PIVOT. Be like Ross, and learn the value of the word pivot. A lot of planning went into going on the Camino - making lodging reservations, deciding what to bring, when to start hiking each day, etc. But along the way, there were some moments where we needed to change our game - like the day we arrived in a village on a Sunday and discovered many restaurants and stores were closed. We adjusted our plans by grabbing some takeout from an open bar, a bottle of wine, and Cerveza (brewskies), and we had a party in one of our rooms. Life doesn’t always go according to plan, and when we need to pivot, I’ve found it goes so much better when handled with a clear, open mind and attitude.

TRAVEL LIGHTLY. I’d heard a lot of advice pre-Camino telling me to be very critical about what went in my pack because of the weight factor. But here’s the deal - I think better advice would be to “carry only what you truly love and will use.” Leave those stupid extras you know you won’t use, don’t like, and are just taking “in case” at home. Maybe even get rid of them altogether. In other words, pull a Marie Kondo and pack only what brings you joy. Now, when I say this, I’m not trying to win an aesthetics competition in the backpack category. I think Marie Kondo and the Camino packing police have the same idea when they advise us to pare down and keep only what’s necessary and important. 

In Camino terms, I say carry and wear what makes you comfortable and happy. This way, you feel good and are comfortable enough to have a walk where you’re reflecting on deeper issues than your blisters or aching back. There are many things we can’t control along the Camino (weather, uphill climbs, long days) - but we can control our packs and adjust them to work for us. So… in life and on the Camino, edit your packs so they don’t get in the way of enjoying the good things.

DECIDE WHAT’S IMPORTANT. The great thing about walking across part of Spain for days on end is that it gives one a lot of time to consider what’s really important in life. For me, this meant having the time and space to consider my life as a whole and what I wanted it to look like. But as I walked, I also realized that “decide what’s important” is a motto that deserves some attention in real life. How often do we waste time by getting mad at things out of our control? I’m talking about the annoying person in the checkout line, the slow poke who won’t get in the right lane, or the guy on the airplane who takes his socks off. While it’s human nature to get annoyed by these things (especially the socks guy), the Camino put things in perspective. Our time here (as in on this earth) is limited… why waste it lingering on insignificant things? In addition, why waste our time DOING insignificant things? While on the Camino, miles away from reality, I did an audit of my activities and realized that my screen time, ridiculous errands, and other daily time wasters weren’t contributing to me living my best life.

THE WORLD IS BEAUTIFUL. SOAK IT ALL IN. While walking, I realized that in my “real life,” I’ve got my “head in my phone” A LOT. Or, I’m distracted. Along the Camino, I was surrounded by mountains, vineyards, farms, windmills, villages lost in time, cobblestone paths, village dogs, sheep, horses, cows, and ancient churches. It was like walking in the midst of an IMAX movie - everything was beautiful right there in front of me. As I walked, it dawned on me that the beauty I saw also existed back home - but there, it blended in with the grind of daily life. In other words, I realized that we’re surrounded by some really awesome things every day, but we miss many because we don’t take the time to stop and appreciate them. I know Ferris Bueller would agree, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

THERE’S BEAUTY IN INCONVENIENCES. My group and I walked on the Camino for six days during the rainy season. Before our trip, I prayed we’d have good weather - and we did for the most part. It only rained about three or four times, and we only had one downpour, which didn’t happen until we were hiking into a village after a day of hiking. We were tired and hungry and just wanted to get to our hotel. Don’t get me wrong; it was miserable but not terrible because we shared the experience as a group. We helped each other with gear and silently supported each other as we got closer to our hotel. As we prepared for the next day’s suspected rain, we continued to help each other with duct tape repairs to ponchos, pack covers, and blister treatments. 

Similarly, the other inconveniences we experienced along the way had a purpose too. For example, I had a bum backpack that would pop out of its frame about every hour on the hour. It was a complete annoyance and stressed me out as I walked because I never knew when I’d have to repair it. Each time it popped, my brother was there to help me - not only did he fix the pack, but he also provided a very colorful (*#$%@!) commentary of his feelings towards the pack, making it feel like our dad was right there with us helping with the pack. It was an annoying but fun bonding experience.

I wasn’t the only one with minor hiccups - from minor injuries to heavy packs to straps breaking (thank you, first Pilgrim, of the Day), to stomach issues… every time a small problem arose, someone was there to help. It showed me that even the annoying or bad moments in life have silver linings, as they show us the beauty of the human spirit and our ability to be there for each other.

