Some Camino Wisdom

[trecile]

This was posted by Donna Mast on the Camigas Facebook group (she gave me permission to post it here)
It really rang true for me.

"Being a pilgrim on the Camino is a curious thing. You walk with many others, and you also walk alone. You make instant friends and build bonds with pilgrims, yet you seldom learn their last name. You walk day after day with pain, and forget it all while sitting around a café table sipping wine and laughing with other pilgrims, waiting for the kitchen to open at 7pm(or 8pm!), so you can EAT! You walk miles, in the early morning darkness without breakfast or coffee, and it feels normal. You sleep in bunk beds and share bathrooms with many other people, and are grateful to have a hot shower and a place to lay your head at night. Sometimes you cherish the camaraderie of other pilgrims, and sometimes you crave solitude. You walk through indescribable beauty, and also trudge under a merciless sun or through cold rain. You carry fruit or snacks with you at all times, because Spanish shop keepers decide their own schedule. You eat more bread & pastries and drink more wine or café con leche than you ever imagined, and still lose weight. And every day you wonder why you are doing this, and every day you give thanks that you can."

 

[Walkerooni]

“And every day you wonder why you are doing this, and every day you give thanks that you can.”

Yes, the gratitude I felt at being able to do this in such a beautiful place, was everything.

 

[natefaith]

So perfectly and beautifully said. There's such a powerful combination of marvel, wonder, and the mundane on the Camino.

 

[dimdog]

This was posted by Donna Mast on the Camigas Facebook group (she gave me permission to post it here)
It really rang true for me.

"Being a pilgrim on the Camino is a curious thing. You walk with many others, and you also walk alone. You make instant friends and build bonds with pilgrims, yet you seldom learn their last name. You walk day after day with pain, and forget it all while sitting around a café table sipping wine and laughing with other pilgrims, waiting for the kitchen to open at 7pm(or 8pm!), so you can EAT! You walk miles, in the early morning darkness without breakfast or coffee, and it feels normal. You sleep in bunk beds and share bathrooms with many other people, and are grateful to have a hot shower and a place to lay your head at night. Sometimes you cherish the camaraderie of other pilgrims, and sometimes you crave solitude. You walk through indescribable beauty, and also trudge under a merciless sun or through cold rain. You carry fruit or snacks with you at all times, because Spanish shop keepers decide their own schedule. You eat more bread & pastries and drink more wine or café con leche than you ever imagined, and still lose weight. And every day you wonder why you are doing this, and every day you give thanks that you can."

And that just about sums up, why we do this wondrous thing......thanks for posting, very profound

 

[SkinDeep]

This was posted by Donna Mast on the Camigas Facebook group (she gave me permission to post it here)
It really rang true for me.

"Being a pilgrim on the Camino is a curious thing. You walk with many others, and you also walk alone. You make instant friends and build bonds with pilgrims, yet you seldom learn their last name. You walk day after day with pain, and forget it all while sitting around a café table sipping wine and laughing with other pilgrims, waiting for the kitchen to open at 7pm(or 8pm!), so you can EAT! You walk miles, in the early morning darkness without breakfast or coffee, and it feels normal. You sleep in bunk beds and share bathrooms with many other people, and are grateful to have a hot shower and a place to lay your head at night. Sometimes you cherish the camaraderie of other pilgrims, and sometimes you crave solitude. You walk through indescribable beauty, and also trudge under a merciless sun or through cold rain. You carry fruit or snacks with you at all times, because Spanish shop keepers decide their own schedule. You eat more bread & pastries and drink more wine or café con leche than you ever imagined, and still lose weight. And every day you wonder why you are doing this, and every day you give thanks that you can."

Spot on, couldn't put it better myself

 

[Richard Smith]

"Being a pilgrim on the Camino is a curious thing. ..

This was so well written.
Why am I doing this, and when can I do it again.
A very special experience on so many levels.

 

[mattythedog]

This was posted by Donna Mast on the Camigas Facebook group (she gave me permission to post it here)
It really rang true for me.

