Unbeliever on the Camino?

[Chris Heap]

I've been planning to walk the Camino in 2003 and I've been "lurking" for some time trying to get a feel of it. I've learnt a great deal and I'm very grateful to all of you for your help. However, some of the recent posts have given me pause and made me wonder whether the Camino is the right kind of adventure for me. It is difficult to explain and I hope it doesn't give offence, but I am troubled about what seems to be a heavy emphasis on religion and spirituality. Is this an illusion of the "virtual experience" or is it really a day to day preoccupation of people on the trail? I realize that in raising this matter, I may be contributing to the friction. If so, I'm sorry. Perhaps I'm being a bit provocative because I'm looking for brutally honest answers before I get too far along with my planning.


I always saw my journey on the Appalachian Trail as a sort of pilgrimage, but not in any religious sense. If anything I saw myself rather as one of those irreverent characters in the Canterbury Tales - like the Shipman, perhaps. However, without conscious effort on my part and without discussion on the subject with others (almost by a process of osmosis), it turned out to be a profoundly spiritual experience. After many weeks on the trail I began to be aware of a sort of "oneness" with nature. Sleeping under stars of incomprehensible remoteness; walking over mountains of unimaginable age; drinking from crystal clear mountain streams; enjoying every day the myriad wonders of creation; I began to see humankind as a just one small, transient part in an interlocking web of marvels which totally defies understanding. My experiences did not fit into the context of any organized religion that I know, and I have become very wary of strongly held opinions, which so often seem to lead to nothing but discord. I feel with Walt Whitman in the "Animals". To put it bluntly, I would rather work out my own salvation without unsolicited advice from others.

With all the overcrowding that I hear so much about, is it possible to avoid hearing discussions, and possibly arguments, about these very personal matters? Do the ever-present artifacts of mankind detract from the infinitely more impressive works of nature? Can one find solitude if one wishes? Does an unbeliever like me even belong on the Camino?

Thanks,

Chris,

Ottawa

Canada

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