When you realize that the Camino IS your comfort zone

[trecile]

Before my first Camino last year so much of it - sleeping in dorms, carrying everything I needed on my back, wearing just the same two outfits for over a month, no hair dryer or makeup, walking 20 to 30 km a day - was totally out of my comfort zone. But now, it's where I feel comfortable and happy. While it's very different from my regular life, there is so much about Camino life that is comforting. The regular routine of waking up, walking, finding a place to sleep, wash clothes, then hang out with Camino friends.
And, as opposed to regular life, it's so easy to meet people and form friendships, because we all have a common goal. You can stop at any bar along the way and strike up a conversation with a fellow pilgrim. Try that at Starbucks!
And then there's the feeling that everyone is really equal, and it doesn't matter your age, sex or job. In my regular life I tend to judge myself compared to others, and dwell on my shortcomings, but on the Camino I feel competent and strong.

 

[nidarosa]

This is one of the reasons why I have worn a small silver scallop shell pendant since my first long camino - every time I look in the mirror I am reminded that whatever else I am and how I succeed or fail in 'normal life', I am also that person who did that and belongs there.

 

[Colette Z]

I shifted to a somewhat minimalist lifestyle (I say somewhat because there are much more serious minimalists than me) 8 years ago after a major life changing (at the time) "sad"event. I'm grateful for that event because it brought me back to a gentler, softer, simpler, kinder and more compassionate lifestyle. A sister commented that I was escaping "real" life while on the Camino......in reality I believe I was living real life vs most Westerners who are caught up in the grind of a "strive and acquire" lifestyle. Consider myself extremely fortunate to be now a member of the Camino Family and look forward to my next.

 

[Kitsambler]

in reality I believe I was living real life

I think you're onto something here. The Camino experience, with its communal living, and community support, absence of office work, not to mention abundant physical exercise and minimal personal possessions, must echo that primal life we lived as humans for thousands of years. Our genes are built for this life!

 

[LTfit]

I shifted to a somewhat minimalist lifestyle (I say somewhat because there are much more serious minimalists than me) 8 years ago after a major life changing (at the time) "sad"event. I'm grateful for that event because it brought me back to a gentler, softer, simpler, kinder and more compassionate lifestyle. A sister commented that I was escaping "real" life while on the Camino......in reality I believe I was living real life vs most Westerners who are caught up in the grind of a "strive and acquire" lifestyle. Consider myself extremely fortunate to be now a member of the Camino Family and look forward to my next.

I couldn't agree more @Colette Zaharie, it all depends on one's definition of escapism or a "real life". I know that mine has changed dramatically over the past 10 years and the Camino has played an integral part in dealing with change.

After seven years and twice as many Caminos I find that my life off and on the Camino is quite fluid. Rather than two separate entities, they complement and enrich each other. I often feel that I have one foot in Spain and another here in The Netherlands where I have spent the beter part of the last 25 years.

The Camino continues to be a great teacher.

 

[jo webber]

While on my ten mile training walks in the city I felt very at home with just my pack. Sat on the curb to tape my feet. Sat on the sidewalk to change socks. Removed layers as the day got warmer. Stopped to have a small meal or a coffee. Looked at trees and yards and buildings, really looked.

Now two weeks from leaving and I find I am detaching from my house, both physically and mentally. The daily chores I do have no meaning. I have become quieter, stiller in some way. Very weird feeling.

 

[jerbear]

I just keep coming back........

 

[nycwalking]

@trecile,

You summoned it up perfectly. Wish I were there now.
Buen camino.

 

[SusanSmyth]

This is one of the reasons why I have worn a small silver scallop shell pendant since my first long camino - every time I look in the mirror I am reminded that whatever else I am and how I succeed or fail in 'normal life', I am also that person who did that and belongs there.

I walked the CF alone in May. My husband was waiting for me in Santiago with a beautiful bracelet he had had made for me. It has a scallop shell charm with "Ultreïa! Et susseïa!" and "Deus adjuvat nos." inscribed. I wear it always, so the Camino is always with me.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

I am in the "escape" camp. Reality is that without our cushy home jobs we wouldn't be on the Camino, walking with no worries and all the luxury we could want: someone cleans up after us in the albergues, we walk with our carbon poles, 200$ Hoka One Ones, ultra tek trousers and merino tops, eat out 3 times a day, keeping in touch with our 1000$ Iphones.

At least the vast majority of is do.

None of this would be possible without the rat race at home.

Just look at the responses people get every time someone mentions wanting to move to Spain to open an albergue.

We are all at our best when stress free, enjoying the pleasures of life. The rest test is when the bleep hits the fan. Who are we under stress? When everything is not going our way? What are our impulses then?

