Lessons from the Camino de Santiago + BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

Happy Wednesday!

This might be a bit of a longer newsletter (Part 1 of 2) but please read through the end for my EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT!?But don’t just skip to the end, there’s a set up here, I promise.

This summer, I spent about a month traveling across Spain, hiking the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage that has existed since medieval times. The first time I heard about the Camino from a friend, I instantly knew that I wanted to go. Because my children were young, it would be seven years before I would embark on this adventure of a lifetime.

A pilgrimage is a journey to a sacred place; often to a holy place of spiritual or religious significance in a foreign land but it can also be a metaphorical journey inward where a person searches for meaning, answers or clarity about themselves and their higher purpose.?A person who makes this journey is called a pilgrim or peregrino. I wasn’t searching for anything, but I did feel called to walk the Camino so I went with an open heart and the intention that the Camino provide whatever additional life lessons it wanted to impart to me.

There is a dozen or so Caminos in Spain and I chose to walk the Camino Frances because of its popularity and robust infrastructure to support first time pilgrims. On average I was walking 15 miles a day through small villages, fields, vineyards, big cities and forests.?I say walking but it was really more like hiking, and it was almost always uphill.?I learned quickly that my pace was slower than others, so I walked almost the entire trip alone.?Here are a few lessons from my Camino:

Lesson #1: Mi Camino es Mi Camino, Your Camino is Your Camino

Maybe you thought you would be farther along in your career or that you would be in the same season of life as your peers but you’re not.?Your journey is yours alone and not everyone will understand your journey.?Guess what??That’s okay!?Stop comparing, judging, blaming, rationalizing and criticizing. You are exactly where you are supposed to be on YOUR journey.?Walk the Way that’s meant for YOU.?And if you feel like there’s another place for you, start walking.?You will eventually end up where you are meant to be.?(Spoiler alert:?All of it is meant to be.?That sh*tty job or leader might teach you a valuable lesson for the future)?

Lesson #2: Paso a Paso, Step by Step

A thousand-mile journey begins with a single step. I am not going to lie to you. The Camino was magical and life changing AND it was physically the HARDEST thing I have ever done, despite that I work out on a regular basis.?It is one thing to hike 15 miles a day but then to get up the next day and do it again and again – it’s a lot on the mind, body and spirit.?One morning I was really struggling and thought about quitting.?Crazy as it sounds, I felt my ancestors rooting for me and telling me Paso a Paso. I walked 300 miles in 18 days simply by putting one foot in front of the other.?When it feels like too much or the goal seems unattainable, take baby steps.?Put one foot in front of the other. ?Your feet will take you where your heart is.?Don’t quit!?Keep going! (No matter how dirty or tired you get)

Lesson #3: Silence is the Greatest Master

There are no zoom meetings, conference calls, or deadlines to meet.?No kids to drive around, dishes to wash and to-do lists for the next day.?There is nothing to do on the Camino but to walk.?It is both a blessing and a curse.?This is the pilgrim’s life.?The Camino changed me. It’s real-life transformation that occurred by walking with myself and my Higher Power daily.?The process of walking in solitude moved me closer towards what I really desired, even though I didn’t know it at the time.?We live in a hustle culture but hustle doesn’t give you permission to pause, to listen or to expand.?It comes from the energy of forcing things to happen instead of allowing it to powerfully flow and come to fruition. (Note: That doesn’t mean doing nothing.?In this case I walked.?Walking created momentum.)?Clarity comes in the Quiet. ?When we can step away from the noise, the distractions, the have to’s and should’s, we get to BE.?BE with ourselves.?BE with others.?BE with our Higher Power.?For me, the Camino was the greatest lesson ever in BEING.?I know, we can’t all take a month sabbatical but give yourself permission to pause.?Rest.?Relax.?Enjoy.?Sit in silence. So many of us have jam packed schedules that we don’t make room for Magic, Wonder or Innovation.?Put margin in your schedule. ?Carve out space for you to BE!

Returning Home from the Camino…and My Announcement!

I shared that I had no other intentions on the Camino but to walk open hearted and let the Camino provide for me as it wished. I had only been home an hour on that Friday afternoon and was emptying my pack when I said to myself wow, what’s next??Instantly I had a deep, deep knowing.?I could feel it in my body and in my soul.?It was the same feeling I got when I knew I was having a baby boy, when I knew I had to walk the Camino and when I knew relocating to North Carolina was the right choice.?I knew that I knew….

It’s time to write a book.?

My manuscript will be completed around March and my book will be published by next summer in partnership with Professor Eric Koester of Georgetown University and New Degree Press. I am 100% convinced that the Camino gave me the space to follow this long-time dream.?In the quiet, I gained the clarity and confidence to know what was next for me and then, I took immediate action.

To learn more about the book topic and author journey, you’ll have to read Part 2 of my Camino Lessons next week.?In the meantime, ?Buen Camino!

Ruby