The Smile of Content: Finding My Path on the Camino
I’ve been home for more than a week and done with my first walk on the Camino Ingles for nearly 2 weeks. There is so much I want to say and share about the trip. I took 700+ pictures. I dictated notes to myself along the way and journaled each afternoon once I was settled in. I built a playlist of songs that I either overheard and resonated with or that bubbled up in my head as narration or inspiration along the way.
As I write this, I am overcome with a wave of emotion…a mix of joy and gratitude, release and appreciation…I want to cry and sing at the same time. It was a life-changing journey. I got exactly what I was looking for from the experience…deeper connection to myself, nature and humanity. I felt the f-yeah more deeply than ever before and it seems to be woven into my existence differently this time.
In true SMB fashion I am all over the place and unsure of where to begin to share the experience with you. Each time I ponder, I am pulled to start by sharing this dialogue that came to me on the 5th of 6 days walking. A bit of a teaser for what lies ahead when I share more from the beginning and a highlight of the clarity I experienced along the way.
"What's that on your face?"
It is a smile of content.
"Where did you get it?"
I found it on the path.
"What path?"
The path of the pilgrim.
"I've never heard of it."
You are on it right now.
"But I don't see it."
Because you are moving so quickly.
"But life demands it."
Does it?
"It seems that it does, or I have always been this way."
Have you?
"Well, I suppose there was a time I moved with the level of freedom and relaxation that I haven't felt in a long time. Is that what you're referring to?"
Yes, the smile comes from feeling that way while you walk the path.
"Again, I don't understand. Is the path a specific place?"
You are on the path.
The path of life.
The path you walk.
The path you choose each day.
The path you chose before you joined this life, in this form.
But you have been sleeping while walking, so you may not have noticed.
It may have felt like you were being rushed along, dear child… places to go and people to see, things to do and accumulate.
"Okay, I think I understand."
It's not your fault. It happens to everyone when they become human—well, nearly everyone. It is something we that is often forgetten.
But it can be remembered. It just might take a longer walk.
A longer, slower, solo walk with nothing but your mind, your body and soul and nature and spirit present.
And you may remember…
If you walk long enough.
What true contentment feels like.
And then you may smile the smile of contentment again.
"Tell me more about the smile."
It's very hard to describe, but I can say that it is set upon a foundation of belief that there is nowhere to be and nothing to do except be present in the moment and be wholly and completely yourself.
I am so very grateful to be alive and walking the path of my life. Everything is as it should be, including me. With grounded presence, awareness and renewed enthusiasm I look forward to the adventures that lie ahead.
