Today is a memorable day. I figured out the main reason I came to do the Camino. I walked alone today the full 24KM in the rain at times and in very messy red earth/clay mud. Until now I would just notice what thoughts dominated parts of the walks and they were random. I decided today that I would pick a topic or a question to ponder for the morning and maybe a second one for the afternoon. Last night I ran into one of my Camino new friends and we were talking about what are we finding ourselves. Thinking about and she shared she started to think about people who have influenced her over the years. I was also thinking of events that have shaped me, so this morning I picked to think about both people and events which had a major impact on me in my life. Once I started to think about I decided that instead of just thinking about I would talk it out loud and record it. Before you know it, I walked 8 km while recording the first segment. Then on and off started a new process. I had to stop when the scenery presented it self for a photo or when the road got too muddy and dangerous if I did not pay attention. By noon, the penny dropped. My purpose in my trip is to tell myself my life story out loud and capture it. It was all stream of consciousness today and it drifted to many places. For years many people struck by what they knew about my life journey thus far have tried to inspire me to write my story down and I have resisted although I had some attempts at it. Whether and how others will ever hear it, what I realize today is that the power is in me hearing it in my own words and see what insights I get from it and how this process might inform how I choose to write the script of the years ahead. I was extremely emotional, it was a special moment, I was happy and realized that the rain, the mud, the sore feet and painful knee where just there and I can choose to be happy regardless of how challenging the elements of what I could not control might be. I have 30 more days to capture the rest. I realize that this is a daunting process and being out here alone with lots of time and nothing else to highjack the mind, it is an ideal setting for this deep end of the pool exercise.
I will do the math on the Km walked so far, I believe I am well beyond 250 so far… more than downtown Ottawa to downtown Montreal.
Today the path was first through the wine region and toward the end more green fields and canola fields. By tomorrow I will be exiting the La Rioja region snd entering the large Castile & Leon regions. The next big city is Burgos, I plan to arrive there by Friday and stay two nights.
