HBS60
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- August 11, 2024-September 22, 2024
It’s now been almost 3 months since I completed my Camino Frances, and I’m still processing the experience (I suspect that will go on for a long time). A few things have been bubbling up that I think are worthy of sharing:
The Camino is like a metaphor for life. As I walked the Camino, I struggled with challenges like rocky terrain, uphills, downhills, weather, fatigue, but also elation, excitement, and awe. If that’s not life, what is? …and I got through it all…
I met lots of people in the Camino, as we weaved in and out of our journeys, pretty much like life. Some of these connections were memorable but fleeting, some of them were recurring, many of them were just what I needed in times of trouble, and at other times I was able to help others. For someone as awkward and introverted as me, that was quite an accomplishment.
The rocks that I complained so much about are just like life’s obstacles. I couldn’t do anything about the fact that they were there, but I could learn how to navigate them, one little step at a time.
I’m well versed in the experience of fear, (I’ve shared in the past that I have PTSD). Surprisingly, in the Camino I experienced some scary moments (having to walk next to a bull in the fog trying to find Roncesvalles and getting lost), walking over the blocks at the river crossing at Bizkarreta, getting caught by a vicious storm trying to reach Fromista, another river crossing over uneven rocks just out of Melide. These were my most terrifying moments, but they felt different than my usual trauma-related fear episodes, as these were not due to past experiences or shame, but from external threats in the here and now, and I was able to respond to them appropriately. My executive brain took charge and got me through all these moments, much to my surprise. I’m also surprised that I felt very comfortable walking in the dark before sunrise, going up dark mountains before dawn, something that would have been unthinkable for me as a kid. So I think I’ve made some progress… I’m still trying to absorb how different it all felt.
The undeniable fact that I actually climbed over the Pyrenees and walked hundreds of kilometers to SDC is something I can’t deny, as much as my inner critic might try. Sure, moments of self-doubt do come up, but all I need to do is to remember that I did the Camino and the inner critic pipes down right away. I can’t argue with success…
Life being what it is, I know there will be challenges ahead, but now I have one more tool to get through them. If I could do this, there’s no excuse to shortchange myself, and that’s what I am holding on to. It does take time to accept, absorb, and integrate that into my everyday life.
I am grateful for all the support I got in these boards during my Camino. Y’all made a huge difference, and for that, I’m grateful!
Thanks!
Pics: First day arriving Orisson during a heat wave, Walking over the feared blocks at Bizkarreta, Reaching the summit out of Castrojeriz (Altos de Mostanares if I remember correctly), Letting it all sink in at SDC.
The Camino is like a metaphor for life. As I walked the Camino, I struggled with challenges like rocky terrain, uphills, downhills, weather, fatigue, but also elation, excitement, and awe. If that’s not life, what is? …and I got through it all…
I met lots of people in the Camino, as we weaved in and out of our journeys, pretty much like life. Some of these connections were memorable but fleeting, some of them were recurring, many of them were just what I needed in times of trouble, and at other times I was able to help others. For someone as awkward and introverted as me, that was quite an accomplishment.
The rocks that I complained so much about are just like life’s obstacles. I couldn’t do anything about the fact that they were there, but I could learn how to navigate them, one little step at a time.
I’m well versed in the experience of fear, (I’ve shared in the past that I have PTSD). Surprisingly, in the Camino I experienced some scary moments (having to walk next to a bull in the fog trying to find Roncesvalles and getting lost), walking over the blocks at the river crossing at Bizkarreta, getting caught by a vicious storm trying to reach Fromista, another river crossing over uneven rocks just out of Melide. These were my most terrifying moments, but they felt different than my usual trauma-related fear episodes, as these were not due to past experiences or shame, but from external threats in the here and now, and I was able to respond to them appropriately. My executive brain took charge and got me through all these moments, much to my surprise. I’m also surprised that I felt very comfortable walking in the dark before sunrise, going up dark mountains before dawn, something that would have been unthinkable for me as a kid. So I think I’ve made some progress… I’m still trying to absorb how different it all felt.
The undeniable fact that I actually climbed over the Pyrenees and walked hundreds of kilometers to SDC is something I can’t deny, as much as my inner critic might try. Sure, moments of self-doubt do come up, but all I need to do is to remember that I did the Camino and the inner critic pipes down right away. I can’t argue with success…
Life being what it is, I know there will be challenges ahead, but now I have one more tool to get through them. If I could do this, there’s no excuse to shortchange myself, and that’s what I am holding on to. It does take time to accept, absorb, and integrate that into my everyday life.
I am grateful for all the support I got in these boards during my Camino. Y’all made a huge difference, and for that, I’m grateful!
Thanks!
Pics: First day arriving Orisson during a heat wave, Walking over the feared blocks at Bizkarreta, Reaching the summit out of Castrojeriz (Altos de Mostanares if I remember correctly), Letting it all sink in at SDC.
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K.. you just went up a notch or two in my book 
