Life is too Short to not Enjoy it

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Explaining “what” you are doing to someone is very easy. Usually includes a short sentence covering the basics of an activity you are taking part in. On the other hand, explaining “why” you are doing something is a much more challenging task.  The Camino is an extremely personal and introspective journey many people embark on it for different reasons.  While walking we took the time to talk to some fellow pilgrims and ask them why they decided to walk.  Each response was heartwarming and inspiring in its own way.  First, we met Paula and Michelle, two sisters from Australia. When first asked why they decided to walk Michelle said that Paula had seen the movie “The Way” and she decided that she wanted to do it.  But after talking for a while, we discovered that they were carrying along the ashes of their brother and their mother.  They were going to deposit the ashes along the route and finally in Santiago. Michelle and Pat were traveling with another woman who I immediately assumed was just one of their friends from Australia that they had brought.  It seemed as though the three had known each other forever. In reality, the two had just met the other woman, TK, that morning and they had been walking together all day. TK had lived in San Antonio, Texas, for the past 17 years. TK explained that for those past 17 years she had been stuck in the worst, most toxic relationship she had ever experienced or seen. She spent her life in fear and floundering in circles stuck with this guy she felt she depended on. For the past seventeen years, she felt as though she had no options. Until one day she found her strength and left him.  At the same time, she quit her job because she did not want to waste any more of her life doing things she hated. This is how she found herself on the Camino. She illuminated that life is simply too short to not enjoy it.  Additionally, TK added some personal advice that I think, all the young woman around benefitted from hearing. “Never settle.”

If you were to originally ask me why I was walking the Camino, I would have said for a class. Or maybe because I saw the flyer on the ground and just decided to apply. However, I think there is something more behind that.  I think deep down I have a reason that I applied some meaning behind the urge. However, I just can’t put my thumb on it. Maybe by the end of the Camino I’ll know.

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