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Hi DMG,I remain intrigued by my Camino experience. What made it so special? Why was it so profoundly rewarding? I have a reasonable awareness of how I was physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually in the lead up to, during and following the walk, but less clear is an understanding of the ways in which the Camino context itself was conducive to what I can only describe as a flourishing of the self. I’ve had some thoughts, including:
That's just a few thoughts. So what do others think? What were the distinctive features / attributes of the Camino that made it a unique experience for you?
- The term ‘Camino’ connoted a spiritual journey (not necessarily religious), which influenced how I conceived of it, what I expected from it and how I engaged with it. I couldn't fail to be affected by the aura that surrounded it.
- To do it, I had to step away from my normal day-to-day life and out of my comfort zone, which liberated me from the familiar and helped open me to new possibilities.
- It was a significant physical undertaking that required resolve and resilience to complete.
- The sense of camaraderie with other pilgrims and of sharing in a common endeavour was uplifting, and the coming to know and forming (hopefully lasting) friendships with like-minded souls was deeply satisfying.
To do it, I had to step away from my normal day-to-day life and out of my comfort zone, which liberated me from the familiar and helped open me to new possibilities.
Trust me, you will.I hope to have similar experiences when I attempt my first Camino this Spring!
This process is a universal one: one finds it all along the history of mankind, in every religion, on every continent. By becoming a stranger, leaving his known world, losing his social status and his hierarchical references, the pilgim becomes aware of himself, of his limitations and sometimes learns to overcome them.The best thing I have ever read about the Camino experience is in French. But perhaps some will be able to read it or translate it.
Cette démarche est universelle: on la rencontre tout au long de l'histoire humaine, dans toutes les religions, sur tous les continents. Devenant un étranger, quittant son monde familier, perdant son statut social et ses références hiérarchiques, le pèlerin prend conscience de lui-même, de ses limites et apprend parfois à les dépasser.
Tout pèlerinage évoque notre marche sur terre vers le ciel. Il nous rappelle que sur terre, nous sommes de passage, en route vers notre demeure définitive, dans l'attente active de la rencontre et la communion éternelle avec Dieu.
Quelques richesses d'un pèlerinage à pied
1. Il s'agit d'une démarche de toute notre personne: corps et esprit.
2. Emportant l'essentiel sur le dos, on se désencombre de l'inutile, du superflu.
3. On goûte le silence, la paix et la beauté de la Création de Dieu.
4. La marche est une école de patience. Image de notre propre vie, il s'agit d'avancer jour après jour avec courage.
5. Les gestes simples de la vie prennent une autre saveur: boire, se laver, accueillir un sourire en chemin, etc. On y apprend aussi l'entraide: indiquer le chemin, partager la nourriture, etc.
6. Le pèlerinage est une école d'égalité: riche ou pauvre, savant ou non, il s'agit d'avancer patiemment et humblement.
7. Le pèlerinage donne la chance de rencontres profondes avec d'autres pèlerins ou avec des habitants des lieux traversés.
8. Le pèlerinage ouvre le coeur à Dieu: « Seigneur, je te donne du temps, je te fais de la place. Agis en moi, donne moi ta lumière ».
9. Le chemin donne le temps de prier, aidé par de nombreux lieux saints rencontrés (églises, sanctuaires); aidé aussi par le témoignage d'innombrables frères humains qui l'empruntent depuis plus de dix siècles.
Mike, the distance you walk is only up to you and what sort of punishment you want inflict upon yourself and in what you believe, when ever I ended a camino and I present myself to where James which is one of the 12 Apostle, lay and embrace for a few second his bust at the back of the altar and pay him my respect ; then I feel all the pain and frustration of the journey and tears comes to my eyes, but only because I have accomplished something in which for my believe was right to do.Hi DMG,
I think you've answered your own question well. I'll add an observation that I expect few will admit to - pressure from all those who walked before to accomplish what not all can manage. 800kms is a mind-bender. I got a lot of love from folks I met in SDC who asked "How far did you walk?" The experience can be more than a little competitive. And beware competing with yourself. Humility is sometimes in short supply.
I'm expecting a lot of flack for that last paragraph, of course few might bother. Plainly, there's A LOT more to the whole experience than simply the competitive factor.
Mike
Yea for 74 year olds! I plan to celebrate my 75th, next June, with the new friends I meet on the Camino. Can't wait.The Camino became my comfort zone. When I am at home I find myself needing to walk most every day, rain or shine counting the days until I return.
The Camino became a very positive addiction and I have no regrets. By the time I walk into Santiago, I have already started planning my next trip. I would do it twice a year if I could. It keeps this 74 year old heart of mine young.