"Being a pilgrim on the Camino is a curious thing. You walk with many others, and you also walk alone. You make instant friends and build bonds with pilgrims, yet you seldom learn their last name. You walk day after day with pain, and forget it all while sitting around a café table sipping wine and laughing with other pilgrims, waiting for the kitchen to open at 7pm(or 8pm!), so you can EAT! You walk miles, in the early morning darkness without breakfast or coffee, and it feels normal. You sleep in bunk beds and share bathrooms with many other people, and are grateful to have a hot shower and a place to lay your head at night. Sometimes you cherish the camaraderie of other pilgrims, and sometimes you crave solitude. You walk through indescribable beauty, and also trudge under a merciless sun or through cold rain. You carry fruit or snacks with you at all times, because Spanish shop keepers decide their own schedule. You eat more bread & pastries and drink more wine or café con leche than you ever imagined, and still lose weight. And every day you wonder why you are doing this, and every day you give thanks that you can."

YES!!! that would exactly be me!

 

[sugargypsy]

And every day you wonder why you are doing this, and every day you give thanks that you can."

I agree, but also - slightly - disagree ;-).

I was grateful, giving thanks to every day, that I could keep on walking. Because my physical state, when starting to walk, was not very good.

But I never wondered why . I just had to keep on walking. I simply never questioned my need to walk. Don't know why. But when I got up in the morning, I just started walking.

Maybe we are talking about the same feeling / sensation ( I'm not a native english speaker), but somehow my semantic interpretation seems to me slightly different.

 

[mattythedog]

I agree, but also - slightly - disagree ;-).

I was grateful, giving thanks to every day, that I could keep on walking. Because my physical state, when starting to walk, was not very good.

But I never wondered why . I just had to keep on walking. I simply never questioned my need to walk. Don't know why. But when I got up in the morning, I just started walking.

Maybe we are talking about the same feeling / sensation ( I'm not a native english speaker), but somehow my semantic interpretation seems to me slightly different.

Yes, you are correct in my case, too. I overlooked the “wondering” part. I also knew absolutely 100% why I was walking, always.

 

[henrythedog]

I have to say I found the majority of the text slightly OTT, although I appreciate that elements of the Camino experience may be totally alien to some.

The last few words did, however, strike a chord. To ‘give thanks that you can’ - no matter who you are thanking, is so right.

I’m of an age where friends’ weddings are long gone and christenings likewise. Sadly, after a few years respite, we’ve started on funerals. Little focusses the mind so intensely.

 

[Mendo girl]

This was posted by Donna Mast on the Camigas Facebook group (she gave me permission to post it here)
It really rang true for me.

"Being a pilgrim on the Camino is a curious thing. You walk with many others, and you also walk alone. You make instant friends and build bonds with pilgrims, yet you seldom learn their last name. You walk day after day with pain, and forget it all while sitting around a café table sipping wine and laughing with other pilgrims, waiting for the kitchen to open at 7pm(or 8pm!), so you can EAT! You walk miles, in the early morning darkness without breakfast or coffee, and it feels normal. You sleep in bunk beds and share bathrooms with many other people, and are grateful to have a hot shower and a place to lay your head at night. Sometimes you cherish the camaraderie of other pilgrims, and sometimes you crave solitude. You walk through indescribable beauty, and also trudge under a merciless sun or through cold rain. You carry fruit or snacks with you at all times, because Spanish shop keepers decide their own schedule. You eat more bread & pastries and drink more wine or café con leche than you ever imagined, and still lose weight. And every day you wonder why you are doing this, and every day you give thanks that you can."

I love your reflection!! ALL of it rings true, adding one more - when you come home, it is all you think about, and then you start planning the next one...

 

[trecile]

I love your reflection!! ALL of it rings true, adding one more - when you come home, it is all you think about, and then you start planning the next one...

I wish that I could take credit for it. I copied and pasted it here (with the author's permission) from a Facebook group.