What is the single most important thing you learned ....

[petersimoons]

I will be starting my Camino from St Jean Pied de Port on the 16th of April this year and in preparation I am getting more and more excited for it to happen. I know I will learn a lot, about fellow pilgrims, about myself, my body, the way I view things in life and probably a little more. I am sure I will come out of the Camino as a stronger, more self assured, person than I already am. In that aspect I am curious to learn what you learned:

What is the one single most important thing you learned as a result from walking your Camino?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Shower early. Hot water does not last forever.

 

[Whalleyranger]

Always carry your own supply of toilet paper for the same reason.

 

[wayfarer]

What they said, learned this through experience.

 

[Theatregal]

EVERYBODY has a story and the incredible lessons that can be learned from those stories.

 

[Pieces]

That even if the pain is almost unbearable one can keep walking and get to a point where the pain stops taking away from the experience...

That when mugged I will take chase

and maybe the most important

There is never a bush when you need one....

 

[KiwiNomad06]

That you don't need nearly as much 'stuff' as you think you do- in the Camino or in life afterwards. (I think many who walk the Camino come home and 'unclutter'- I still am...)
Margaret

 

[Whalleyranger]

Also, related to my last post...

A pilgrim I met in 2006 was caught short between villages. In tearful desperation she dived behind the bush, and after doing what she needed to do, found an unopened pack of tissues.

It's a lesson that's been repeated here often, but worth remembering.

The Camino will provide.

 

[mspath]

The single most important lesson that I learned is to take it as it comes enjoying the good and bearing the bad. After all this is life.

Margaret Meredith

 

[LTfit]

Gratitude.

 

[CaminoGen]

I'm tougher than I thought, both mentally and physically.

 

[petersimoons]

Thank you so far for your great answers! Nice to see a mixture of lessons between the practical Camino experiences and lessons that relate to life. Look forward to read more ...

 

[tyrrek]

Hi! Maybe it's that when you strip away all the things that separate people in the 'real world' and we're living out of a backpack for weeks we all become equals. Everyone brings their own gifts to the party, whether it's language skills, blister busting skills, sense of humour etc. Buen Camino!

 

[Olivares]

That you don't need nearly as much 'stuff' as you think you do- in the Camino or in life afterwards. (I think many who walk the Camino come home and 'unclutter'- I still am...)
Margaret

I had the same post-Camino effect! I came home and started opening drawers and closets and throwing things on the floor. I later bagged it all, took to a shelter and donated it. Ever since, whenever I buy ANYTHING I really go thru this rational process on whether I really need it. The Camino may have saved me hundreds of dollars in stuff I probably did not needed to begin with.... :wink:

 

[nreyn12]

The single most important...difficult to pick the ONE, but I learned never to give up. Never give up on big things like achieving a goal - reaching Santiago - when my body hurts, when I'm tired, when it seems too hard. And never give up on small things, like adjusting my boots and pack until they are comfortable, finding exactly the right way to pack my backpack, or finding the best coffee or pastries in town.

On the Camino I became an expert at fine tuning things and solving problems, big and small. Now I am like this always; I can't stop. I'm like a 'dog with a bone' when I am working on a task or project.
Nancy

 

[robhay60]

The single most important thing i learned was not to be too reliant on sites like this for the preparation of your Camino.. Yes these sites are helpful, yes you can draw on the experience of the many Pilgrims past and present..Yes there is absolutely nothing that you cannot ask or discuss.
So why do i feel this way , well simply this. The Camino is a Mystery. It cannot be prepared for, it cannot be understood. You can read about it, you can talk about it, you can spend hours looking comparing and buying your gear, you can make many decisions with a view of somehow "controlling" your Camino. You can believe that you have every possible event and circumstance planned for and covered for...Then :arrow:
However in the end "The Camino " will most surely have its own plan for you. You dont walk "The Camino" It will walk you...
Just trust that "The Way" will become known to you and it will happen in an experience that will be totally unique to you..
There is only one way to know and experience "The Camino" and that is to walk it. Then all will be revealed, all will be known and it will be a totally different perspective to the one you started out with..
Buen Camino :arrow:

 

[KiwiNomad06]

A second 'single most important thing' comes to mind. About a week/ ten days in my feet were feeling very tender underneath. I was starting to think it was going to be like this the whole way, and I was just going to have to put up with it. But then I realised that instead of thinking about my tender feet, I needed to keep focusing on the beautiful things all around me- spiderwebs with dew on them, kind people in the gîtes, spring leaves bursting forth, dawn skies... Strangely enough, when I did that, my feet no longer felt tender! It was as if my brain had given the nerves a message to 'quit bothering her- she's not taking any notice- she's got her eye on all the beauty around instead.'
Margaret

 

[Buckeroo]

I learnt to listen. I've always been a bit of a loner but really enjoyed walking with different people; some for a week or more, some for just a couple of miles. Others I just shared a meal with and never saw again. I found that everyone has a story and you only have to ask the right questions to let them share it. We have two ears but only one mouth and I learnt to use them in that proportion.

 

[FatmaG]

"To be happy may be so simple"

 

[Lydia Gillen]

["Blessed are those who dream dreams and work hard to make their dreams come true"
Cardinal Suenens wrote these words about 50 years ago. I experienced that blessedness on the Camino and it has given me courage to dream other dreams and to ignore the warnings of the cautious and the doomsayers.

