Susan Gilbert

“When making your choice in life, do not neglect to live.”

~ Samuel Johnson

My intention for walking the Camino was ‘to be in the moment’ no matter what the journey brought.  If I began to think “How much further to (insert name of next town) where I can finally take off this backpack for the day?” or “I wonder how my pups at home are doing with me gone?” I’d push out the Cancel Cancel button in my head, take in a deep breath of fresh air, and look around me at the scenery, birds, people and sky and go in to Just Being mode.  It’s harder to stay in JB mode than you might think, but I got better and better at it every day as I walked the varying path.  After five weeks, I had integrated JB quite nicely and practicing being present was a more natural state of being.  Then I returned home.  I’ve written about how hard it was to return to daily life as we know it – to do lists, scheduling calendar items with my clients, along with being caught many times in between being present and planning for tomorrow, next week, etc and feeling a bit lost.

Today I am writing this on an Alaska Airlines flight headed to San Diego with the sole purpose of living in the moment with my very best girlfriend.  She has been diagnosed with incurable and in inoperable cancer with fate putting a finite point on her remaining days here on planet earth.  I wasn’t able to find a house/pet sitter so I’m flying down on the first available flight and returning home later today.  The few hours I will spend with my dear friend will be precious.  Today’s experience is once again an opportunity to live in the moment, knowing that’s all we ever really have.  Staying present with her and open to whatever we experience together will live in our hearts forever, long after we are both gone.

When you walk the Camino, there are memorial grave stones consistently along the path – reminders of pilgrims who passed on during their journey.  Just recently in a FB Camino group, I read about a 60+ fit pilgrim who was immensely enjoying walking the Way.  He had called home and spoken with his daughters telling them about what a wonderful experience he was having.  The next day, the same man passed during the night of an unexpected heart attack.  The outpouring of love and comments about this posting was overwhelmingly bittersweet that he had passed while in a place of joy in his present life.  I also saw a news story recently about a 16 year old boy who had been cycling the Camino with a group from school the day before reaching Santiago.   On both ends of the spectrum – a young boy and an older man – their final days came as surprises.

Comparing that passing with my friend’s illness has given me pause to wonder that if I had a choice – which I will not, nor will you – would I prefer to know that my time here was coming to an end so I could say my goodbyes and put my affairs in order; or, would I want to pass unexpectedly?  Would I live any differently if I knew the end was near?  I keep returning to the thought that if I am living in every moment, it doesn’t really matter.  If I am present with every experience by not living in the past or future, it doesn’t really matter.  Today and this very moment is all that matters.

Living in the moment requires an open mind and an open heart.  No shutting down or hiding from what is, is allowed.  With an open heart filled with love, no fear can reside.  As my friend and I texted each other last night, confirming my arrival and a brief reminder that we will have short periods of time together strung between her need for rest, she wrote, “I still look OK so you don’t need to be scared”.  Not surprising that she would be thinking of me at this time, once again showing the caring loving person that she is.  I remember when my mother had cancer how so many of her friends would speak with her on the phone, but not come to visit because they didn’t want to see her as she was becoming.  Another reminder or ‘note to self’ that we are so much more than our physical bodies and that in staying in the moment, I will see my friend for all the love that she is and will always be.

Precious and cherish are also two words that come to mind.  I lost my husband to illness at a very young age.  I can remember him saying that when we were getting married and he saw me walking down the aisle towards him, the song “Cherish is the word…” was playing in his head.  It’s what I’m hearing in my mind’s eye now, and it’s a great reminder for the time I will spend with my dear dear friend for the next few hours.

​It’s also a great reminder to…..Live each day as if it were your last.

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In the three months prior to starting my Camino in May, I walked 6 out of 7 days in varying lengths.  Sometimes it was a ‘long’ walk which started out as a 6 mile walk and worked my way up to 14 miles; and, sometimes a short walk (3 – 5 miles).  Most days, in addition to the training walks, I walked my little dogs about 2-3 miles around the neighborhood.  My training walks were on various surfaces:  asphalt, dirt, rocky paths, etc and my ‘doggie’ walks were mostly on gravel or asphalt.

