Walking in the Woods

With the start of the New Year, I often find myself with refreshed commitment to clubs and societies to join; new curiosities awakened, searching to take root with others who share this pursuit of passion and purpose. I've joined book clubs and cooking classes, dance forms and yoga studios, I've sampled wine pairings and running groups (not in that order…), creative writing workshops, knitting classes, and spiritual meditation centers.

My official society letter & APOC patch :)

This year, I decided to join the society of APOC - American Pilgrims on the Camino - the Chicago chapter of others who have trekked across Spain on the Camino de Santiago. Admittedly, I've been on the email list for a few months, but had yet to meet up with these fellow pilgrims… not because of lack of time or busyness, but simply because there existed a slight bit of trepidation in sharing my journey with others. Would I connect with them? Would their experiences counter mine? Would it be a failed attempt to awaken the magic I left in Spain?

Walking boots exchanged for snow boots.

After receiving an email about a hike in the north woods of Chicago, I decided in -8 degree windchill the night before the walk to attend. I was reminded of the courage it took to show up that first day at El Spiritu albergue in St Jean pied de Port, France after following a stranger I met on a bus… the courage to stand in front of the Pyrenees on the horizon, knowing that once you start there's no going back… the courage to take the first step, say yes, and walk each day not knowing where I would sleep at night… Surely I could tap into that reserve of courage once again, and meet up with strangers once again, and walk once again...

My new Pilgrim friend, John.

My initial anxiousness was met with a hug from John, APOC walk organizer, as he asked questions about my life and how my Camino experience informs my day-to-day. Shortly following John's embrace, three others joined with varying accents, traditions, ages, and cultures. While my insecurities naturally rose to the surface, they were shortly drowned out with the breakdown of walls that so naturally occurs in Camino life. Throughout our days here in the city, we often insist upon raising barriers between us and others, yet the Camino reminds us that everyone is an equal. Each individual carries a mystery to be learned and a story to be heard. Even though I was the youngest of the APOC group by far, combined with the least amount of Caminos walked, their approach to me was nothing short of love and unconditional acceptance. Hearing the hushed conversations, spectrum of accents, and rhythm of the walk brought me straight back to the journey… the one that exists both there and here.

A few of us pilgrims and a fire in the woods.

Even as we stopped for our picnic lunch in the snow, I was reminded of the communal experience of eating together as each person passed around chocolate and Polish cake and a few swigs of whiskey. There we were, a few strangers an hour before, and yet friends sharing a meal out in the snowy woods. Initially united together by only one thing: the Camino… and later to find out the many other ways our stories intertwine. As you hear someone else's story, you also hear your own… and you realize the ways we each take part in the human experience together.

The path continues...

And the gentle reminder lingers, the path we walk does not end in Santiago. It continues here as lessons from the Camino are incorporated into interactions with others, meals shared, and stories exchanged… it continues with people we connect with as walls are broken down that try to divide. I was reminded of the journey in the simple steps we walk as we go one foot in front of the other…. the rhythm and simplicity of the woods and how inconsequential most details seem to become when removed from the normalcy of life. An escape and then a return… hoping they intertwine to give me a new perspective and refreshed heart that results in hospitality and love towards strangers who may even later become friends.