The Journey - Camino
To date, (2022), Suzanne has walked Camino six times, and before her time is done here, she hopes to walk many more. Suzanne’s Caminos have consisted, on average, of walking for over three weeks in the blazing sun or torrential rain of Spain, and on varying difficulties of terrain for some 350 miles. The furthest she has walked is 800km, (500 miles), twice.
The walk can be at times gruelling and other times truly wonderful and uplifting. For days, Suzanne can walk in quiet contemplation. While on other days her reflective process leaves her in tears or frustration… The stick she carries, THOG, sometimes bears the brunt of her frustration. Poor old THOG, always supportive but sometimes abused.
Camino is ostensibly a walking meditative and self-reflective process. On Camino, you remove yourself from the daily concerns and distractions of your life and dedicate yourself to the process. The days are long and repetitive, Wake, Walk, Eat, Sleep… Wake, Walk, Eat, Sleep… Again and Again. But it is seductive in its routine and simplicity. You and the path become one… The few possessions you have are carried with you and all others are forgotten. Your responsibility and thoughts centre on the day at hand and as with your home possessions, your home responsibilities are merely memories.
And if you are patient enough, dedicated enough, and focused enough, all the garbage that flows through your mind comes to an end, and as your mind fades away, you come to a fundamental realisation; a reality in which your mind is not you… And then a miracle happens. It’s just you, alone but not alone. No noise, just you, with an immense sense of self, of spirit, and of connection. And like breath, Peace emerges from within, almost palpable but never to be grasped at.
And then people ask, “Why do you walk Camino?… Doesn’t seem like much fun.”…
“No, it’s not. No fun at all”. And then she smiles. A wry smile that hides within an understanding, however small, of something transcendental.