Sunday, January 3, 2021

"But I would walk 500 miles, And I would walk 500 more..."

Photo by bink, on the Camino de Santiago––2011, the year I turned fifty:
GOOD SPEED IS YOUR SPEED

I keep wondering, what shall I do, turning sixty?

You know, I don't determine that, exactly.
I head in a certain direction, open up to a range of possibilities––l
ooking for a new job, to begin with––and see what comes along and where I end up.

Walking west across Spain, I was shocked when the ocean came into view after weeks and weeks. I'd stopped thinking about how that's where I was heading.

Someone commented on FB, "The Camino sounds life-changing."

Um. Well, sorta. But anything you do changes your life.

Life changes.
What we mean by "life changing", I think, is that we become aware of that. And yeah, taking yourself out of the ordinary everyday might make you more aware. Maybe. For a minute.
And then what?

I always think it's funny that I had to walk 500 miles––twice!––to figure out I didn't need to walk 500 miles. It's not as glamorous, but I could have stayed at home in bed and paid attention.


Ha! Here's a sixty-year-old's sorta thing to say:
If you're looking for entertainment, fly around the world.
If you're looking for enlightenment, take a walk around the block.

1 comment:

  1. “If you're looking” — an adage to hold on to.

    The poet Charles Reznikoff (a dedicated walker) once explained why he hadn't been to Europe: he hadn't yet explored all of Manhattan.

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