En amerikaners tanker efter caminoen

Jeg vil forsøge at være pilgrim for resten af ​​mit liv, konkluderer en amerikansk pilgrim, der kalder sig JJinWI efter 34 dage på Camino Frances fra Saint Jean Pied de Port til Santiago i maj-juni i år. Hans tanker om pilgrimsvandring er hentet på hjemmesiden: https://www.caminodesantiago.me
Her originalteksten:
•Let’s start with the big picture. I can identify 3 unique phases I went through on the Camino:
1.The first third of the trip was filled with gratitude. Hiking for hours in the “classroom of silence” allowed me to truly understand how much I have to be thankful for. In my “normal life” I can only spend minutes in the “classroom of silence” and never get to the depths I achieved on the Camino.
2.The second third of the trip was all about will power. After the initial excitement of starting the Camino wears off, you realize that this is more of a test of your will. I have to admit there were a few days I really didn’t want to hike. It was cold and rainy and the thought of hiking for 8 hours in those conditions was not that exciting.
3.The final third of the trip was all about rejuvenation. At this point, I could see/feel the prize was within my grasp – Santiago. I also felt that lots of baggage/dust accumulated over the years was dropping off with each mile I hiked, bringing me closer to becoming a better version of myself.

•I learned to appreciate the small things in life like 2 cotton sheets on my bed, a long hot shower, a cotton bath towel, a meal WITHOUT french fries :)
•I am generally an optimist, but meeting such wonderful people on the Camino reinforced my beliefs in the goodness of people.
•Life on the Camino shrinks your world... to just a few basic things. You wake-up, start hiking, eat, talk to other pilgrims (if you want to) and sleep. The only choices/worries for the day are how far to hike, what to eat and where to sleep. Your world gets really small and that can be a good thing because you start to realize that you really don’t need that much stuff to enjoy life. You start to realize that maybe you don’t need all the stuff in your pre-Camino life. I plan on simplifying my life going forward. (I’m just not sure what that looks like right now)
•It is weird to think that for 34 days, I never slept in the same bed twice.
•I got to meet some amazing people on the Camino and they helped to make my Camino a really incredible experience that I will treasure for the rest of my life. I only hope that I helped them in some small way to enhance their Camino.
It’s a great day to be a pilgrim (and I plan to be a pilgrim for the rest of my life).