I will be 70 this year and plan to study for a degree in Trinity college starting next September.
I would never have dreamt of undertaking this 'Camino' without the courage I learnt on the Camino de Santiago. On the Camino one can only go one step at a time no matter what mountains appear on the horizon. Up and down one step at a time, and that is the only way of getting there.

 

[jennysa]

The most important and very humbling lesson I learned was not 'to judge a book by its cover'. We tend to categorise and judge pilgrims, but we have no idea why they are walking and what emotional burdens they might be carrying.

 

[lynnejohn]

I don't need what I don't have.

 

[Diegomartine]

The single most important thing i learned was not to be too reliant on sites like this for the preparation of your Camino.. Yes these sites are helpful, yes you can draw on the experience of the many Pilgrims past and present..Yes there is absolutely nothing that you cannot ask or discuss.
So why do i feel this way , well simply this. The Camino is a Mystery. It cannot be prepared for, it cannot be understood. You can read about it, you can talk about it, you can spend hours looking comparing and buying your gear, you can make many decisions with a view of somehow "controlling" your Camino. You can believe that you have every possible event and circumstance planned for and covered for...Then :arrow:
However in the end "The Camino " will most surely have its own plan for you. You dont walk "The Camino" It will walk you...
Just trust that "The Way" will become known to you and it will happen in an experience that will be totally unique to you..
There is only one way to know and experience "The Camino" and that is to walk it. Then all will be revealed, all will be known and it will be a totally different perspective to the one you started out with..
Buen Camino :arrow:

Inspiring robhay60!!!

 

[bimblingalong]

for me it was learning to be open.... to others, the experience, my intuition & the resulting shift in attitude, still working on the lessons I learned, heading back for a second " semester" this year!!

 

[mralisn]

I learned how little I could carry and still be happy, satisfied, calm.

For the record, I also learned the offering of chocolate can bring the biggest smile.

 

[giorgio]

A deep sense of gratitude....
Giorgio and Elisa

 

[NoorvanderVeen]

Also, related to my last post...

A pilgrim I met in 2006 was caught short between villages. In tearful desperation she dived behind the bush, and after doing what she needed to do, found an unopened pack of tissues.

It's a lesson that's been repeated here often, but worth remembering.

The Camino will provide.

Also the most important lesson I learned from the camino. Never heard the sentence anywhere before. Funny, seeing that most pilgrims learn the same.

When I got bitten by bedbugs somewhere before León, the camino provided a pilgrim-doctor for me (who looked at the bites and prescribed medication) and a great team of people in the albergue who made us and all of our stuff bedbug free. I have never felt so thankful.

 

[Aldy]

Trust that the Camino will provide.

My first week was dotted with thoughts of concerns -
"What if the albergue is full when I arrive", "What if I lose my way", "What if I need a doctor or dentist", "What if", "What if", "What if"...

All of the above happened to me, and I can truly say " the Camino provided"....

This time, I will start my journey with not one iota of concern about "what ifs" - -
Aldy - leaving for my second Camino in April

 

[fraluchi]

...What is the one single most important thing you learned as a result from walking your Camino?

... that loads of pilgrims are worried about all sorts of "what ifs", particularly a bed at the next stop, when it is not necessary these days. :wink:

 

[rickster]

I learned two things: to never let myself walk someone else's camino; it will get you in trouble every time and secondly, don't over think what the camino will bring to you; it will bring to you a blessing when you least expect it.

 

[robertt]

The unclutter thing!

 

[alexwalker]

I agree with everybody here, actually. Lots of practical tricks to learn, as well as reflections/spiritual.

For me, I was sitting down one day, reflecting upon things that had happened to me in the near past (we all have our reasons for doing the Camino), but when I looked up, I saw the following in the sky:

Do you notice the big cross (X) in the sky, from two crossing planes?

I suddenly struck me that I should simply place an X over the past and start moving forward. For me, it was a life-changing moment. The rest of my camino was used to walk, and plan, ahead. It was a time of a life for me :wink: And yes, I was a different man from when I started.

I have learned many life lessons on my Caminos...

And so will you. Buen Camino!

PS: Peter, simply by asking your question as you have done, I can tell/assure you that your goals will be reached/fullfilled.

 

[MeganG22]

I definitely learned that it's okay to not plan everything to the last detail, to let go and trust that things will fall into place. It has been quite freeing, both during my Camino and now in the aftermath.

 

[Olivares]

To stretch before AND after long walks!

 

[petersimoons]

Great responses, keep them coming please, love reading them. I did another of my longer practice walks today. Am on a schedule to do about 5k every other morning and during the weekend I do something more. Today it was a beautiful walk of 26,5K. Clearly still in the day to day rush I did it in 5 hours. During the Camino I expect to enjoy more and hence take longer time in order for me to reflect and learn.

PS: Peter, simply by asking your question as you have done, I can tell/assure you that your goals will be reached/fullfilled.

Thanks alexwalker for the encouragement !

 

[Homer-Dog]

I learned that the change we hope for does not happen while you are on the Camino but happens after we have returned home and have had time to contemplate what we have experienced and achieved.

 

[bellavore]

I have always been a "loner" and, as an introvert, I value my alone time. I didn't think I needed other people. The Camino taught me that I do. I could not have finished without the companions I found along the way.