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Lovely phrase of Camino Philosophy.Heraclitus of Ephesos observing the movement of the water said "You cannot step twice into the same river". You have experienced something which you cannot repeat, you can only continue a Camino.
Heraclitus of Ephesos observing the movement of the water said "You cannot step twice into the same river". You have experienced something which you cannot repeat, you can only continue a Camino.
Hi Sarah, for some of us walking " a " Camino never ends. Every year for the coming years I will walk alone and also with my wife a different Camino.Hello All,
I was encouraged onto my first camino by many of you back in July where an opportune window presented itself (redundancy!) for me to take my first Camino, even though it meant being in Pamplona for San Fermin and enduring a frightfully hot early August slog over the Meseta. I regret nothing of the decision. The camino has been calling me for years and before going I had digested every shred of documentation of the Way from videos to books. On the last days of the Camino, mainly a little disturbed by the change of pace/atmosphere from Sarria, I thought I was "done" with my obsession but with only 6 weeks back at home I still feel called to walk. I'm reading up on the camino again, checking these forums, even formulating plans to do a spring Camino (half seriously, half daydreaming).
The Camino feels like the only thing that has truly meant sense in my life, walking the Camino is the most peaceful, natural and lifted state I have felt and even though my life is pretty full, I have a new puppy, a new relationship, I'm starting a business, everything else feels like "extras" or "noise" with no base, no backdrop, the camino gave me a really solid grounding in happiness while walking on it that has vanished back at home. Some lessons have stuck, but mostly I am not living the lessons that came so naturally on the Camino, basic stuff like taking care of your body, guarding against tiredness and judgement, the basic stuff that fills you with wellness.
Taking care of your body for the next days walk, following arrows, knowing a good (well!) meal and a clean (ish) bed lies at the end of your day, it was such an easy life in many ways. You really felt like you deserved that Pilgrim menu after a 30k+ walk, back at home, everything comes without really having to earn it?
Does this resonate with anyone! I realise it comes across as the whinging of a pampered Generation X'er, I guess the question is, how have you taken the soul lifting baseline of wellness (if you got it!) from the Camino and transplanted that into your everyday life?
Or maybe I just missed the lesson entirely, and need to repeat the class (Here's hoping!). Is a Camino obsession normal? Can be it sated?
I know exactly what you mean. We first walked the Camino France's in 2005 and in between then and now a few others, but the "pull" of the CF lingered so off we went again this year. We thought however that we could never again have that experience of 2005. How wrong we were! In fact it was better the second time around. Not sure why but maybe it was that we were 5 years older and more "aware" of the Camino. We did not rush this time ( so full of excitement and adrenaline in 2005) and met such wonderful people. The pull to walk it again is still there so maybe next year!! We walk and trek a lot all over the place but nothing compares to the CF. Why not check out the thread "post Camino withdrawl symptoms"Hello All,
I was encouraged onto my first camino by many of you back in July where an opportune window presented itself (redundancy!) for me to take my first Camino, even though it meant being in Pamplona for San Fermin and enduring a frightfully hot early August slog over the Meseta. I regret nothing of the decision. The camino has been calling me for years and before going I had digested every shred of documentation of the Way from videos to books. On the last days of the Camino, mainly a little disturbed by the change of pace/atmosphere from Sarria, I thought I was "done" with my obsession but with only 6 weeks back at home I still feel called to walk. I'm reading up on the camino again, checking these forums, even formulating plans to do a spring Camino (half seriously, half daydreaming).
The Camino feels like the only thing that has truly meant sense in my life, walking the Camino is the most peaceful, natural and lifted state I have felt and even though my life is pretty full, I have a new puppy, a new relationship, I'm starting a business, everything else feels like "extras" or "noise" with no base, no backdrop, the camino gave me a really solid grounding in happiness while walking on it that has vanished back at home. Some lessons have stuck, but mostly I am not living the lessons that came so naturally on the Camino, basic stuff like taking care of your body, guarding against tiredness and judgement, the basic stuff that fills you with wellness.
Taking care of your body for the next days walk, following arrows, knowing a good (well!) meal and a clean (ish) bed lies at the end of your day, it was such an easy life in many ways. You really felt like you deserved that Pilgrim menu after a 30k+ walk, back at home, everything comes without really having to earn it?
Does this resonate with anyone! I realise it comes across as the whinging of a pampered Generation X'er, I guess the question is, how have you taken the soul lifting baseline of wellness (if you got it!) from the Camino and transplanted that into your everyday life?
Or maybe I just missed the lesson entirely, and need to repeat the class (Here's hoping!). Is a Camino obsession normal? Can be it sated?
Hello All,
I was encouraged onto my first camino by many of you back in July where an opportune window presented itself (redundancy!) for me to take my first Camino, even though it meant being in Pamplona for San Fermin and enduring a frightfully hot early August slog over the Meseta. I regret nothing of the decision. The camino has been calling me for years and before going I had digested every shred of documentation of the Way from videos to books. On the last days of the Camino, mainly a little disturbed by the change of pace/atmosphere from Sarria, I thought I was "done" with my obsession but with only 6 weeks back at home I still feel called to walk. I'm reading up on the camino again, checking these forums, even formulating plans to do a spring Camino (half seriously, half daydreaming).
