~ David Whyte
Walking the Camino there is such a sense of freedom! Yes, initially we might be concerned about “Will I have a roof over my head tonight?” or “How will my feet hold up today?” but overall we only need to walk, eat and sleep having left our daily to-do list back home. There is freedom on the Camino.
While I carried my cell phone which I used to write my daily blog posts at the end of each day’s walk, and stayed connected to fellow pilgrims who were ahead or behind me on The Way, the digital disruption of mass email exchanges and social media postings that consume so much of my work life here at home were placed on Pause. I felt freedom.
I love David Whyte’s poem especially because it reminds me that the Camino makes me feel alive. Every moment I walked I felt alive with the world around me. Now that I have returned, I keep that feeling awake by maintaining connections with my fellow pilgrims, taking long walks here at home, and staying in a place of wonder and being – especially when my work or life begins to show the effects of stress. I remind myself with David’s words: “Anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you.”
With those words in mind, I have an awareness now to participate more with what keeps the camino feeling of freedom close and makes me feel alive. It’s so easy to shut down that awareness when we get in our To Do mode rather than To Be mode. It’s natural, it’s what can become normal. The shift to Camino Freedom is a daily ritual that takes both practice and awareness. While I wish I were back on the Camino right now, the reality is that’s not possible. Yes, it will happen again – and hopefully soon – but I want to live each day until with Camino freedom right here at home.
When like-minded pilgrims connect along The Way, hearts beaming with positive intention for self and each other, it creates a rippling effect……And that rippling effect gracefully carries forth on the Camino. I find now that new individuals are being attracted into my life, while others fall away. Life seems to be shifting before my eyes.
While walking the Camino there can often be two paths to our next destination. One path might be longer than the other; or, more visually pleasing. We have a choice which one to take.
I’m not sure that I’ve ever played small in my life here on planet Earth – but, I remind myself how much bigger and richer my life can be when I let go of what our 21st century life and society makes normal. The Camino teaches true freedom and living. I’m listening and making daily decisions about what path to take as I look out over the horizon of each day.
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