Finding Peace on the Camino: Sunsets, Mangoes, and New Beginnings | Day 269 of my 2023 Journal

Rock, mango, sunset

The first day after walking had to be a little strange. Emotionally, I was all over the place, and practically starting over with what could be called normal felt challenging.

Yet - this is the point exactly.

Walking the Camino is like drawing a line in the sand, clearing all the chaos. When we began, I was stressed out and in need of peace. I almost did not want to walk it; I just wanted silence after eight months on the road. 



Somewhere on the way to Santiago, I realized it had passed. The stress. The confusion. The exhaustion. The present moment again was everything, and I felt ready for whatever.

A side goal of mine was to get stronger by walking so I could pick up my running habit after completing, so this is what I did on the first morning. It is all connected, as we all know, so I found the perfect spot while running. A stunning viewpoint, where we all later gathered on a rock.

The supermarket finally had the Spanish mangoes I had been craving since the beginning of summer but not seen until now, so we sat on the rock and enjoyed the immense beauty, the mangoes, the sunset, and each other.

Sometimes the moments are so happy, it is hard to stay in them, hard to understand they are real. Even hard to let all of that pass through the breath, the heartbeat - as if I am too small and the greatness of life is almost running me over.

We are enjoying the last days in this constellation, this group of pilgrims, and the goodbye moment is on the horizon. It is an amazing exercise in staying in the moment. The beauty is overwhelming, and the importance of the friendships is equally so.

The mangoes from Andalusia are ripe, dripping with luxury, and the mountaintops keep changing nuance as the sun sets; the energy is special, the rock still warm from the sun, and our abundance is as huge as our gratefulness.

Thank you, sunset, mangoes and rocks.

With love

Cecilie Conrad

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