The length of my walks, combined with varying flat or hilly topography, the varied surface conditions were an attempt to be prepared for the challenge of walking the 500 mile Francis Camino that paid off.  During my preparation and the Camino itself, I experienced no blisters or injuries.

While training, I was very aware to take as much care then as I would when walking the path so that I didn’t have an injury beforehand that would impact or prevent my Camino from even starting.  Since returning, I’ve kept up a modified version of my pre-Camino training both because I feel so fit and want to maintain that; and, because I plan to return to the Camino someday soon.

Yesterday I had three of my little dogs out for a walk in the neighborhood on a gloriously warm fall day.  They were frisky and had extra energy infused from the sunshine and great autumn smells in the air.  They started to run, pulling me along on the other end of the leashes and joining in the fun, I started to run with them.  I wasn’t wearing my sturdy walking shoe/boots and had a pair of easy slip-on style tennis shoes.  As we gleefully ran down the country lane, I felt a pull in my upper left leg.  Yikes!  What was that (?) I thought!

Slowing the dogs down to a gentle walk I could feel a pain shooting from my left upper thigh into my hip.  While I never had one, the thought occurred, “Is this what a pulled hamstring feels like?”  I kept walking with the dogs so they could enjoy the beautiful day, but continued to feel the pain and wondered if I should turn around and head back home – torn between my discomfort and wanting the ‘kids’ to get some exercise.  Curtailing the walk, I turned them around towards home, and once at my computer googled “what does a torn hamstring feel like?”.  The symptoms described were mine.  The recommendation that included RICE ( rest, ice, compression and elevation) with an expected recovery of two to five weeks depending on the severity. Future injury could be prevented by increasing flexibility with yoga and making sure to warm up before exercising.

I was surprised with all the walking I’ve done over the last six months that a short burst of energy that turned into a run should cause an injury that would place a major pause on my walking for awhile.  I was also feeling so blessed that this did not happen prior to or on the Camino.

On the Camino, I saw every possible walking injury ranging from debilitating blisters, to Achielles tendon injuries from the steep downhills, along with overuse injuries like tendonitis, shin splints and more.  Rest was often the recommendation, ranging from days to weeks of no walking, which for a pilgrim is difficult to accept.  We often have only a certain amount of time to complete the Camino so to take even a few days off creates issues.  If the injury also means recommended reduced daily distances, the ‘fast forwards’ begin using buses and taxis to the next destination instead of foot power.  Whatever your experience is on the Camino, embrace it.  I know – easy for me to say when I was so lucky.  However, of all the pilgrims who had personal physical trials that I became friends with and I’ve continued to stay in touch with upon my return – the imposed rest or alternative transportation did not dash their Camino experience.  It was, instead, a part of it.

My recent pulled ham string will show that to be true as well, I am sure.  We have major storms rolling into the region today and for the next 10 days.  If I had a ‘forced rest’ imposed on me, it couldn’t have happened at a better time.  I know I will be antsy and will crave getting outside to get my legs moving again, but I’ll probably find that after a rest I’ll be stronger in the end.  I also learned a very good lesson.  Yoga class, here I come!

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Last Saturday, I walked out my backdoor sans backpack but wearing my hiking boots to do what has become a fairly regular Saturday morning ritual – walking to a neighboring town coffee shop and back which is thirteen (13) miles round trip.  That walk along with other shorter ones during the week are hopefully keeping up my fitness level so I’ll be ready for my next Camino – when ever that is.  It’s also my pretend Camino walk – where I leave my home, walk a distance before stopping for a break, then continue to my destination.  Sometimes I do this walk on auto pilot, but mostly I try to stay in the moment by noticing what has changed from the week before:  more leaves have turned color, additional construction has been completed on a new home build in progress, and even perhaps just the different the weather of the day makes on my walk.  This Saturday I was rewarded with a very fun and interesting adventure that was real and unexpected.

