Day 45 finding balance

Day 45
May you travel in an awakened way, Gathered wisely into your inner ground; That you may not waste the invitations Which wait along the way to transform you.
May you travel safely, arrive refreshed,

And live your time away to its fullest; Return home more enriched, and free

To balance the gift of days which call you.
For the Traveler—John O’Donohue

How many of us take trips…vacations, holidays and return home more exhausted than when we left with the comments “I need a vacation in order to get over my vacation”.

John O’Donahue’s words are profound for all travelers.

“May you travel safely, arrive refreshed, And live your time away to its fullest; Return home more enriched, and free

To balance the gift of days which call you.”

This is a great question: how best do we live our time away to the fullest so that we can return home more enriched and free to balance the gift of days that call us? Well my most simplistic answer and advice is to be present in the moment. That means not to be overly worried about the future and not to be burdened by the past. I realize this is not as easy as it sounds on paper. And there are many lessons that I have learned from the camino about this but for the sake of time and this blog I will only mention a couple.

One of the lessons of the camino is to walk with less stuff so that you are not overly burdened…you can only carry so much while walking 10-20 miles/6-33 kms a day over various terrain (mountains, meseta, rain, heat, cold); it wears on your body. Likewise the concern of what is happening next in one’s day, where you will stay, when you will get there causes much anxiety and worry. The same is true in our daily walks of life…the more we are burdened with the worries and concerns the more it weighs heavy on us physically, emotionally, spiritually…and will make us ill.

The other is to begin to let go of the past. Again this is partly not carrying as much baggage with you. But it more than that: it is letting go of hurts, pain, problems, especially those of which you have no control. It is the challenge of releasing and not spending as much time looking back but enjoying where you are at the moment.

Oh to be sure it is important to get certain places in life and look…look off into the horizon and see what lies ahead…and even glance back…but it is so important and imperative to move on and live in the present.

On the camino we would do this…especially looking back…to reach the top of a hill and take a moment to glance back and see where you have been…but never to wallow in it…never to linger too long…but rather look out on the horizon and see where you are going…but still only a glance…so you do not get overwhelmed.

“May you travel in an awakened way, Gathered wisely into your inner ground; That you may not waste the invitations Which wait along the way to transform you.”