For the past three days I have been exploring Lisbon mostly on foot. I am deliberately forcing the muscles of my legs to get ready for the Camino. A secret part of me fears I won’t be able to make it. But if I can walk for hours and hours in the city I’ve convinced myself that I have more endurance than I think. Luckily, I bought what has proven to be the most ergonomic sneakers yet– my Ryska hikers. I highly recommend them as I literally feel like I am buoyed and cushioned with every step. Ryska prides itself for making shoes uniquely aligned to a woman’s anatomy and they makes a lot of difference. My hips are better supported, I walk with a better posture and that carries over to legs. I will not go back to wearing Nike or Sketchers again. Point One: get yourself the best hiking shoes you can. Point two: Prepare your legs for walking.
I keep track of my movements using the fit app on my iPhone. I have logged on from 20k to 25k steps each day without a backpack. This equates to 8 miles a day. If I can keep this up I would be able to walk the 116 km from Tui to Santiago in a week. Of course the backpack will add weight, but it is so evenly distributed across my back that it feels comforting in a way. It provides the anchor the resistance that cancels out the force of pushing against the ground. The small weight of the backpack actually balances me and centers me. Yes, at the end of the afternoon around 3:30 to 4 I feel exhausted. In the evening I can feel my leg muscles tense all along my femur. But I find that once I sleep a good nights sleep they recover. Upon waking I feel stronger.
After this short trail period, I have garnered the muscle power in my legs and my back, as well as the confidence in my soul, to be able to complete the Camino.
What I find is happening both my body and soul are strengthening for the journey. My mind, while scattered with things to do and invading thoughts that pounce like packs of hyenas on my equanimity, has started to settle. My concentration is on the thing at hand–my one purpose to complete the journey. Giving the mind one overarching goal is a great tool for concentration. Like an archer intent on the bullseye, it quiets the murmurs of misgivings. It builds mindfulness. And don’t forget I intersperse the humble Jesus Prayer whenever I can to this process. Unbelievably I feel calmer even when mishaps occur, i.e. I miss my stop, a man from his balcony ridiculed me for looking lost, I lose my passport. I find I can be more compassionate and less judgmental when others treat me unkindly. This is why pilgrimage should be an activity anyone should take part in: it is a mental and physical mediation, a mindfulness practice. It slows your rhythm down, exactly what is needed during these hectic dizzying times of quantum change.
I believe the Grace is starting to act on my soul. I feel super alive. I harbor an overarching sense of gratefulness because I am able to engage in the road. Happy in the simplest of ways to be able to walk, to be able to take in the beautiful countryside, to be able to feel the sun on my face. From the wells of my soul, a prayer rises like a birdsong: “Glory to thee o Lord glory to thee for bringing me here. Be with me always and show me your hidden paths.” As St Sophrony’s morning prayer states: “Hear my prayer
and by Thy Holy Spirit, teach me the way wherein I should walk; and when my perverted will would lead me down other paths,
spare me not, O Lord, but force me back to Thee.”
So much reflection has come out of this decision to walk the Camino that I am giving an Eventbrite talk about “Finding Your Way on The Camino” as I am an expressive arts facilitator and advocate of pilgrimage as a therapeutic practice. Register here.
