- Time of past OR future Camino
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Interesting concept equating speed with mindfulness @Paul McAmino.I’m aware that some people aren’t interested in presence and mindfulness, but for those who are, how you remain mindful of a comfortable pace and not be stressed by external worries, such as, say, finding a place to sleep, or, “Do I have enough time to make it to Santiago if I slow down?”
Do we bring this rush and pressure to the Camino? How can we be mindful of our steps? How we can sustain this presence over the long, long walk to Santiago?
In the most practical sense it matters to me as I age in terms of the exhaustion and bodily wear and tear I feel after walking too fast with a young and tireless marathon runner.
I guess I am one of those people - I don't really understand how "presence and mindfulness" are different from "attention and awareness". I am very aware of my comfortable pace, by having walked a lot of km in recent years, and I try to respond to my body's aches and pains and tiredness, by adjusting my pace.I’m aware that some people aren’t interested in presence and mindfulness, but for those who are, how you remain mindful of a comfortable pace
I learned some time ago that I should not walk too fast with anyone, especially not young and tireless marathon runners.In the most practical sense it matters to me as I age in terms of the exhaustion and bodily wear and tear I feel after walking too fast with a young and tireless marathon runner.
I don't know what this means, other than "pacing" myself so I don't crash and burn before I get as far as I hoped.How can we be mindful of our steps? How we can sustain this presence over the long, long walk to Santiago?
Hi Paul, can you also imagine that this Italian pilgrim was in his own zone? With his own thoughts and his natural pace?I remember a three-language conversation at dawn in Murias de Rechivaldo with an Italian pilgrim: I asked if he knew of a place to eat breakfast. He just wanted me to stop talking so he could “get over the mountains,” and practically ran away.
Thomas Merton once said that busyness and hurriedness are forms of aggression:
“The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence.”
I’m aware that some people aren’t interested in presence and mindfulness, but for those who are, how you remain mindful of a comfortable pace and not be stressed by external worries, such as, say, finding a place to sleep, or, “Do I have enough time to make it to Santiago if I slow down?”
One must always walk at one's own gait whether it be fast or slow.It’s a truism that not all pilgrims walk for the same reasons. As a consequence not all pilgrims have time to consider their rate of walking. I have often read about how fast some try to travel, but not as often about how slowly or how leisurely. To be sure there are practical reasons for moving fast: time is tight for those who only get at most a few weeks off work for vacation. Very few employers (at least in the US) grant more all at once, so for the employed, getting as much distance in on each trip to Spain becomes a reality. Then there’s the bed race, and those walkers who measure success by the distance they’ve covered in a day.
I find that when I walk alone my pace is generally much faster than walking alongside another. Once, though, I joined with a nice German woman who wanted to practice her English. She was a marathon runner, a self-avowed atheist, and was in terrific shape. She set a torrid pace that I found hard to modulate even after we parted ways.
I’m aware that some people aren’t interested in presence and mindfulness, but for those who are, how you remain mindful of a comfortable pace and not be stressed by external worries, such as, say, finding a place to sleep, or, “Do I have enough time to make it to Santiago if I slow down?”
I remember a three-language conversation at dawn in Murias de Rechivaldo with an Italian pilgrim: I asked if he knew of a place to eat breakfast. He just wanted me to stop talking so he could “get over the mountains,” and practically ran away.
Thomas Merton once said that busyness and hurriedness are forms of aggression:
“The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence.”
Do we bring this rush and pressure to the Camino? How can we be mindful of our steps? How we can sustain this presence over the long, long walk to Santiago?
In the most practical sense it matters to me as I age in terms of the exhaustion and bodily wear and tear I feel after walking too fast with a young and tireless marathon runner.
All the best,
Paul
They're not, really. These are nothing magical, but natural qualities of the mind.I don't really understand how "presence and mindfulness" are different from "attention and awareness".
