The Pilgrimage is just Beginning

Stage 29: Arzúa to Pedrouzo
Official: 19.41km // iPhone Step Count: 21.7km

With less than 20 kilometers to Santiago de Compostela, the end is just upon us. Tomorrow, on our 30th day of walking, we will enter Santiago and this journey will be complete.

How might one articulate this experience?

How can we encapsulate these simple days of walking?

For 30 days we have met people of various religious and non-religious backgrounds.
For 30 days we have met people from countless nationalities.
For 30 days we have talked.
For 30 days we have prayed.
For 30 days we have walked.

Tomorrow, slowly and all at once, it will come to an end. This adventure that has taken an entire month, will be over.

While our credential will receive its final stamp tomorrow, our time as pilgrims will not end.

“We are pilgrims on the journey.
We are travellers on the road.
We are here to help each other.
Walk the mile and bear the load.”

While we began this pilgrimage in St. Jean-Pied-de-Port, our true pilgrimage began at birth. As pilgrims through life, we are called to walk with others and recognize the unity we share along our journey.

On a pilgrimage, all are equal. We walk with what we have. Anything more, gets shared and dispersed to others. We walk at our own pace, allowing time for solitude and reflection. We walk step-and-step with others as a community to recognize our need for others.

In life, ought we walk the same?

In life, we carry far too much and refuse to share our excess with others. In life, we neglect our need for personal reflection and contemplation. In life, we abandon community and live in a world of self-delusional isolation, thinking we can go it alone.

The truth is the opposite. The truth is our life should be like a pilgrimage.

As the hours of this pilgrimage wane away, the walk enters into our lifeblood. The slow pace and rhythm, will soon be outpaced by the fast-pace of the greater world, but the simple steps we have taken will forever remind us of how life can flow.

The Camino de Santiago ends tomorrow, but the Camiño of our life begins today.

Will we be able to take the first step?

Will we be able to trust others?

Will we be able to walk beside those strangers we have yet to love?