The physical makeup of the Camino trail is a reflection of the many aspects that make up our characters. Life is not just a straight, smooth journey , unless you plan for it to be so. You can live a life that is protected and shielded from surprise and risk. And the journey becomes a calculation that you control so that everything goes “as planned.”

Pilgrimages free one from such a way of living, allowing one to let go and be surprised by unexpected happenings, unplanned surprises, new encounters. Your inner “terrains” surface new territories that create new challenges, pushing inner boundaries further from view. Your vision gradually changes, even “sharpens” as you climb up struggles, as your veer to one side or the other to avoid pitfalls, as you slow down exhilaration so you don’t lose balance.

The varied terrains of the Camino visibly express the twists and turns, the ups and downs, the messiness, the setbacks, the barriers, the rough patches, and even the smooth sailing on “level ground.” But these various terrains can only surface when we choose a different road or path that will involve climbing upward, changing pace, facing hurtles, dealing with “blisters” of fear and the “fractures” of painful memories. As unexplored, inner realities are allowed to surface, the path becomes more difficult.

But making it up the hill leads to a summit, a new inner freedom to “see” the world, your heart, in a broadened way. Healing…. freeing….peace… and you begin to move on, continuing to let go of the need to control the journey. You allow yourself to surrender to the Spirit of Christ who sends his angels to “lift you up, lest you dash your foot against the stone.”