Hvad er det dog med den Camino !

Nettet er fyldt med refleksioner fra hjemvendte pilgrimme, der synes at livet efter pilgrimsvandringen er anderledes end livet før. Herunder et af de nyere, skrevet af Eliot fra Australien, der gik Camino Frances i september/oktober i år. Før du læser hans meget blandede oplevelser, har jeg dog nok en gang lyst til at citere den forhenværende pave af tysk herkomst, Benedikt XVI, der ved en tale/prædiken i Santiago i 2010 udtrykte sig kort og klart: "Wer nach Santiago pilgert, kann nicht der Gleiche bleiben!" Og som derefter gav et råd til både til os europæere i almindelighed og pilgrimme i særdeleshed: "Kehr um, Europa! Sei wieder du selbst! Besinne dich auf deinen Ursprung! Belebe deine Wurzeln wieder!"
Men her har du refleksionerne fra den nye Santiagopilgrim Eliot:
Lessons and Reflections >
• At least once a day you feel defeated and incapable
• At least once a day you feel strong and invincible
• None of these feelings reflect the reality (Fortunately)
• Dried Fruit and biscuits as if there was no tomorrow to avoid falling sugar\
• 80 % of the things you think are necessary are useless and will weigh all day in your backpack on your back
• How long is a step
• How long is a metre
• Where are your tendons (oh yes, you have some tendons there too!
• Many people lose their jobs and decide to walk
• Many people get fired and decide to walk
• Boys and girls fall in love
• Hungarian girls start alone with a tent for 2, meet Italian boys only parties: they end up finding who brings the tent and who makes love
• Thirst for wifi
• The real thirst that you walk for hours and having finished the water supply (then you won't even know what wifi is)
• Walk, eat, drink, sleep
• Strangers are not strangers
• You're not scared, at 5 in the morning, in the dark with a flashlight: all you can meet is another like you
• When you see the bell tower it's not over: it's still a long way to the fucking bell
• At a certain point 10 km stop being 8 minutes by car and become 2 and a half hours
• Don't need a mirror to dress before you leave
• Sunrises, sunsets, wine wine, cerveza
• Don't need a mirror almost ever at the end in life
• Re-rate your middle-class clothing: Pouch, batteries, poncho, suit, socks and sandals. Bad is useful, almost always
• The Spirit of sharing
• Sometimes I worry too much.