With The Flow...

Ever sat on the side of a mountain in the rain and noticed small trickles of water flowing down the side?  They wind their own path, obeying their one rule...gravity.  At times they join with another, then separate when they need to... it is their natural flow and when it is time to stop flowing, they pool and settle.

For those who know me, I have many analogies, theories, opinions and such on our existence here on earth (I can you hear all rolling your eyes!)... but the above is 'overall' my analogy on life.

We are here to go a certain way.  Some paths wind here and there.  Some are much straighter.  Some will pool before others.  However, we all have a natural flow and speed or 'rhythm', if you like.  People come and go in our journey, joining us and syncing with us for different lengths of time and others will flow parallel to us at a comfortable and sometimes not so comfortable distance.  No matter what it is, it's natural, it's life.

The thing is, sometimes we believe our 'own' way is much more suited and justified and we fight against this 'natural' way.  Whether it is staying in one place for too long due to a fear of change or forcing the continuation of a friendship that has already served its purpose because you don't like saying goodbyes.  When this happens in my life, I feel the greatest sense of unbalance, the most out of rhythm and just generally frustrated with myself and everyone else!

However, when things are going with 'the flow' the calm and peace is amazing, almost uncomfortably okay.  Events, people, situations and experiences just simply fit into place.  My christian friends will call this, 'going the way that God would have us go', my not so christian friends use terms such as 'fate' etc, but for me it is just going with the flow.  I know that this isn't really to do with the Camino, but in a way it is.

The Camino and I are on a collision course and in the few short weeks leading up (2 and a bit actually!), for some reason, the things that I am fighting are becoming more apparent and the way I am supposed to go is becoming clearer.  So, less listening to my very lateral, logical, reasoning head, less listening to my irrational, emotion and highly unpredictable heart and more listening to my gut.  Simply put, just go with the flow.

PS... I can count my close dear friends on one hand.  Sounds awfully dependent and terribly 'female', but I am just realising how much I am going to miss them.  There you are... a crack in my independent, confident exterior  :)

Buenas noches amigos xxx

Rain Interrupted

Am sitting on my couch (a theme when writing these things), listening to the every so gentle pitter-pattering on rain on my window.  Every now and then it becomes slightly more aggressive then settles again.  Today is supposed to be the first day of a series of runs I do in preparation for my Camino journey.    I booked my journey 4 months ago and had such high hopes that I would be filled with renewed enthusiasm for getting fit - and this has clearly not been the case.

So if I am going compare where I thought I would be at this stage 4 months ago when I booked the ticket, compared to actual real life, there seem to be a lot of differences.  For instance.... I know a little but not nearly enough Spanish (in fact the only full sentence I know to speak fluently comes from a song where a women is beckoning her man to stay with her just one more night - not sure where would get me, but depending on my audience at the time, probably in a spot of bother).  I have heard that you don't need to know too much Spanish, but they appreciate those who have tried to learn it.  I need to learn the words: Cheese, Milk, Butter, Cream & Dairy...oh, and then the word 'No' to put in front.  Perhaps 'Death' would be a good word to learn also... 

I still don't have travel insurance, have not finished compiling the list of 'if I don't return, here are all my passwords and accesses' document, don't really know what I will be packing and if I am going to be able to keep it to 8kg on my back, and more recently, have come to terms with the whole 'solo' aspect of this walk....'solo', the word alone seems to have its own echo... 'solo'...

Anyway, time to harden up and put on the sneakers... 36 days and counting...