What does one think about during 135 hours of walking in preparation for the Camino de Santiago?
(this post was originally written after my first Camino experience in 2019)
One of my joys in passing the time was found in walking with a friend or a family member. I have tremendous memories of sharing a walk around the UNI Campus with my friend, Cindy. Or walking the Cedar Valley Nature Trail with my dad. Or grabbing a brat at Wilbo’s in Downtown Cedar Falls after walking there with my brother, Tracy.
Another gift was to see my community from a walker’s vantage point. I walked past my grandparents’ homes, my childhood home, friends’ homes, my elementary, junior high, and high schools. I walked past parks and restaurants and places that caused treasured memories to surface. I walked past homes where Mike lived when I was dating him and the two attorneys’ offices we used in our divorce, both places that caused searing pain to surface. Such a range of emotions emerged through hours of walking.
It is so very special to see the community as a walker as opposed to a driver or biker. I could take in the details of a sign or a landscaped yard that I had never seen but had been there all the time. I would run into people outside and share a wave and a hello. There was a fuller engagement of all the senses, and a deeper sense of connection with my community to be sure. I’ve been prayer walking with a dear friend in our neighborhood for about 10 years. It’s where I began to recognize this sense of connection to God, neighbor, self, and the greater community while walking and praying. Perhaps it’s true that the soul of our land is found through the soles of our feet.
Sometimes I trained in silence, but most often I walked with earbuds. I listened to Brene Brown’s book, Rising Strong, two full times. I listened to Richard Rohr’s “Another Name for Everything” podcast, and The Book of Forgiving written by Desmond Tutu and his daughter, Mpho Andrea Tutu. I listened to everything Enneagram that I could find on the internet and then again. So much Enneagram. And finally, I listened to music. Classic rock, worship music, Nichole Nordeman’s album “Every Mile Mattered” was given to me by a friend and was especially meaningful.
Half way into my training, I began a new practice. I had been reading about others’ experiences along the Camino, and I read one particular story in which a woman mentioned that there is an iron cross in Leon along the French Route. Pilgrims carry a rock with them, representing their sin, from the beginning of their Camino, and they lay it down at the foot of the cross in Leon. I was not going to be passing Leon on my Camino segment, but I did begin to form an intention and a practice after learning about this rock tradition.
As I continued to walk and prepare, I began to carry small rocks with me. I chose a rock that I designated as the Christ Rock, and I began to put it in my pocket on my walks, sometimes taking it out and walking with it in hand. It was a reminder to consider the presence, power, and promises of the Christ in us. Christ the Rock upon which we are invited to build our lives. I also wrote on 5 rocks that I then carried in my backpack. For 18 months, I had taken a deep dive in guilt, shame, the past, my chains, and sorrow. I found 5 rocks, wrote one word in Sharpie on each of them, and began to carry them with me. I had been carrying them around metaphorically for a good long spell, so what was a few extra physical ounces added to the heavy weight of them in my life? I planned to lay them down in Spain, but, in the meantime, I began to pay attention to the story I was telling myself and the impact these constant companions were having on my life.
Carrying the rocks became a powerful experience as a sort of Prayer of Examen. My walking and praying had become deeply meaningful, and I found that I was also regularly praying for others, particularly 3 dear ones who were going through tremendous life challenges during this time. I ended up asking each of them to send me a small rock that would represent their lives, and I would carry my dear ones with me as I traveled the Camino de Santiago. These rocks ended up playing a central role in my Camino experience. Stay tuned for more on this.
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