The bare minimum

When I awoke yesterday morning, getting a great hug from Kesha, I thought I was renewed and refreshed. But what awaited me when I put my feet on the ground was as expected, that is with the kind of days I've had recently especially the day before. My feet hurt just to be put on the ground let alone having to walk on it.

Kesha and Molly were going to walk only 16,5 km's that day, to Astorga. But Antonello and Katrin were going to walk 37,2 km's to Rabanal del Camino. I knew I was going further than Astorga but I couldn't imagine walking all the way to Rabanal. I saw that this was goodbye and today I was going to be on my own, without my Camino family that is. We all hugged a lot and they were off. I stayed behind, met some other people, had breakfast and prayed and meditated. I headed out about 10:00 or a little after that.

On and off again that day I listened to the Lord of the Rings but at other times I just thought about things, as only the Camino has given me power to think. It was funny to hear in the story that they had to walk 18 miles that day (28,8 km's) and when I first heard it I thought it was nothing. But now I know what it's like to have to go up and down and round and about those 18 miles, day after day. I only stopped once that day and that was to have lunch in Astorga. Every step was painful and at the beginning of the day I didn't even want to take a single one. But I decided before this trip began that I was going to walk 20 km's every single day, that distance would be my bare minimum. Not only did I walk my bare minimum that day but a whopping 30,2 km's.

That's the amazing thing about the Camino. It's teaching me so much that I can transfer to my life when I get back home. I need a bare minimum for every day of my life, otherwise when the weight of the world bares down on me I sometimes don't even get out of bed. But this morning, when I didn't want to get out of bed because of physical pain I knew that I had to; I had 20 km's to walk. When the pains of life, physical, emotional or otherwise, bare down on me and getting up is imposible I need that bare minimum, whatever it'll be at the time. And the Camino teaches me that I can do that, that I can overcome the pain and that I always have more to give even when I think I'm completely depleted. And sometimes, when I don't even feel like I can do the bare minimum I end up surprising myself and doing even more...like today.

On the way to the last town I met Alex. He's German and he's in the army. When I asked him why he was in the army he said that he was there because he wanted to help people. I had never heard that answer. I listened to his explanations and he told me that the job of most army's these days is peace keeping and helping struggling countries. He wanted to go to the army to help some of the African countries for instance that he knew his military duties might take him to. I had never thought of this before. When he said he wanted to go into the army to help people I found it preposterous at first but now after listening to him and thinking about his answer I find it most hopeful. This reason and this kind of thinking is just what the world needs.

I couldn't go any further when I got to El Ganso. I had walked from Hospital de Orbigo to there, 30,2 km's and arrived at 19:00. I was amazed at the fact that I could do it and even more amazed at the fact that I had gotten so far while walking so slowly. I guess slow and steady really does win the race! :) This day was a rest in fact, with the slow walking, a preperation for the next day when I would have to cross another score of mountains.

I had a great dinner with Marco, a German guy I met in Frómista, and we talked about religion, being to judgemental and many other subjects that the Camino offered us that night. Because we're all on this journey, we talk about things that are much more personal than you would usually talk to someone you've never met before. I love nights like this.

After dinner I took a shower and took all the bandages from my feet. Molly had commented that my feet looked like mummies when we were in León. But no more. I walked up to my bed and was very content that night for I had a double bed all to myself. I had just been saying that all the bed's on the journey so far were not big enough for me and that I usually slept on a huge bed back at home. There in El Ganso one was waiting for me and I couldn't be happier.

I hope you have a bare minimum in life beautiful people, something that get's you up in the morning those days when the world seems rotten and nothing seems like it can go right.