Post Camino

One final post on the Camino which I wished to share with some words taken from a brochure I randomly picked up along the way.

How Important are those yellow arrows?
They point out the path that the camino follows, and if it weren't for them, at times we wouldn't know which way to go. But as we find them, we regain confidence that we're going the right direction. It's so silly. A simple yellow arrow..... but how did you feel when it seemed like there weren't any arrows?
As it turn out, our life is a path. Many times we feel lost, as we get frustrated at not finding any direction or reference to gives us security. Then come along fears, wounds, hindrances.... And on the path of life, which arrow do you follow? To whom or what do we look for orientation? Could it be that someone has painted arrow in our lives so that we don't get lost?

Why did I put 4 pairs of pants in my backpack?
It sounds familiar, right? When you were at home it didn't seem to matter how little or how much you put in your backpack, but now that you have to carry it all, walking, you realise how heavy things are and how many things you could've done without. They say that a modest person is one who could carry all their important possessions in a backpack.
We all carry a backpack on the journey of life. Sometimes we go adding things or perhaps we carry them just because. It could be what other people think of you, it could be a consuming lifestyle that's out of our control and doesn't attend to real needs, a number of things. But there comes a time when so much weight keeps you from moving forward. Therefore it's important to stop from time to time and ask yourself: Am I carrying around burdens in my life that I don't need? How can I differentiate between what is important in life and what's not? What do I need to take out of my backpack to not end up burnt out?

Blisters, wounds, sprains....
How they hurt! No one can escape pain on the Camino. It's impossible to walk more than 2 days and not notice how our bodies suffer. Then we have to listen to our bodies, adapt, modify our pace and even stop if necessary.  But it's through that pain that we come to understand the cost of the Camino and it's also how we enjoy finishing each leg of the journey and realising what we have overcome, and in reality, we are transformed into a slightly different person each time we do it. Although it sound naive, the Camino wouldn't be the same without the pain.
Something similar happens on the journey of life. Sometimes things happen to us that make us learn to walk. There could be things that we seek or not, but the journey continues. And then the most important question is: How do you learn to walk with something that hurts you in your life? Are you being cured or are you still carrying it with you? Is there something in your actual way of walking that is hurting you?

Every pilgrim needs extra help in order to keep walking
Especially when you legs have already come a lot of km. Take a second to think of the people that you have shared the Camino with, who have supported you when you were tired, who reminded you why you're doing the Camino when you wanted to give up or take an easier road... sometimes even a simple conversation with another pilgrim can turn a difficult 30km stretch into a pleasant stroll. How great is that we find true fellow travelers along the Camino
Perhaps there are great life lessons hidden in the Camino and this maybe one of them. Do we walk the path of life simply entertaining people, or do we help them to not throw in the towel and keep moving forward? Could it be that we become true pilgrims when we embrace the mission of helping others walk?

Everyone who arrived in Santiago by walking experience a changed in their life and returned home a different person. But they also gained a mission. The shells, if you look at them from above, look like hands and symbolise the good deeds of Jesus for all people. Whoever wore the shells wanted to be identified by that kind of lifestyle. The author CS Lewis said that "God wanted us to learn how to love and be loved, and for that reason he lived among us as Jesus". Life itself, and what we do with it, sometimes leads us away from that experience of love, but just like how on the Camino there are so many chances to learn, the opportunity to begin that lifestyle is still there. It consist in loving God and loving others as yourself, following Jesus on the path of life

Buen Camino!

I find that it's very true, what it says and I do hope I will be able to learn and maintain the Camino ways. Thank you all for following my blog for so many days and it has made my Camino that much more meaningful.