The Camino feels like the only thing that has truly meant sense in my life, walking the Camino is the most peaceful, natural and lifted state I have felt and even though my life is pretty full, I have a new puppy, a new relationship, I'm starting a business, everything else feels like "extras" or "noise" with no base, no backdrop, the camino gave me a really solid grounding in happiness while walking on it that has vanished back at home. Some lessons have stuck, but mostly I am not living the lessons that came so naturally on the Camino, basic stuff like taking care of your body, guarding against tiredness and judgement, the basic stuff that fills you with wellness.
Taking care of your body for the next days walk, following arrows, knowing a good (well!) meal and a clean (ish) bed lies at the end of your day, it was such an easy life in many ways. You really felt like you deserved that Pilgrim menu after a 30k+ walk, back at home, everything comes without really having to earn it?
Does this resonate with anyone! I realise it comes across as the whinging of a pampered Generation X'er, I guess the question is, how have you taken the soul lifting baseline of wellness (if you got it!) from the Camino and transplanted that into your everyday life?
Or maybe I just missed the lesson entirely, and need to repeat the class (Here's hoping!). Is a Camino obsession normal? Can be it sated?
Agree! I first heard of the Camino in the early 2000s and wanted to walk ever since. Had an opportunity to join a church group for the Camino Ingles in 2013 and then after daydreaming and half planning throughout that winter, found myself jobless and with a free plane ticket, so I walked Oct/Nov 2014. I am satiated for now, knowing that when it is time for another Camino, the opportunity will be there.
For me (as a fellow Gen Xer), the Camino gave me a sense of purpose beyond myself and beyond the mundane of my 'normal' life. As a Catholic, I walked in for religious purposes, taking with me the intentions of friends and colleagues as I offered up my days and steps in prayer for those who needed it. How much simple can life be, and with such a singular purpose as to wake up each day only needing to walk and pray? Learning to see God and His love in the surrounding beauty of the scenery and, more important, in the beauty of all the people I encountered. It was tough, challenging, beautiful, exhilarating, all in one. It spoke to my greater need to have purpose and meaning in my daily life. And it is a hard lesson to learn - how to continue that when there are other distractions (job, bills, taking care of a house, laundry, etc) vying for my attention. Not to mention the fact that there are no yellow arrows coming at just the right moment to tell me where to go next!
So, no solution, except that I do try to focus on the gratitude I have for each day I spent on the Camino and translate that into gratitude for those I meet and walk with on the greater camino of life.
So many have written about the continuing need to walk the Camino again (and again). But could you speak to how you adapted to being back home? How about your loved ones? What difficulties did they face in adapting to you post-Camino? When my husband came home after 19 months in Iraq, nothing seemed as real, as relevant, as vital as what he did in Iraq. It took a long time to sort out. What has been your experience?
So sorry to hear of your suffering and so happy that the Camino brings you peace. Walking for whatever reason is very therapeutic. Keep enjoying the way. Best wishes.seabird
hello
I served for 30 long years, I was haunted just before accidentally ending up on my first camino, served first gulf war....and many before that......I survived back home for three days on discharge. unfit to command ....on the camino I live...and I change.........many service personnel suffer in silence coming back home...they don't talk.
I came across a poppy field on my first camnio and fell to my knees, the wall had to come down, being up against it was not working anymore......I can never stop walking the camino .........reaching out to help others.. to enable others along the way ,we can also help ourselves.....I hope your husband comes on camino ...its good to walk ,its good to talk
it took a lot of miles for me I start my 19th camino JAN 2016 (many back to back).....I started May 2012.....I like walking and I like listening,...next year I am on camino nearly all of the whole year....when people ask me why so many caminos (I don't count the fisterra ones).... I say why not..
Thank you
Mountaingoat999, thank you for sharing your experience. I can only glimpse it through my husband's experience, but I know the toll it can take. May the camino continue to fill your heart and mind with love, peace, and forgiveness, for yourself and those in your life.seabird
hello
I served for 30 long years, I was haunted just before accidentally ending up on my first camino, served first gulf war....and many before that......I survived back home for three days on discharge. unfit to command ....on the camino I live...and I change.........many service personnel suffer in silence coming back home...they don't talk.
I came across a poppy field on my first camnio and fell to my knees, the wall had to come down, being up against it was not working anymore......I can never stop walking the camino .........reaching out to help others.. to enable others along the way ,we can also help ourselves.....I hope your husband comes on camino ...its good to walk ,its good to talk
it took a lot of miles for me I start my 19th camino JAN 2016 (many back to back).....I started May 2012.....I like walking and I like listening,...next year I am on camino nearly all of the whole year....when people ask me why so many caminos (I don't count the fisterra ones).... I say why not..
Thank you
seabird
I hope your husband comes on camino ...its good to walk ,its good to talk
Yes, and you are never the same again. You have a new peace.Heraclitus of Ephesos observing the movement of the water said "You cannot step twice into the same river". You have experienced something which you cannot repeat, you can only continue a Camino.
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