Looking back and moving forward

Thanks to anyone who is still checking in, and my apologies for the belatedness of this final post. It has been a whirlwind but wonderful return to the States. My Spanish adventure has drawn to a close, and the reality of the Camino has now faded into the background. Nevertheless, this has been an experience that I will never forget and, what is more, one that I hope will make a lasting impact on the way I live my life.

Looking back on my time walking the Camino, the things that stick out the most are the people, the beautiful places, and the feeling of elan that consumed me for the duration of my pilgrimage. I loved the simplicity of the lifestyle I was able to lead for the past month. While life in the "real" world unavoidably brings with it many more complications, I believe that there is much I can do to keep the essential things in the forefront and the less important (yet always enticing) distractions in their proper place.

I have set a number of resolutions for myself that I hope will aid me in transferring the best parts about life on the Camino to my life back home. Well aware of the onslaught of work and responsibilities that awaits me at the beginning of the fall semester, I am taking pains (perhaps the wrong expression--really I'm finding it a joy) to frame each day with prayer. In particular, I hope that taking time out in the middle of the day to pray will allow me to extricate myself from the powerful current created by classes, meetings, and projects each day. I am confident that thus taking time out and resetting several times a day will help me to put all things into perspective. A second resolution is take time to enjoy the many blessings in life. For example, I want to make it a priority to eat dinner with my housemates (and anyone else who wants to join) on a regular basis. Likewise I hope to take greater pleasure in the work and activities I undertake rather than simply getting them done so I can check them off a list. Spending some time with people of other cultures had revealed to me just how compulsive Americans can be when it comes to executing daily tasks. True, we are probably one of the most efficient nations in the world, but what good is it to have better services and products if we don't take the time to enjoy them. My Camino friends have shown me how work, even the most routine task, can be made into play. Such things are easy to say but difficult to carry out. Assuredly, this will be a little adventure in itself.

Thank you once again for following our journey. My walk across Spain has come to an end, but the Camino still stretches out before me and before all of us. Many people come to Spain looking for answers or for the impetus to change their lives. Rightly used, the Camino can serve as a springboard to a better way of life. I for one can't wait to see where it will lead next.

The End of the Earth

Yesterday my walk across Spain came to a most definitive end when I hit the Atlantic Ocean. Few times in my life have I experienced such an exulting and yet humbling feeling as I did arriving at the shore of Finisterre, planting my staff in the white sand, dropping my pack, and diving into the ocean. For a time after I emerged from the water I simply lied there on the beach letting the moment wash over me. As I write this, I realize how out of place an expression of time is in describing the experience. There is something about the sea that for me dwarfs all else, even seems to blot out memory. At the first glimpse of the ocean, I felt a world apart from that which I had experienced for the past month. This was something entirely different from the albuergues, blisters, and coffee breaks of the camino. The experience of standing there at the edge of the world with the vast waters stretching interminably before me defied any comparison and dwarfed any thoughts that may have been running through my mind. It was worth the walk.
Eventually I did make the connection back to the camino life. I soon after checked into my albuergue for the night and met up with friends, including some old ones I had not seen for weeks. (You´ll recall Mark from the ¨Fountain of Youth¨.) That evening we prepared sandwiches in the kitchen and then, packing them away with a few bottles of wine and some dessert, climbed to the lighthouse that keeps watch at the outermost point of Finisterre. There we watched a spectacular sunset, singing songs, and continuing the pilgrim tradition of burning a few items of clothing that had accompanied us on the voyage. As we raced back down the hill with the midnight hour approaching, the last shades of blue still persisted in the sky. This would be Barbie´s and my last night with the friends who have walked at our side, some for a few days, others from the very beginning.
I can´t begin to wrap this all up at the moment. I think for now I´ll leave you all with this final image and wait until I´m back home (without time limits on my internet usage) to make my final reflections and perhaps put up a few pictures. In the meantime, keep us in your prayers as we fly home, and I´ll see some of you very soon.