Following My Intuition

I'm often asked what made me decide to plan a walk on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. I really can't say. My original plan was to walk the Shikoku Pilgrimage in Japan, which is a pilgrimage of similar length to the Camino. On the Shikoku Pilgrimage, however, there is not an actual ending place as there is on the Camino pilgrimage. The Shikoku Pilgrimage takes the henro (pilgrim)on a circular journey around the island of Shikoku to visit each of the 88 main Buddhist temples. Being more of a Buddhist than a Christian, this pilgrimage speaks to me.

The Camino de Santiago, in contrast, begins in Saint Jean Pied-de-Port, France and moves across northern Spain until the peregrino (pilgrim) reaches the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela where the remains of Saint James are allegedly interred. People have been making this pilgrimage for hundreds of years. It's a 480-mile walk.

Something was pulling me to the Camino and I kept rebuffing it. I kept researching Shikoku. Intuition is a guiding force in my life, however, and I always trust that still, small voice of God. The pull was so strong. It kept putting things in front of me about the Camino and in early 2012, I acknowledged that I would walk the Camino instead of the Shikoku. I abandoned my research of Shikoku and turned my attention fully to the Camino.

I've long been loathe to visit Spain because of reports of how badly they treat their animals (bulls and galgos most notably) and I didn't want to give tourist dollars to a country that won't protect its animals.

But, trusting my intuition, I began my research on the Camino. I hunted the library for books, hunted for books via inter-library loan, watched videos on YouTube, found like-minded people and groups on Facebook, and discovering Blogs and websites. There is a lot of information about the Camino. Far more than on the Shikoku.

For me, a good chunk of the fun of a trip is the research I do prior to leaving home. I've been researching for well over a year now. I will walk the Camino in October 2013.

By planning this trip, I am following the same intuition that I followed when I made a quick trip to Wyoming in a snow storm to visit my Mom in January 2009. Had I not followed my intuition, I would never have seen her again. She died unexpectedly two months later. Intuition is a strong and powerful force. When it speaks, I listen.

Buen Camino!