got lost. We experienced the amazing kindness of strangers along the way, the exquisite pain in the heat on the mountain passes, deep spiritual yearning and comfort, intense homesickness, the unexpected delight in discovering places like Notre Dame Cathedral in Montreal, the pain and misery of unanticipated hills and rain storms along Lake Superior, and the joy of friendships that last to this day.
I seek the full joy and pain again.
Buen Camino!
(If you are interested in exploring being present, I recommend reading Nancy Frey at walkingtopresence.com)
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. I’d best decide soon. We are leaving in less than a week and will begin walking on 1 April.
