Those kinds of twists can have many consequences, both good or bad ... in my case it was good ... or at least I think so ...
On a rather dull day. I think it was raining. I know I was bored. I decided to watch TV, something I rarely do. As I expected there was nothing good on ... undaunted I decided to check out Pay per View. Scrolled the listings .. nothing stood out so I started to check casting ... ok here was something interesting ... The Way starring Martin Sheen directed by Emillio Estevez ... small budget film, looks to be a drama set in Spain about a father on a journey somewhere for some reason ... he's wearing a backpack ...
Ok I think. I like Martin Sheen. He was terrific in West Wing and I love Europe so a travel movie might be nice ... .... I click the "Buy Now" button and settle back to watch the film ...
It was a very good movie. Nothing goes BANG ... there are no special effects. It just a solid nicely woven story about a man on a personal journey of discovery after losing his son. It follows him on a trek across northern Spain on an ancient pilgrimage route from France to the ancient city of Santiago de Compostella. A 500 mile (800km) 5+ week walk through some of the most gorgeous landscapes in Europe. The scenery was predictably beautiful, but I expected that. What I didn't expect was how the movie would affect me ... AFTER it was done. Watch the trailer if you like:
After the movie was over I started to think about the Camino. The challenge of walking day after day 10, 15 20 km a day and often more. I didn't know if I could even walk more than 2 km in one go. The idea seemed romantic and adventurous but surely I could never do that ... or could I.
Three years ago I was extremely obese .... Off the scale obese, staring death in the face. Then, when I was least expecting it, my first life changing moment struck. Surfing the web one day I came across a calorie counting website called Livestrong. You can check it out if you like at livestrong.com but that's another story ... anyway, the time was right and over the course of the next year and a half I managed to drop 100+ pounds. That site literally saved my life. I had more or less resigned myself to my fate. I had all but given up, hopeless, not knowing how to change, lacking the will power as well. ... but somehow I did, and my life has taken an abrupt turn for the better and I could not be happier! I have maintained my weight loss for the last 2 years although I can't seem to lose anymore, now that I am post menopausal, but still, every day I get a little bit stronger and more active and you know what they say .... hope springs eternal :) I just need a little motivation to help kick things into a higher gear, cause I am pretty sure I can handle it.
Then like i said above, I watched "The Way" and my world was thrown into yet another tailspin ... what if ... what if I walked the Camino? Could I? I mean there were no rules ... I didn't HAVE to walk 30 km a day ... I could just walk 10 maybe 16 surely I could do that? I could walk 4-5 km/hour on the treadmill easy even if only for 30 minutes ... 16 would be just a 4 hour hike, if I could manage to walk for 4 hours! Could I? Surely I could do a 4 hour hike if I took it slow ... There are alburges in every little town and the towns were all relatively close together ... I wouldn't have to carry much, food was readily available in all the little cafes en route and there would be a bed each night. I'd get stronger the longer I walked ... maybe Peter could join me? This is something that's right up his alley, he'd love it ... he's retiring next summer ... we could go the spring after that ... May 2014 ...
A plan began to crystallize.
Life changing moments ... sometimes the trick is to recognize them ... the next trick is to allow yourself to embrace them.
Dare to Dream ... MY dream is to walk the Camino de Santigo from start to finish in May 2014 ... what's yours?
