Onward: Lessons Along The Camino
From the blog Daisies amon Roses, by Claire Denise Johnson
May 16, 2012
When most decide to walk the Camino but only have one week for their
journey, they usually begin within 60 to 100 miles the final
destination, Santiago de Compostela, where you receive your Compostela, a
Latin decree documenting your journey. There are some who walk other
sections of the 500-mile Camino for a week if they do not have the goal
of receiving the Compostela at the end of

their journey. In my heart,
once I saw the Cruz de Ferro (Iron Cross), I wanted to walk up the the
cross, lay stones that I carried from friends and family that symbolized
our sorrows and struggles to leave behind and move forward. That
journey, which would have to begin before the cross in a town called
Astorga, is 170 miles. I wanted to accomplish that in one week. I did
not know if I was capable of it. At home, in sunny, flat Florida, I
walked up to 15 miles per training day and I carried less in my
backpack than that required on the Camino to move from hostel to hostel.
On the Camino, to complete my goal, I calculated that I had to walk
30-35 miles per day over mountains and strenuous hills and I watched the
weather every day which reported snow and significant rain.
The Cruz de Ferro (Iron Cross) where I wanted, in my heart, to begin my journey.
As if this challenge was tough enough, I was told by more than one
that it was too much for me. I wouldn’t be capable of completing this
without injury. Even after going back and forth and saying, “I think I
can do this,” the naysaying continued. It took a huge toll on me. I
worried nightly before I left. My husband had to witness the worry that I
tried to hide from the children, but couldn’t hide from him. I don’t
think I had ever experienced being told that frankly a challenge was too
much for me to endure. It made me reflect on being a mother and if my
children came up with any task or challenge that they wanted to complete
and I told them it was just too much for them. You can be destroyed by
naysaysers and have your dreams shattered if you choose to follow them.
Don’t follow them. You have to decide what is too much for you and the
only way you will ever know is to try.

My journey to the cross

The stones from family and friends that I placed at the Cruz de Ferro
After five and a half days of hiking with my heavy backpack (that I
never weighed because I didn’t want to know – yet another relentless
question I had to deal with) up and over mountains and hills with snow,
hail and relentless rain, I completed the goal within my heart.
The Camino reiterates life lessons you already know. In your heart,
you have all the answers. Here are the lessons confirmed for me:

1.
Keep moving onward. ”
Ultreïa!” or “Onward” is heard quite often along the
Camino de
Santiago. It is an ancient Galacian word that has been associated with
the Camino for centuries. Keep going! Walk further.Walk higher. Each
morning, I woke up with more pain and tingling in my feet. It woke me up
in the middle of the night. Ibuprofen wouldn’t touch the pain after a
few days. I could barely walk to the bathroom. I thought, “How am I
going to do this again today? Another 30 or 35 miles?” But, I put on my
boots, put one foot in front of the other and just moved onward. I never
let that thought leave my mind – onward. I knew that I was following in
the footsteps of all of those
The day I arrived in Santiago and completed the journey in my heart

Hiking O'Cebreiro mountain
who walked before me. St. James and so
many who walked it without the supported, hi-tech shoes we have in the
21st Century. There is a phrase in running that says, “No matter how
slow you are going, you are lapping everyone on the couch.” Keep moving
onward in life no matter what.
2.
It doesn’t get easier. You get tougher. The last
three days of my journey, I removed one item each day to lighten my load
and each day, my backpack still felt as heavy as the day before. I
struggled with the hiking just as much or more than the day before. The
Camino is like life. Life doesn’t get easier. You get stronger.

3.
You are not alone. Even on the rainiest day when I
walked eight of my thirteen hours without anyone around, I was not
alone. I always had friends and family cheering me on in spirit. I had
my God. I was never alone. There is a new movie soon to be released
called Brave. One of the quotes of the trailer is, “The bravest journeys
are never taken alone.” I had the best of both worlds in my Camino. In
the mornings, I walked with pilgrims around the world and later in the
day when I hiked another stage, I walked alone and learned to appreciate
the solitude. During my Camino, I also saw four pilgrims walking back
the opposite way making the return trip from Santiago. They were a
reminder that others were there before you and you will make it through,
too.
This is your Camino and your life. No one can walk it for you. Walk it your way.
“Wanderer, there is no road, the road is made by walking” Don’t let
anyone talk you out of something or tell you how it should be done. My
heart called me to begin before the cross. Being told it was too much
for me took at huge emotional toll. Don’t do that to others, especially
your children. Don’t do that to yourself. When I was 20 years old, I
visited my Aunt in Western Pennsylvania. A popular race, The Bridge of
Flowers 10K, was taking place the next day. I wanted to run it, but my
aunt thought it was too much for me. The following morning, I watch all
of the runners go by and told myself I could have done it. The morning
after the race, I ran the route myself. I did not receive a medal or any
documentation that I ran the race, but I was given a priceless reward. I
told myself to never let anyone talk me out of a challenge again. If I
would have hiked less on the Camino, I know I would have regretted it.
On the other hand, I saw tour groups get out of a bus at the Cruz de
Ferro, took pictures and get back in. And each morning that I ached and
began walking again, I saw transport vehicles carrying backpacks for
pilgrims. But, who am I to judge? That was their Camino and not mine.

