I have finally had some time to reflect on my journey
through the Camino de Santiago. When you start your journey, wherever it may
be, you have so many things in mind of what this experience will do to your
life. I remember thinking that I would have this miraculous and enlightening
“Ah ha!” moment, where I would know exactly what to do with the rest of my
life. I brought all the issues I thought needed solutions with me in hope that
once I arrived to Santiago de Compostela I would feel the burdens of my small
little world lifted. Once again, I got so much more than I bargained for.
This experience has taught me so much about life and how you
should live it. I always love labeling myself as a fearless young woman,
thirsty for adventure, human connections and breathtaking moments that will
last for an eternity. This trip has taught me that although I may be that very
person, I am allowed to feel vulnerable to nature. I am allowed to surrender to
pain and challenges. We get stronger when we realize we are not the only force
at work.
Life will throw you in the deep blue sea and expect you to
sink or swim. It will harbor circumstances that you may not want to welcome.
But I don’t think that we should let these circumstances define us. I believe
it’s the decisions we make that really define who we are. And there is no such
thing as a good or bad decision. There are merely decisions. In the end, one
will be made. So why stagnate in your misery when the world offers you its
peace and nurturing. Whether the pain is physical, emotional, mental or
psychological, trust that you can align your mind, heart, soul and guts. Remind
yourself that no decision should be made with only one of these components but
all four. Allow yourself to take the time to assess each situation. Rushing
anything in life leads to spoiling the good things and deepening a hole that
will almost impossible to get out of. But again, no pain is permanent. Like
good times, everything is temporary.
That may sound pessimistic or sad, but I think it’s beautiful. You have
the choice to look at your life as a beautiful saga or a tragic one. I choose
happiness, through vulnerability, strength, wonder and ideal.
Although I arrived to Compostela, and that it seems like my
journey is over. I believe that I am still on that trail. On the camino, you
walk from one city to the next. You gasp at the beauty, fear and bask in the
unknown and wonder what the next town has in store for you. That’s what life
is. You never know whom you are going to meet, what you will end up seeing, how
you will feel but by God, it is one beautiful adventure that I am so grateful
to be aware that I am on. The camino is no longer a physical journey for me,
but a spiritual and mental one. And I welcome all of that it has to offer. I
have found my balance, I have found my peace.
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