Buen Camino
Well I did the Camino Frances and later the Camino Inglise as part of a series of walks in Europe totaling 3800 KMs over 6 months.
The number 1 thing was the experience of diving head first into something so great. I know there's a lot of people who do huge walks, but it's actually rare as a total of the whole. So ya I may know a person who knows someone who has done the Camino or part of it but it is still a rarity.
Second I would say was the fellow pilgrims. On the Frances in particular it was such a mix.... and I met so many incredible humans, many of which I still keepin contact with 16 months later.
Third is the allure and history of the different parts of Spain. I love history and Spain is rich with it.
Fourth is the Spanish people who are so gracious and patient with Pellegrinos (usually).
Five is just an odd spiritual feeling like everything I did was supposed to be that way. Hopefully i'm not the only one but everything just felt correct. Not expected, but correct.
Hi DMG, from what I make out, from my output you remarked on the "right to do it" phrase; just because you think it, does mean you "got to do it".These are heart-felt responses. They’re thought-provoking. I read them as they came in and have just gone through them again. I’ve summarized below some of the key points from them, partly to acknowledge the contributors, but also to help me make some coherent sense of them.
At this stage, I think my take-outs are that pilgrimage is a universal concept, that it’s a metaphor for life’s journey and that engaging in a Camino helps us on that journey.
- Mike characterizes the CF as a mind-bender. That it is! And not just from a physical point of view, as Djimbo highlights. Koidream’s comment that “You are special on the Camino” applies for sure, and Bob Hummel's note suggests the anticipation (and perhaps a little trepidation) that comes with the prospect of stepping out onto the Camino for the first time.
- Aidan’s, Meredith’s, Dennis’s and Ernesto’s comments reflect the Camino’s mystical quality, that compelling attraction of our spirit to the Camino experience, that it just seems ‘right’ to do it. alexwalker’s remark about the Camino being “a Liberator of us human kind” suggests an outcome of us giving free rein to that compulsion (as does Mark with the simple acknowledgement that the Camino just makes him happy).
- TMcA’s contribution distils some of the essence of a pilgrimage.
- AcrossTheWater3008 notes the rewards of being with yourself – “a companionship with yourself”, in her words (which is certainly different from being by yourself) – and a ‘being at one’ with the surroundings.
- mspath brings forth the idea of the Camino existence or experience being ‘beyond the normal or physical level’ i.e. transcendent.
- Marion’s reflections stimulate thoughts about life beyond the Camino, about integrating the Camino experience into our daily post-Camino lives.
- rometimed reminds us of the sense of history that accompanies us on the Camino, and the contributions the locals make to our lives as we pass through theirs and by implication our mutual dependence.
Some extracts from Stephanie Dale’s website:
Before I started my Camino, I read Paulo Coelho’s The Pilgrimage. I didn’t really enjoy it – a little too esoteric for me – but I persisted to its end because I felt it was almost a prerequisite text for the Camino, in the same way as college courses have prerequisite readings. I was disappointed it worked out like that for me, but that’s how books are sometimes – what works for one doesn’t work for another. Anyway, before I departed for Spain I chanced upon a Krista Tippett interview with Paulo Coelho, The Alchemy of Pilgrimage. I downloaded the podcast [0:51] and took it with me on the Camino, listening to it one evening after I arrived in Pamplona. I loved it! It’s grounded. And it changed how I thought about Coelho, his book and particularly about pilgrimage. I listened to it again this morning and I can commend it.
- “Pilgrimage is the art of ancient travel. Pilgrimage harks back to forever, when human beings set out on journeys from which they might not return, journeys they knew would transform the rest of their lives – journeys that were worth every risk because, live or die, to deny the call was to close the door on life and that meant certain death anyway: death to the spirit.”
- “Pilgrimage is a subpoena from the heart that defies all common sense. It is a mistake to attempt to rationalize the irrational – and an even bigger mistake to attempt to justify your decision to set forth to those around you …”
- “The pilgrim is not unlike a comet, burning off all that is futile and unnecessary until what is left is the essential, unmalleable core. The pilgrim walks the Earth, walks the wheel, walks the turning seasons, surrendering all of who she is and all she thinks she knows and all she think she wants to the road and the weather …”
- “Pilgrims are those who embark on journeys of endurance and, in the end, these journeys ask nothing more from us than to keep going. Crazy as we look from the outside, we are honouring the call of the human spirit – our collective yearning for transformation – and, in so doing, we do it for everyone.”
The journey continues!
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