5.
Gratitude – After hiking one-hundred miles in
three days, it was tough getting out of bed that fourth day. But, then I
had a friend who wrote to me on Facebook. She said that I should be
grateful that I am able to accomplish such a feat. It is true. There are
many who are disabled and not able to hike who would gladly change
places with me to be able to hike the Camino. I met an amputee at Monte
do Gozo, an energy point before Santiago. He hiked the Camino, but I’m
sure it was a challenge. Reminders of gratitude are placed along the
Camino. It makes one grateful for many things we take for granted in
everyday life – shelter, warmth, security, nourishment. My gratitude for
life continues now that I am back home.

6.
The Universe gives you what you need at that moment.I
have mentioned this in my blog. If you put something out to the
Universe, you will receive it. It could be positive or negative. If you
fear something bad enough, the Universe will give you that experience to
show you that you can endure it. On a positive note, one morning I
accepted a banana for breakfast from a lady who didn’t English. I don’t
digest them well, but I took it because she was so sweet and kind and I
didn’t want to hurt her feelings. Later that day, I ran into a group
that I walked with for hours. There were two Spanish men and a young,
American student named Sette. I was craving chocolate after walking so
many miles so I threw it out – “I wish I had some chocolate.” Sette had
chocolate and she wanted a banana so we traded. If you desire something
and put it out to the Universe. This is a simple story, but I also put
out to the Universe that I wanted a walking parter on the first and last
days of my journey and I received an Austrian pilgrim on the first day
who hiked with me for 25 miles when I didn’t know what I was capable of
doing and a 76-yo pilgrim from Asheville, NC on the last day of my
Camino who walked with me in the dark. These were gifts I received from
God and the Universe for putting it out there.
7.
Getting lost is normal. It’s finding your way back that’s important. Even
though there are abundant arrows to find your way along the Camino, I
got lost several times. That’s okay. It not getting lost that is the
problem. Getting back on track is what counts. When you think you are
lost, you can look at the footprints – those who have come before you.
8.
If it was easy, you would take it for granted. The
Camino, like life, is tough for a reason. If it was easy, you would
take it for granted. Do not take anything life for granted. It is all a
gift full of lessons and reward.
9.
Incorporate moving meditation into your life. Walking
the Camino is a form of moving meditation. Not all can walk the Camino,
but you can incorporate moving meditation in other ways – walking,
running, yin yoga, tai chi. It touches on the mind, body and soul.

10.
Life rewards you for sticking with a tough journey. The
first five days of my Camino were filled with snow, rain, hail, and
cold, blowing winds, but when I arrived in Santiago on my final day, the
sky opened and I was surrounded by blue skies. Finally! If you continue
to endure any journey, your reward will arrive.
11.
We were all the same on the Camino. Along the
Camino, we are all the same. We walk the same path and sleep in the same
housing. There is not divide. In our regular lives, we divide ourselves
for so many reasons. Live life like the Camino. We are all the same.
12.
There’s a fine line between courageous and crazy. Life you life walking that line. On
the fourth morning when the Camino becomes busier with extra pilgrims
only walking the last 100K , I met a man from Malta who asked me about
my Camino. When I told him I was walking 30-35 miles per day. He said
that was courageous. I said that more often I was called crazy. His
response was, “There’s a fine line between courageous and crazy.” Let’s
live life walking that line! That same afternoon, I heard a cuckoo bird
calling incessantly, “Cuckoo!” . How fitting! Yes, I’m cuckoo. But, also
courageous. And I’m going to walk that fine line.
13.
If you choose to walk it long enough, your reward will come.
After snow, hail, rain and blowing winds, we had blue skies on the day
of arrival in Santiago! It was a welcomed reward for the journey. It
gets better.
After the Camino, it’s as if time slowed which is why it took me so
long to write this blog post. I feel a sense of calm I did not have
before waking up with a new peace, hearing the birds with a heightened
sensitivity that I did not have before. Now that I am back home, my
Camino continues onward. I have to choose to continue the Camino in
everything I do in life. It’s always about onward which reminds me of
the non-profit I founded in 2009,
Stepping Onward,
to help those who have had setbacks move forward in life. This journey
on the Camino gave me the courage to try a new adventure. On Saturday, I
will be running my first ultra marathon – 50 miles – in the Florida
Keys. And like the Camino, I have had a naysayer who said, “Good luck
with that.” I don’t know if I can complete it, but I have worked on
preparing, will place one foot in front of the other and keep moving
onward. I would rather try and fail than not try at all.
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