When ever I get off the boat after two weks at see scuba diving enjoying the natural wonders this world has to offer I cry and wonder why I am going back to regular life. Well, to be able to affoard the next 2 weeks of heaven. Because working on such a boat is hard work, it doesn't pay, you have to tolerate clients with a smile, and when you step off the boat you have nothing to show for all this work.

Who wouldn't enjoy life long retirement? Or being a trust fund baby? My next door neighbour, a highschool English teacher, once said to me he was born to be retired. I told him I was born to be kept.

I also think this thinking is very much a feeling from the Frances, where the path is easiest, with lots of infrastructure and lots of people to meet and distract us. The lesser walked Caminos oush you more and, like the rat race, makes your true colours shine through.

All this being said, after watching so much of the news in the last 10 days in North America, I have to admit that the thought of selling everything and buying a stone ruin on a lesser Camino to restore has been a lovely thought to fall asleep to.

 

[Stivandrer]

My souvenir and reminder of the Camino is this granite scallop I sent home together with my Compostela and odd clothes.
- as one of the corners broke off, I cemented it to a stone slab.
Here it is in its Xmas adornment and matching sleet, newly scrubbed...
But whenever it gets green and grubby again, it is time to break up and go again.
I look at it every day as I go out the door..

 

[maurice]

Happy I have heard about it so I could experience it and now............ hooked

For your future camino(s) : Bom Caminho!!!

 

[HedaP]

I'm addicted to the walking and the views but I also love being at home. Now if only I could perfect being in two places at once!

 

[Deleted member 56069]

A lot of good, thoughtful content in this thread that really resonates with me. Explains why my wife and I have been on a Camino in each of the last four years.

Steve McQueen once said, 'Life is Racing, Everything else is just waiting'... so is 'Life is a Camino, Everything else is just waiting?'

 

[marilyn van graan]

Before my first Camino last year so much of it - sleeping in dorms, carrying everything I needed on my back, wearing just the same two outfits for over a month, no hair dryer or makeup, walking 20 to 30 km a day - was totally out of my comfort zone. But now, it's where I feel comfortable and happy. While it's very different from my regular life, there is so much about Camino life that is comforting. The regular routine of waking up, walking, finding a place to sleep, wash clothes, then hang out with Camino friends.
And, as opposed to regular life, it's so easy to meet people and form friendships, because we all have a common goal. You can stop at any bar along the way and strike up a conversation with a fellow pilgrim. Try that at Starbucks!
And then there's the feeling that everyone is really equal, and it doesn't matter your age, sex or job. In my regular life I tend to judge myself compared to others, and dwell on my shortcomings, but on the Camino I feel competent and strong.

My sentiments exactly - I also find it hard to slip back in the "norm" of life after a camino.

 

[Satírico]

Before my first Camino last year so much of it - sleeping in dorms, carrying everything I needed on my back, wearing just the same two outfits for over a month, no hair dryer or makeup, walking 20 to 30 km a day - was totally out of my comfort zone. But now, it's where I feel comfortable and happy. While it's very different from my regular life, there is so much about Camino life that is comforting. The regular routine of waking up, walking, finding a place to sleep, wash clothes, then hang out with Camino friends.
And, as opposed to regular life, it's so easy to meet people and form friendships, because we all have a common goal. You can stop at any bar along the way and strike up a conversation with a fellow pilgrim. Try that at Starbucks!
And then there's the feeling that everyone is really equal, and it doesn't matter your age, sex or job. In my regular life I tend to judge myself compared to others, and dwell on my shortcomings, but on the Camino I feel competent and strong.

I need a 'love' button instead of the 'like'.

 

[Satírico]

I am in the "escape" camp. Reality is that without our cushy home jobs we wouldn't be on the Camino, walking with no worries and all the luxury we could want: someone cleans up after us in the albergues, we walk with our carbon poles, 200$ Hoka One Ones, ultra tek trousers and merino tops, eat out 3 times a day, keeping in touch with our 1000$ Iphones.

At least the vast majority of is do.

None of this would be possible without the rat race at home.

Just look at the responses people get every time someone mentions wanting to move to Spain to open an albergue.

We are all at our best when stress free, enjoying the pleasures of life. The rest test is when the bleep hits the fan. Who are we under stress? When everything is not going our way? What are our impulses then?

When ever I get off the boat after two weks at see scuba diving enjoying the natural wonders this world has to offer I cry and wonder why I am going back to regular life. Well, to be able to affoard the next 2 weeks of heaven. Because working on such a boat is hard work, it doesn't pay, you have to tolerate clients with a smile, and when you step off the boat you have nothing to show for all this work.