As I approached the little village where my coffee shop is located shortly before 10 AM, I was surprised to see people lined up along the main road.  They had portable chairs and adults along with their children were camped out.  Then it dawned on me that this Saturday and Sunday were “Salmon Days” in Issaquah – a yearly event – and there must be an approaching parade.  Salmon Days brings a couple number thousand people flooding into this small town and I’ve steered clear of the traffic jam and shuttle until now when I found myself smack dab in the middle of it, arriving on my own two legs.  *Camino Experience Revisited*

There was a long line extending out the door of the coffee shop and by the time I ordered and received my java there was no time for a quick rest – I had a parade to attend!  Locating myself on the curb between two families, I watched the charming parade floats, school bands, and local businesses march by.   I’m not sure who was having more fun – the children who were in the parade, or the ones watching it.  A grand time was being had by all.  I decided to walk backwards along the parade trail and by the time I reached the end, I was on the other side of town where all the booths and carnival rides were located.  Again, I was charmed by this small town event and so excited that I had happened upon it, rather than arrived to as a planned destination.  It reminded me of the Corpus Christi Procession in Leon that was a surprise, the upcoming small town bull fight that would happen in Altos, and so many other fun surprises while walking the Camino.

Now that I was on the other end of town, rather than backtrack to where I began at the coffee shop and return home the usual way, I began to visualize how I could walk home from here.  I knew how to do it by car, which involved crossing over a freeway and large overpass – but I wasn’t sure I could do it on foot.  Relishing the adventure, I set out on my new path.  As I approached the freeway I was pleasantly surprised to see a sidewalk continue over and around the freeway, sending a silent prayer of thanks to the city planning commission for making the old village and the new Highlands area connected for walkers between the two.  Smiling to myself, I thought about all the times I had driven past this section and never noticed the sidewalk before.  I was particularly charmed when the sidewalk wound under the overpass and I found landscaping complete with ornamental statues.  *Camino Experience Revisited*  So many of the entrances to main cities on the Camino had similar discoveries along the path.

Then I came to a fork in the path with no Camino yellow arrows (and no map in hand) to guide me.  One path was paved and most probably would take me up in the shopping area of this part of town where I could walk home on sidewalks along the street.  The other path was gravel.  Knowing that I had walked through a large forested area from my home to this part of town, though not this section – I felt confident I could ‘connect’ with the section I was familiar with and do my walk through the woods rather than along the road.  Having a sense of direction only, I took the ‘more adventurous route’.  *Camino Experience Revisited*  I often took the alternative route which few or no other pilgrims on the Camino traveled.  This was going to be fun!

The green arrow on the lower left of the map is where I entered the gravel path (marked with the dotted line) and the green arrow within the red circle is where I wanted to be.  NOTE:  I did not have this map with me.  I was walking parallel and on the hillside above the freeway and knew at some point I would probably find a connecting path to head up higher on the mountain where I would connect with the path that would take me home.  What I didn’t know but you can see in the circle is how many paths there are going up and down the hillside, back and forth across the mountain.  As the time ticked by, and my Runkeeper app indicated the miles being walked, I kept trying new paths only to find myself back on the path parallel to the freeway turning back uphill knowing I needed to go up higher to be where I wanted to be.  *Camino Experience Revisited*  So many hills on the Camino are climbed by ups and downs, not straight UPs.  I could see my blue dot and the direction I was heading on Google Maps, it didn’t help that Google Maps shows roads not trails.  It was only upon returning home (finally) and finding a map of the area that I could get a visual on where I had been.  An interesting note also is that I have never walked on this trail – especially on a Saturday – that I don’t see people on trail bikes and perhaps another walker.  Today there was no one but me to rely upon getting on the right trail home.

Finally finding a familiar sight – the wooden path – I knew I had made the right turn and was where I wanted to be.  My normal thirteen (13) mile walk had become eighteen (18) plus miles and had given me an unexpected adventure.  *Camino Experience Revisited* I had walked a variety of surfaces – sidewalk, gravel, forested dirt and had experienced many environments – just like a day on the Camino.

I’ve now downloaded an app called AllTrails that will help should I ever find myself ‘lost’ in the woods again.