MOVE PAST THE SMALL TALK. I’m not a big fan of small talk and struggle with it in real life. My sister-in-law came up with a thing where we start each email with “PP,” meaning “pleasantry- pleasantry,” and instead of writing the usual BS openers, we go right into our message. I want to bring PP to real life so that we can get to the important stuff. Before the Camino, I wondered if there’d be awkward moments of small talk as I got to know the members of my group. I found that the Camino brings out “the real stuff” pretty quickly. While yes, we started the week with a few PPs; those small talk convos didn’t last long. We spent our days alternating between diving into some pretty deep topics, navigating the logistics of our walk, and talking about the beauty of the people and geography of Spain. I’m still trying to figure out how to make my small talk more meaningful in real life and get to the good stuff more quickly as I meet new people.

EVERYONE HAS A STORY. On our first morning in Santiago de Compostela, I had breakfast solo at a lovely outdoor cafe. It was the perfect morning - except for the chain-smoking Spaniard a few tables away. Now, I know there are chain smokers everywhere in Spain. But this one really annoyed me - I even moved in an attempt to get away from the smoke. And, of course, after I moved, this man naturally migrated to a table near me and started smoking again. I let it go, finished my breakfast, and went inside the bar to pay my bill. Guess who was next to me at the bar? The smoker, of course. At this point, it became apparent that this man was a regular but didn’t have much money. As he asked the bartender for a cafe con leche, he just shook his head as if to say, “Not today, buddy.” I made a gameday decision and said I’d also pay for the man’s coffee. When I did this, the man’s face lit up, and he immediately took out his phone. Initially, I was surprised he had a phone, but I was more surprised at what he showed me. This man had a story. And his story could be another blog post entirely. But in a nutshell, this man, Jose Antonio Garcia, used to be a sailor and nearly died in 1999 when his fishing boat capsized off the coast of Norway. He was the only one in a crew of 17 who survived. 

While he spent hours in freezing water clinging to his crewmates' bodies, he pledged to the Virgen del Carmel, saying if he survived, he’d walk to all of the world’s holy shrines. After a long recovery where doctors weren’t sure he’d even walk again, Jose fulfilled his promise and walked over 100,000 kilometers in 11 years. This story… from the “annoying” chain smoker I initially didn’t want anything to do with. We all have stories, and I realized how important it is to look past the exterior distractions and get to the heart of each person.

WE ARE ALL ESSENTIALLY THE SAME. The story above taught me an important lesson - we’re all essentially the same. As pilgrims, we spend our days wanting pretty much the same things - on the surface, we want to be comfortable - we need food, water, clothing, and shelter to help us get from point A to point B comfortably. On a deeper level, we all want the same basic things - to understand and be understood, feel loved, be seen, and make the most of our time on earth. Regardless of where we come from, what we do for a living, or what we look like… inside, we are all just people trying to do our best on this Camino of life.

EVERY PERSON HAS A GIFT THEY BRING TO THE WORLD. As I walked with the members of my group, it became apparent that beyond the professional profiles we use to show the world who we are and what we contribute, we all carried unique gifts and talents. Part of the magic of walking a Camino with others is discovering those gifts - humor, empathy, introspection, perspective, the ability to fix a pack in five seconds flat- and realizing that because of the unique talents we all possess, we can learn and grow together. In addition, by walking the Camino, we were literally walking through the lives of Spaniards and could see how they live and how each person had a role in making their village work. From the man who delivered bread in a small village to the restaurant owner boiling octopus for the village festival to the husband and wife hostel owners who also ran a bar that attracted the entire village… everyone plays a role in the collective story. By recognizing these individual gifts, we see how they all fit together to make the world go round.

YOU DON’T NEED TO WALK A CAMINO TO WALK A CAMINO. Yes, I had all of these amazing revelations because I took a week away from reality to unplug and reflect truly. When we reached our final destination - the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela- my group and I attended a special pilgrim’s mass. Here, the priest began by having all of the pilgrims stand up and introduce themselves, telling where they were from and how long they’d been walking. As pilgrims around the world said hello to the group, I realized this experience was just as much a part of my Camino as the walk itself. Everyone around me had traveled searching for something… and we were in this church together. Yet, I also knew our journeys weren’t over - we all still had so much more to figure out. 

And while I was already thinking about my next Camino, I realized I didn’t have to hop right back on the trail to continue what I’d started that past week. We all have the power to take time in our lives to slow down, reflect, and truly look at the world and people around us. Whether the Camino is 100 miles or 1000 miles, it doesn’t end. 

Life is our Camino, our journey… and our job is to learn as much as possible while we’re here.

Buen Camino, my friends.