Re-entry Day

Placerville, CA

Yesterday my entire travel day was a 10 out of 10. All schedules were on time, no glitches, seats were good, I never waited impatiently.

On my second flight from Charlotte to Sacramento, an on-time five-hour trek, after nine hours flying from Madrid to Charlotte, I watched a movie: “The Martian.” In my mind, it was a metaphor for the dangerous conditions in life that call for cooperation and collaboration with humans and mechanical systems/ technology.

Today I’m back from the Camino experience where survival and the most basic needs were my only concerns. An introspective and reflective life for 6 weeks, where nothing at home required my attention, no emergencies or bills to pay, no illnesses or deaths. Just “all is fine,” my friends and family wrote. How lucky!

I expect that in the next months and years, the Camino experience will continue to live in my feelings, decisions and future. I am not the same person who stepped into the Camino planning and all the unknowns and beliefs about this journey.

My physical and spiritual journey on the Camino de Santiago and my life today affect my understanding how my Comfort Zone and confidence have changed, how I will interact with the world for the rest of my life.

The next passages are poetry and prose that reveal the power of pilgrimage beyond religion, the power of walking and how we, as humans, have the ability to change and see ourselves and the world more clearly, through time and journey.

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