Who wouldn't enjoy life long retirement? Or being a trust fund baby? My next door neighbour, a highschool English teacher, once said to me he was born to be retired. I told him I was born to be kept.

I also think this thinking is very much a feeling from the Frances, where the path is easiest, with lots of infrastructure and lots of people to meet and distract us. The lesser walked Caminos oush you more and, like the rat race, makes your true colours shine through.

All this being said, after watching so much of the news in the last 10 days in North America, I have to admit that the thought of selling everything and buying a stone ruin on a lesser Camino to restore has been a lovely thought to fall asleep to.

This is a very thoughtful response, and thought-provoking of course, which is why I'm inclined to reply and say that it's not quite fair to characterise the camino as escapism or as one of the 'pleasures of life', like scuba diving. The camino is an endurance test, one that is replete with grumbling, angst, irritations, pitfalls, all the stuff of daily life that is brought onto the camino with us and which we gradually shed as the effort starts to work for us, not against. What I really wanted to say was that people, I think, move on from CF to other routes seeking greater challenges, more privation, fewer people and less infrastructure, trying to connect with something good at a deeper level. And maybe the last level of accomplishment is being fit and ready and strong enough to open an albergue or act as a hospitolera/o. Basically, I don't think there's anything gratuitous about it and, as I've said in a previous thread somewhere, nothing vexed me more than people telling me to enjoy my 'holiday'.

Buen camino.

 

[amorfati1]

A lot of good, thoughtful content in this thread that really resonates with me. Explains why my wife and I have been on a Camino in each of the last four years.

Steve McQueen once said, 'Life is Racing, Everything else is just waiting'... so is 'Life is a Camino, Everything else is just waiting?'

"Life is Camino."
period.
full stop.
Also when I move into a flat, a home ... I will leave again, at one point, sooner or later. Just as on the camino, I come, I move on.
Also when I start a new job ... I will leave again, at one point, sooner or later ...
I always felt like a traveler in this world, and since the camino, it's more pronounced ... this feeling that we are all pilgrims.
Nobody sets up shop here for eternity ...

 

[good_old_shoes]

„And then there's the feeling that everyone is really equal, and it doesn't matter your age, sex or job [...] on the Camino I feel competent and strong.“

This.

For me, the way people interact on the Camino is how it's supposed to be. Pilgrims look at each other as equals, everybody is a potential friend. If you get judged, it is for how you act towards others, not for social status, money, or career. It's about who you are as a person, and how you can grow to be a better person as well as helping others to do the same. That's a beautiful thing.

It makes me sad when people see the Camino as just another kind of holiday, as escapism, as a parallel world that is not real. It's there, it's real. It is walked by real people with real lives and real emotions, and for many it has a very real impact on their lives. Why trivialise that?

The fact that after a while you have to go back to a job to earn money doesn't make it any less real. Never understood that argument.

 

[amorfati1]

„And then there's the feeling that everyone is really equal, and it doesn't matter your age, sex or job [...] on the Camino I feel competent and strong.“

This.

For me, the way people interact on the Camino is how it's supposed to be. Pilgrims look at each other as equals, everybody is a potential friend. If you get judged, it is for how you act towards others, not for social status, money, or career. It's about who you are as a person, and how you can grow to be a better person as well as helping others to do the same. That's a beautiful thing.

It makes me sad when people see the Camino as just another kind of holiday, as escapism, as a parallel world that is not real. It's there, it's real. It is walked by real people with real lives and real emotions, and for many it has a very real impact on their lives. Why trivialise that?

The fact that after a while you have to go back to a job to earn money doesn't make it any less real. Never understood that argument.

"....It makes me sad when people see the Camino as just another kind of holiday, as escapism, as a parallel world that is not real. It's there, it's real. It is walked by real people with real lives and real emotions, and for many it has a very real impact on their lives. Why trivialise that?

The fact that after a while you have to go back to a job to earn money doesn't make it any less real. Never understood that argument...."


Spot ON!
failed to comprehend that 'argument/stance' either....
that "back in the real world" sort of argument. As if a Camino is any less real.
Thank you Mucho for phrasing it so very well!

 

[maurice]

When I am on a camino I feel free, freed from daily things you have to do to survive in this life.
I always trying to keep the good Spirit up when back home but it just fades away after a few weeks when I get occuped again
by things I have to do. So yeah, my whole life is a camino but a totally different one then being on a camino.
On the camino it's about sharing, loving, looking after each other and all kind of positive energies. I my daily life people just can't get enough
and everywhere there are traps and snakes on the way. Oh, in the Pyrenees there're snakes too but those are kind
I count the days that I can walk again.