Adventures are exhilarating and rejuvenating for me.  I wondered if the longer walk that included many many hills would leave me stiff or sore the next day, but I felt great when Sunday rolled around.  After all – compared to the Camino – this was just one long walk, not weeks of long walks strung together.  I yearn for the day I can return to The Way once again.

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If the Camino teaches you nothing else, it teaches you that there is a big difference between real needs versus wants.

• You need a good backpack that fits well and carries the weight on your hips instead of shoulders.
• You need a good pair of shoes, boots or sandals that you have broken in prior to the Camino and support your feet without blisters.
• You need food and water as you walk.  If there aren’t villages during your walk for the day, you need to prepare for it by bringing water and food with you.
• You need a place to lay your head at night to get the rest you’ll need to continue on The Way.

Just about everything else falls into what we want – an extra sweater or pair of pants, a particular food we are craving, a decent Internet connection.

The Camino erases the consumer mind filled with all the wants that dance across the media driven lives we lead waving at us, “Surely, you want me!” and helps us to realize that we need very little to be happy.  Once stripped away from the barrage of ‘buy me’ messages, the sheer pleasure of living each day fully simply unfolds with very little needed in the way of worldly possessions.

I saw this list in a Camino Facebook Group that they noted had been published from a blog called “The Greenery”.  If you’ve walked the Camino, you will surely smile.  If you haven’t yet, make sure to bookmark this list and read it when you return.

45 Ways to Identify a Post-Camino Peregrino in Withdrawal

1. Goodwill will not accept your used hiking boots.
2. You carry toilet paper, extra-powered Ibuprofen, and Compeed with you at all times.
3. You wash your socks, and underwear with shampoo.
4. You have a fantastic tan…but only on your left side.
5. You have seen Pablito‘s special rock.
6. You fear cyclists.
7. You can say “hello” in Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, English, Dutch, Korean, Japanese.
8. You have either gotten or contemplated getting a scallop-shell tattoo.
9. Starbucks or Peet’s just doesn’t cut it anymore.
10. You can pee anywhere, and you don’t really care who sees.
11. You can pack everything you need for a 6 week trip in 10 minutes or less.
12. Your most prized possessions are field-tested socks and underwear.
13. The yellow arrow is your GPS.
14. Whenever you go to a restaurant, you look for the Menu de Peregrino, and you can’t understand why the wine isn’t included.
15. You can take a shower in 4 minutes…using only shampoo.
16. You can dry yourself off completely using a tiny ShamWow towel.
17. You’ve whittled your wardrobe down to 2 of everything.
18. You know how to say “medicated wipes,” “blister,” and “hemorrhoid” in Spanish.
19. You know and understand the many varieties of jamón.
20. You measure distances in K.
21. You only own clothing that dries really fast.
22. You walk into bars and ask for a stamp.
23. You’re not in a hurry.
24. You know to avoid the ensaladilla rusa.
25. You wash your dishes with shampoo.
26. You do not bother to ask for tomato, mayonnaise, or lettuce on your sandwich.
27. You don’t care much about “things,” but if anything happened to your framed compostela, you’d freak out.
28. You’ve had the best conversations of your life with people who walked beside you for a single hour.
29. You love pulpo, but only a la gallega.
30. You feel like a winner when you find a free electrical outlet at bedtime.
31. After telling yourself you will never eat another tortilla española as long as you live, now it’s all you want…as long as it isrecién hecho.
32. When you check into a hotel, you ask if there is “weefee” (WIFI).
33. You do not underestimate elderly Aussies, ever.
34. You want to hug John Brierley. You want to punch John Brierley.
35. The love you feel for your hiking boots is not natural.
36. You got a hug from The David. And then another one.
37. You are astonished when restaurants open for dinner at 5pm.
38. You know the difference between tapas and pintxos.
39. When you rinse out your Pilgrim wear, the water turns black.
40. When you sit down to lunch, you immediately take off your shoes.
41. You keep turning up the “C” knob in your home shower, but the water does not seem to be getting any more caliente.
42. You can really hold your vino tinto.
43. You wave your hands around in dark bathrooms and wait for the lights to come on.
44. You’ve been to the “end of the world.”
45. You know that anywhere is within walking distance, as long as you have the time.

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