I’m carrying too much…

The two most common ways that pilgrims get hurt on the Camino de Santiago (outside of a fall or misstep) is by going too fast and by carrying too much stuff.

I am carrying too much stuff, and I'm not just referring to my pack.

I got 11km in this morning. The pack was heavy, and not even fully loaded. My body feels heavy, because it is. My mind, full of stuff weighing me down.

My pack is a mirror image of my life. There's too many things in there. When we walk hundreds of kilometers on pilgrimage, we feel the burden of all those things. To do it for a short distance is okay, but we should be cautious about continuing to walk with excess weight.

My body is heavy. Heavier than it should be or has been in a long time. The effects of stress, cortisol, lack of balance and nutrition. I can 'feel' my weight as I walk around the house and go about my day. I lost in excess of 75 pounds a few years ago, so I know what it takes to make my body well. It's just time to get about the business of doing it.

My mind is far, far too cluttered. I know that I've exceeded the healthy threshold of how many things I have on my plate. Thoughts tumble and race from the moment I wake up until I try and settle down for the day.

I'm missing things. Emails, texts, and even details from conversations. This is far from the detailed norm of how my mind works in the world. I wonder how many things I am missing right now, without being aware that they are flying by me? Maybe I'm not seeing my son's excitement about something happening in their life? Maybe I'm missing cues from my wife that she needs time with me?

Here's the turn...

It's a simple solution, but it's not easy.

We have to take the weight out of our packs. Get rid of the "extra" stuff. Let go of the burdens. Let go of the hurts. Let go of our expectations, failures, and regrets.

Easier said than done.

It's time to bring things into balance. The funny thing about "balance" is we often perceive that to achieve it we have to make big sweeping adjustments. I challenge this notion. Here's why...

When we walk along through life, we are constantly shifting our weight across our toes, feet, knees, hips, and core. The adjustments are small. Without realizing it, you are "balancing" yourself at all times.

Cheers to the small adjustments we all make to steady us and keep us on "the way". Let's lighten the load. We are carrying too much. While we are at it, let's help other pilgrims slow down and carry less weight too. That way, we can all arrive without injury.

Buen Camino, Ultreia et Suseia!

I'll see you down the road...Greg