[Gocamino] Transformation on the Camino

Fri Mar 11 17:44:11 PST 2005

I walked to Santiago as a pilgrim, I even got a blessing before I left from my parish priest.

At the time, I remember thinking that I had gotten less out of it than I expected.  Arriving at Santiago was anticlimactic.  I remember walking in the rain, turning a corner, and looking up to see the cathedral.  I just stood there in the rain, gawking, realizing that I had arrived, but not having really strong feelings about it.  A lady holding an umbrella asked me, in several languages, if I needed a room, I finally told her no.  I was kind of disappointed not to feel more.  I was glad to have done it, but I did not feel "transformed".

The tranformation in my case came later, when I figured out what I had really learned on pilgrimage.  The most important thing that I learned was something that I probably learned in kindergarten, but somehow it got squeezed out of me along the way, perhaps by high expectations.  It can be expressed in very few words:  "Ask for help when you need it".  In a way, I recognized it on the trip; a friend of mine said that I mentioned it right after I got back.  But it took me months to realize how important that it was.

My pilgrimage is still extremely important to me whenever I think about God and religion.

One minor transformation is that I now ask for directions, which men are reported not to do.  ;-)

Richard

 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Brooke Broadbent" <bbroadbent at sympatico.ca>
> I'd love to hear some of your stories of transformation on the Camino. Did
> you see yourself and the world differently after your pilgrimage? How?
> Did you start as a hiker and end as a pilgrim?
> As an example to start the discussion: when I came back I wrote an article
> about my transformation that you can read at
> http://www.brookebroadbent.com/files/Broadbent_T+D_Aug04.pdf.
> Some examples of what happened to me: I started writing poetry about nature.
> I started using my feelings and intuition more for making decisions. I got
> in touch with my intuition and I left my consulting work to become a
> personal coach. I also have been thinking and writing lots about
> inner-growth since completing half the Camino two years ago. This year I'm
> going back to walk from St Jean to Santiago.
> Cheers,
> Brooke Broadbent
> www.brookebroadbent.com
> 
> Brooke Broadbent
> Coach
> Consultant
> Author
> www.brookebroadbent.com
> 613 862-4459
> -----Original Message-----
> From: gocamino-bounces at oakapple.net [mailto:gocamino-bounces at oakapple.net]
> On Behalf Of Brandon Wilson
> Sent: March 10, 2005 5:14 PM
> To: gocamino at oakapple.net
> Subject: [Gocamino] Re: Credit cards
> 
> To save on the credit card cost, you might look at using a debit card
> tied to a bank, brokerage or moneymarket fund account. It may work out
> better for you, since it's a direct withdrawl and still allows you to
> use atms for cash. Don't know if they'd assess the same fees. Plus, you
> come back home with no fear of credit card bills arriving to spoil your
> positive mind set. Just a thought... 
> 
> Brandon
> 
> 
> 		
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