During my hike on the Way of St. James from Cluny to Le-Puy-en-Velay in France, these thoughts came to me: You can transfer a lot from such a long-distance hike to the hike on the path of life. Read for yourself and see if you can find these analogies as well.
You make a plan, sitting at home, comfortable and safe. You set yourself goals, intermediate goals, then you look at how to reach them, from A to B to C, maybe a quick stop at D. All theoretical, at home by the fireplace.
The practical preparations begin: what do you need, what can be left out. What was useful last time, what was missing. What imponderables can occur and what could be used to master them. But always consider your own strengths and previous experiences, don't plan too far ahead, don't carry too much ballast.
Then it starts: the first steps, unaccustomed strain, soon it goes more smoothly, but be careful not to overload at the beginning! Soon you get used to the new rhythm, and unlike at home, you face new challenges every day, which of course you didn't think of at home. Some of the things you bring with you are useful, others turn out to be useless - you learn new lessons, expand on the experiences you already have.
The focus is on the road ahead: Where do I take the next step? How far is the climb? Is the day's goal already in sight? Once you have reached a hill, your intermediate goal, you can recover a little, your gaze widens and you realise that it was in fact only an intermediate goal. Behind every successfully climbed ridge, there are more, perhaps only at a distance, but they are there, blocking the horizon and the longed-for view of infinity, of the ocean.
In the evening, you rest, recover from the day, already planning the next one. Here, too, you are busy with the path, more quietly, with less effort, but you are busy.
At some point, after a while, there is a good time to pause, to look back. Perhaps at a vantage point. You realise all that you have achieved, identify places where you were just a short time ago, which may have meant effort at the time, but in retrospect only meant another milestone successfully mastered. At the same time, the gaze is already looking ahead again: where will the path run? Up this mountain, or around it? Will it get easier, or even more difficult in the end? Is it possible that a goal is already in sight without me recognising it?
Where is a good point for the next rest? When will the final goal be reached? What comes after that?
Translated from German to English with DeepL
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