I apologize in advance for being glib, but how to be mindful is simply to be mindful: when you realize you've lost a sense of presence, bringing the awareness directly to something (anything) here and now. Again and again. While walking, the sensations of the legs or feet are naturally easy places to focus the attention. Even if you forget and come back to them a thousand times per hour that's creating a habit of presence, as opposed to a habit of absence or stress.How can we be mindful of our steps? How we can sustain this presence over the long, long walk to Santiago?
Beautiful!Easy does it; just let it be.
They're not, really. These are nothing magical, but natural qualities of the mind.I don't really understand how "presence and mindfulness" are different from "attention and awareness".
I apologize in advance for being glib, but how to be mindful is simply to be mindful: when you realize you've lost a sense of presence, bringing the awareness directly to something (anything) here and now. Again and again. While walking, the sensations of the legs or feet are naturally easy places to focus the attention. Even if you forget and come back to them a thousand times per hour that's creating a habit of presence, as opposed to a habit of absence or stress.How can we be mindful of our steps? How we can sustain this presence over the long, long walk to Santiago?
Beautiful!Easy does it; just let it be.
I listen to my legs, heart, and lungs. That's where my innate 'best' pace starts. That said, there's a favorite chant that fits my 'right rhythm' perfectly, and I chant it sometimes (out loud or silently, depending).Just trying to find out how some have worked out the issues of pacing themselves appropriately for themselves, whether it be listening to Gregorian chant, reciting Dante, or singing, for example.
I have Ithaca always on my mind as I am a proud graduate of Ithaca College. I am still friends with my pals from Freshman year. This year we celebrate 50 years of friendship. Next year 5 of us will walk the Camino together. Can't wait. I will be cutting and pasting this poem to my boys. Thanks!As an addendum to the above ramble by a much better hand than mine I offer:
Ithaca
Constantine P. Cavafy
When you set out for Ithaca
ask that your way be long,
full of adventure, full of instruction.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
angry Poseidon - do not fear them:
such as these you will never find
as long as your thought is lofty, as long as a rare
emotion touch your spirit and your body.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
angry Poseidon - you will not meet them
unless you carry them in your soul,
unless your soul raise them up before you.
Ask that your way be long.
At many a Summer dawn to enter
with what gratitude, what joy -
ports seen for the first time;
to stop at Phoenician trading centres,
and to buy good merchandise,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensuous perfumes of every kind,
sensuous perfumes as lavishly as you can;
to visit many Egyptian cities,
to gather stores of knowledge from the learned.
Have Ithaca always in your mind.
Your arrival there is what you are destined for.
But don't in the least hurry the journey.
Better it last for years,
so that when you reach the island you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaca to give you wealth.
Ithaca gave you a splendid journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She hasn't anything else to give you.
And if you find her poor, Ithaca hasn't deceived you.
So wise you have become, of such experience,
that already you'll have understood what these Ithacas mean.
It’s a truism that not all pilgrims walk for the same reasons. As a consequence not all pilgrims have time to consider their rate of walking. I have often read about how fast some try to travel, but not as often about how slowly or how leisurely. To be sure there are practical reasons for moving fast: time is tight for those who only get at most a few weeks off work for vacation. Very few employers (at least in the US) grant more all at once, so for the employed, getting as much distance in on each trip to Spain becomes a reality. Then there’s the bed race, and those walkers who measure success by the distance they’ve covered in a day.
I find that when I walk alone my pace is generally much faster than walking alongside another. Once, though, I joined with a nice German woman who wanted to practice her English. She was a marathon runner, a self-avowed atheist, and was in terrific shape. She set a torrid pace that I found hard to modulate even after we parted ways.
I’m aware that some people aren’t interested in presence and mindfulness, but for those who are, how you remain mindful of a comfortable pace and not be stressed by external worries, such as, say, finding a place to sleep, or, “Do I have enough time to make it to Santiago if I slow down?”
I remember a three-language conversation at dawn in Murias de Rechivaldo with an Italian pilgrim: I asked if he knew of a place to eat breakfast. He just wanted me to stop talking so he could “get over the mountains,” and practically ran away.
