A journey of 579.9 kilometers, or 360.3 miles, began with a single step. With that first step, I found myself in the small town of Bilbao, Spain, with 6 pairs of socks, 5 t-shirts, 4 pieces of underwear, 2 pairs of hiking shoes and 1 painfully forming farmer's tan. This was no ordinary trip to Spain, as much as I would love to lounge around in Bilbao’s sleepy city center. No, this was my Camino De Santiago, a pilgrimage that took me across northern Spain for 23 days. This trip is typically done as a religious or spiritual excursion, as legend has it that Saint James the Great, an Apostle of Jesus Christ in the 9th century, had walked this very same pilgrimage to spread Christianity. As I reflect on my experience nearly 4 months later, here are a few things I learned on my journey to Santiago.
Humor is distinctly human
Regardless of culture, creed, language, or skin color - laughter is understood universally. It’s an excellent tool to break barriers, stigma, and any other form of natural suspicion we have about newcomers in our lives. There were countless moments during my trip where I butchered phrases (horribly so) in other languages in an effort to share intimate moments with my new road friends, only for us to laugh moments later about the travesty of my pronunciation. New opportunities for lifelong memories sprung up left and right as I continued to intertwine humor as my first impression, inviting others to do the same. During my trip, humor was a playful teacher that helped me let go of trivial irrelevancies in my perception of others, which let warmth, friendliness, and open-mindedness into my spirit through the bond of sharing a laugh with others.
Long-form thinking strengthens character
When was the last time you dissected a thought of yours for more than a minute? Challenged an assumption of yours for the sake of proofing your logic, and really dug deeper into why you think a certain way on a topic? Well, before this trip, I would break the walls of 1st and 2nd order thinking, but rarely challenged my reasoning and intuition when doing so. Fortunately, several days of walking 8-10 hours without company gives you every opportunity to think, think, and think a little bit more. I thought about who I was and challenged my belief on why I thought I was the person that I say that I am (word soup!). Asking “why?” 5-10 times on my list of beliefs and their thought patterns let me edge closer towards defining my understanding of various topics that I deemed important and helped me slowly be on the path of becoming a structurally sound human. Without daily distractions to pull me away from defining who I am, logic was a strict teacher that brought me much-needed painful truths, whether I liked it or not.
The body and mind will adapt
If your heart is ablaze for accomplishing a physically or mentally strenuous feat, your body and mind will conform together towards you, and help you achieve this feat. My intention to walk the Camino sprung up in 2019 when I walked a portion of it with my family. Since then, I knew there was a 0% chance of me not making the excursion to Spain to walk the rest of the Camino. There were days when I would walk 20+ miles with pretty annoying blisters surrounding my feet. It was painful for my body and mind, but what I had to do was pretty simple. The path was in front of me, I just had to walk it. What the teachings of my spirit showed me was that once your heart aligns with your path, just walk it and let your body and mind catch up. The rest will follow as needed.
I wish you and your loved ones a Happy New Year, and that 2024 is ripe with cherished memories, goodwill, and many ascensions in your spiritual, physical, and mental pursuits.
Talk to you next year,
Simas
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