Missing the way

[angeliki louk]

In two years I walked the French way,the north way and the primitivo.....the way is inside me and every day I miss the way even more......can't stop thinking of the moment that I will be on the way again......and I know that the way is always with us but.....when u are walking the way the feeling is magical!
I am from Greece and today it was the first day that I did a 4 hour trail up the mountains.....every step that I took I was thinking of the way....I don't know if we create the great idea of the way but I know for sure that whoever has walked the way understands the beauty and the strength of the way.......
Just wanted to share some thoughts!
Buen camino to everyone!!!!

 

[Stripey Socks]

Well said Angeliki. I also spend a fair bit of time trying to understand the 'pull' of the camino and have yet to put my finger on it. Needless to say my family and friends believe I have truly lost my mind as I announce my next walk, and after each walk I say to myself "that's it, that will be my last". And then on the plane home (or before??) I start thinking that perhaps I might just do the camino xx before calling it quits! I guess there are worse addictions.

For me it is the sense of walking in the steps of history, the sense of comraderie and the people I meet along away as well as being part of something much larger than myself. I get caught up in my own little world but when you walk a camino everything goes out and opens up - your mind, your view of the world each day and your lungs!

Bring on Camino Portuguese in May 2016!!
Mel

 

[Kanga]

Perhaps the human race evolved to be nomadic and a settled existence is easily put aside. Although I agree there is something special about the Camino, and in particular walking it as a pilgrimage. Whether you agree with that or not, there is no doubt it helps our health and wellbeing. Keep walking to keep walking.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

I think the pull of the camino is that it's quite safe, and you know where you are going each day, and you're getting lots of exercise and fresh air, but it's all new and exciting and very far from everyday life. All these things combine to make you utterly PRESENT for the experience. Your mind is not full of laundry and grocery lists or appointments or plans... all you have to do is walk, and chat with people, and find dinner and a bed. You are set free to think all the thoughts you've shoved aside all your life. You can stop and examine the flowers, ants, donkeys, cheeses, sausages, beers, whatever takes your fancy... you have time! Each day is an adventure, new things are constantly happening, interesting people appear and vanish, you are challenged every which way and somehow you meet the challenges. And it's a pilgrimage, too -- in all that wide-open head space, some people find the bit of God that's lived inside them all their lives, but that they'd somehow forgotten, or buried, or rejected.

The pull of the camino, IMHO, is the pull of God. All that "being present" is a glimpse of what heaven must be like. The noise and worry is gone, and all you have to do is be there. With God Almighty herself.

 

[Kanga]

How how! Exactly.

 

[GettingThere]

I think the pull of the camino is that it's quite safe, and you know where you are going each day, and you're getting lots of exercise and fresh air, but it's all new and exciting and very far from everyday life. All these things combine to make you utterly PRESENT for the experience. Your mind is not full of laundry and grocery lists or appointments or plans... all you have to do is walk, and chat with people, and find dinner and a bed. You are set free to think all the thoughts you've shoved aside all your life. You can stop and examine the flowers, ants, donkeys, cheeses, sausages, beers, whatever takes your fancy... you have time! Each day is an adventure, new things are constantly happening, interesting people appear and vanish, you are challenged every which way and somehow you meet the challenges. And it's a pilgrimage, too -- in all that wide-open head space, some people find the bit of God that's lived inside them all their lives, but that they'd somehow forgotten, or buried, or rejected.

The pull of the camino, IMHO, is the pull of God. All that "being present" is a glimpse of what heaven must be like. The noise and worry is gone, and all you have to do is be there. With God Almighty herself.

I think this is the best description/explanation of this phenomenon (and of the Camino) that I have read. Thank you, @Rebekah Scott , I'm bookmarking this!

 

[petro]

Beautifully said Rebekah and so true! For me it feels like time is standing still on the camino and I can catch up.

 

[ourgirl]

A long time before I walked my Camino, I was consoled by my friend when I could not go--that person told me my life was my Camino and I walked it every day. I tried to keep that in mind until I actually walked my Way, with my son this past May. I truly understood, after that walk what my friend meant.

While I do feel the pull of the Camino, I know I still walking it. There are days off when I just start walking my chores--walking to the grocery store or the dry cleaners. Or when I explore a town--I just explored NYC and walked the Highline. What a Camino day that was! I even ended up in a Catholic Church at the end of my walk! It was open, I felt the pull and walked into Grace.

Not all my days are Camino Days--but truth be told, not all my Actual Camino Days felt like I was in Grace. I love the feeling of recognizing a Camino Day in ordinary life and sharing that idea with whom I'm with at the time.

Thanks for the read.

 

[obinjatoo]

I have spent literally years of my life walking. Sometimes I even got paid for it as a guide. It was all back country. And for those of you who don't know "backcountry" means, it's miles from anywhere and anybody. I carried everything I needed. If I didn't have it but felt I needed it, I harvested or made it . It was great to be challenged at self sufficiency!
Walking the Camino is a totally different ballgame and has it's own sets of challenges. Mainly that it is FULL of OTHER PEOPLE! And that is where it became the long dialogue with God. No people is easy, lots of people is hard. After my first trip on The Way I went back a second time and served as hospitalera. That was even more people and an even more profound conversation with God. I'm looking forward to walking and serving again.

 

[vegoodrich]

There are many people who feel very drawn to walking long distances (in the US there are the long trails the AT, PCT, and CDT) because of the sense of mental clarity and presence in the moment that is gained from such an experience. I recommend finding ways to incorporate more full day type walking into your life! The camino helped me to remember that the walking can be anywhere (city, country, desert, woods, etc etc). All the different locations have value.

 

[mtman100]

In two years I walked the French way,the north way and the primitivo.....the way is inside me and every day I miss the way even more......can't stop thinking of the moment that I will be on the way again......and I know that the way is always with us but.....when u are walking the way the feeling is magical!
I am from Greece and today it was the first day that I did a 4 hour trail up the mountains.....every step that I took I was thinking of the way....I don't know if we create the great idea of the way but I know for sure that whoever has walked the way understands the beauty and the strength of the way.......
Just wanted to share some thoughts!
Buen camino to everyone!!!!

I know what you mean. After we finished our 1st Camino in July of 2015, it is on my mind continuously!

 

[Shalaw]

I walked CF in Sept/Oct 2015 and met a fellow who was walking his 38th camino!! And another peregrine who had already walked 2700kms and yet another who walked 2400kms!! The feeling is incredible....The Way either calls to you or doesn't.

 

[VNwalking]

The pull of the camino, IMHO, is the pull of God. All that "being present" is a glimpse of what heaven must be like. The noise and worry is gone, and all you have to do is be there. With God Almighty herself.

Impossible to say it better, whether we call it 'God' or not. Thank you, Rebekah.
And the trick is to find that capacity we all have to 'just be there' with presence in our daily lives as well. Possible but not easy...
Perhaps we'll know when we're saints when we no longer miss the Camino, but can access the same attitude and in the midst of the daily whirlwind