Thomas Merton once said that busyness and hurriedness are forms of aggression:
“The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence.”
Do we bring this rush and pressure to the Camino? How can we be mindful of our steps? How we can sustain this presence over the long, long walk to Santiago?
In the most practical sense it matters to me as I age in terms of the exhaustion and bodily wear and tear I feel after walking too fast with a young and tireless marathon runner.
All the best,
One thing is certain: everyone has their own way of long-distance hiking. But some seem to have found the “right“ way to do it and wonder why others haven’t. The others walk too slow or fast, carry too much or too little, have the wrong type of equipment, are too spiritual or too profane. As I learned thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail a few years ago: hike your own hike (HYOH). I had heard the saying before but only grasped the meaning while on the trail. That’s way I now go solo. And that’s the difference between you and me. Cheers.
Paul I see you have gained from the advice you have given. I will add one final idea that repeats what everyone says. I think instead of thinking about mindfulness make it easy on yourself and do what I do. Walk with mindlessness. Practice letting thoughts go in and out and not fixate on anything at all. Thinking and pondering life is what got you on the Camino in the first place so get rid of all that crap. That Italian guy was 100% walking his own camino. I am guessing that he gave you a clue that he wanted his silence but you may have missed the cues. Only a guess though. If you walk mindlessly you will have the conversations and meetings that nature and the Camino want you to have instead of forced encounters. The German woman was a forced encounter that lingered with you. You want to find bliss. Walk your own pace after your body finds its rhythm without being interfered with by what your brain is telling it. Why even bring up what others limitations of time, money or physical ailments may be. They are not important. You have time. You have health and I assume you have the resources to walk when and as long as you want.Thank you to all who commented here. And thank you, Stroller, for Cavafy, one of my favorite of his poems.
I didn’t mean to assume that we all should be “mindful” all the time (it has become such a fraught new-agey concept).
I was trying to articulate a need for myself to slow down and take it easier on my body, so I’m not an aged, hollow-eyed maniac blown out on the trail when I arrive at SdC.
When I did a lot of distance running I found that Aretha Franklin’s song “Respect” set my pace. I am now retired and can walk in a less hurried way. Stroller’s suggestion of removing endpoints, such as travel reservations and room reservations is a good practical start that resonates with me.
To be sure we all walk our own Camino. I don’t believe there is any “right” way of proceeding and I don’t want to be judgmental or prescriptive. Just trying to find out how some have worked out the issues of pacing themselves appropriately for themselves, whether it be listening to Gregorian chant, reciting Dante, or singing, for example.
Thanks again for your comments.
All the best,
Paul
“You’d be better just getting on with it”.
This doesn't seem quite right to me. Maybe it is the alternative to being bored.More cynically, but equally accurately, I’ve seen ‘mindfulness’ described as what in the 70’s, before smartphones, 24/7 news and the always-on culture we used to call ‘being bored’
I would like to speak up for "thinking". Thinking can be a good thing when it is channeled in a positive and productive way! Persistent angst and churning negative thoughts are not.My Grandma told me,... you b*ggers think too much. You’d be better just getting on with it”.
My father often asked, "Why do people want to complicate their lives?"My Grandma told me, after listening with care to a lengthy explanation of why my then teenage self was angst ridden, conflicted and confused “...you b*ggers think too much. You’d be better just getting on with it”. I’ve remained mindful of Gran’s advice my whole life
Yes, that post describes it beautifully.On mindfulness see
this earlier post, the spirit of the camino
Way to go Robo!I'm sorry but I've never understood what 'mindfulness' is.
It seems to be another modern fad, where we like to give perfectly natural things, a tag
"Mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing one's attention in the present moment without judgment"
And that's a 'thing'....... ?
Aren't we all like that when walking a Camino?
Absolutely you can be both. So long as you are aware of your worry, not judgmental of it, nor too attached to it.Who says you can't do both? Be mindful and worry (though I would call it just being pragmatic).
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