5 Life Lessons of a Pilgrimage
In my experience the Camino de Santiago was a microcosm for Life. The simplicity of its environment removed the noise of the everyday hustle and created an ideal backdrop for inner clarity and insights to flow. The lessons were hard to miss and continue to extend into my days well beyond the Camino.
Here are the key lessons I learned and continue to integrate into my everyday life:
1. Only Carry What’s Necessary
The first stretch of the Camino is roughly 25km, with grueling elevation gains across the Pyrenees mountains from St Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles. I consider myself an active individual, but after that first day of hiking with my pack I had a novel experience. After dinner, as soon as I stood up I collapsed back into my chair. It took me a more concentrated second attempt to actually stand.
Unsurprisingly, on my way out the next morning I passed by a massive graveyard of clothes, umbrellas, sleeping pads, pillows, toiletries, hair dryers, etc. Novice pilgrims quickly learned to differentiate between items that were truly essential and those that were non-necessities.
The weight on our backs held us accountable for our choices. The path was very demanding, every bit of weight counted toward breaking us or facilitating our journey.
It was eye opening to see how little was actually necessary, and conversely, how easily our possessions could hold us back from succeeding.
Even though I was never one for over-consumption, my experience on the Camino helped me embrace a minimalist lifestyle in “real life” too. I’ve come to view minimalism as a deliberate prioritization of what I value most: clarity, connection, growth, flexibility, and impact.
2. Pace Yourself Sustainably
The Camino is roughly 800 km (500 miles). Early on I did excessively long 35 km days, because I could. On such days I felt strong while I walked, but once I stopped my ankles swelled and pain consumed me. In turn, the next day even 10kms felt like too much distance to cover. I quickly learned that pushing too hard was an impediment to long term success. Through experience I understood that to maximize my progress over time I needed to slow my daily target to 80% of my limit.
I met so many disappointed pilgrims who were forced to abandon their goal of reaching Santiago because they got hurt. They were confronted with a buildup of strain that led to irrecoverable injuries. Lack of maintenance in the form of stretching and rest along with overexertion seemed to be the common thread for failure.
I learned to strive for what is sustainable over time rather than my absolute limit for the day. Long term progress matters, not what we accomplish within the confines of a single day.
3. Share Your Journey (even if you can do it alone)
I’ll be the first to admit that I went on the Camino because I wanted to withdraw myself from the world and reflect in solitude. Instead, the experience I received was quite the opposite. I was surrounded by walking companions and fellow pilgrims in all moments. It was a very social time and I couldn’t be more glad it turned out to be so.
Having people to share all the laughter and pain added an inexplicable amount of strength to the experience. In moments of utter exhaustion and exposure to elements as unlikely as horizontal rain or knee deep snow, we stepped up to help each other through physical and emotional obstacles. We laughed through the absurdity of our experiences, and kept each other’s spirits from breaking during the most demanding of times.
As someone who prided herself on independence and not needing others - this was a hard truth to face. A shared experience is so much greater than the sum of its parts. Even if you can do it alone, choose to share your journey. The experiences are much more worthwhile that way.
4. Notice the Beauty within the Ordinary
The Camino mostly weaves through rural landscapes and small towns. It provides a low stimulus environment and reliable structure for sleep, meals, and movement. I rounded out the consistency of each day with my own habits of meditation, yoga and journaling. The combination of all these elements enabled me to move past the layers of anxiety and mental tension that were otherwise persistent undertones in my life. For the first time in many years I felt present, and in complete harmony with my surroundings.
I noticed that the moments that brought the most joy were neither glamorous nor confined to anything intrinsic to the Camino. Rather, they were simple experiences; like the sound of rain on a metal rooftop, passing clouds fluidly changing shapes, colorful clothes drying in the wind. Not a single one of the moments I count among the most memorable are inaccessible in daily life. The Camino primed me to slow down and notice the details of my surroundings.
The pilgrimage provided the perfect environment to experience non-habitual feeling states of calm, harmony, and presence. My continued daily practices are what help integrate these states into the larger context of my life.
5. Appreciate the Small Things, Always Offer Kindness
The very nature of embarking on a pilgrimage entails putting yourself in an unusually vulnerable position. As pilgrims, we’re stripped of our habitual comforts and depend on others for the quality of our accommodation, food, and other essentials. As a result, we are very sensitive to small acts of kindness and unexpected generosity, but unfortunately, also to greed and lack of compassion.
For example, in one albergue the owner turned off the heater for the night and went home as soon as the shelter was full. The building was made of stone and shortly after sunset the temperature outside dropped below 0C. Each person in my room struggled to sleep from the cold. We could actually see our breath. The shelter was in such a remote place we could not do anything to improve our situation.
Luckily I encountered far more examples of kindness and generosity than lack of compassion. Most people went out of their way to provide support. For example one woman had newspapers ready to crinkle into our shoes to make sure our wet shoes would dry in time for the next day. A waiter gave me a tube of cream when he saw me scratch incessantly. Someone else folded my clothes after she noticed they had dried atop the radiator and placed them on my bed. I experienced countless acts of kindness that felt exceptionally meaningful. I was humbled by the amount of generosity I received during this vulnerable time.
In the real world, there is not such a clear delineation between who is in need of kindness and who is not. When we meet someone we do not automatically gain insight into the heaviness of their circumstances. Seemingly insignificant acts of kindness can be paramount to the quality of their experience.
Our intentions toward others matter. Be kind. Always.