by Elaine Walker, Ireland
I have walked 11 different Camino routes in Spain since 2012. It is a path I am compelled to do, although I often don’t always enjoy it! I just feel closest to God on any Camino path. It’s a journey of so many parts, a bit like Centering Prayer. I start off with all my head “stuff” and an awareness of the heaviness of my backpack. I carry all of the stress that I should have left at home. The question is always, “Why am I doing this?”
The second week becomes easier and lighter. My pack feels less heavy. I have discarded the stress, and the head stuff is replaced with an awareness of my surroundings, the bird song, the trees shimmering in the breeze, the cooling breeze itself. It sort of feels like the middle 10 minutes of Centering Prayer. This is, of course, only my experience of Centering Prayer.
The third week of any Camino for me is the time I am “centered” in that I am stripped back. My pack feels lighter; I have a rhythm of pace and it seems easier. My priorities are much more simple. Enough water, food or somewhere to get food and, of course, somewhere to sleep. But the stress of these things has more or less left replaced by a sense of trust, a knowing even. I have a much deeper sense of connection with both nature and other people. The conversation is deeper, the brief relationship more meaningful. It’s like knowing other people are sharing this journey as well.
My last 5 minutes of Centering prayer are normally (but not always) the most indefinable. I feel embraced, caught up, held.
Maybe it is not correct to compare my Camino experience with my Centering Prayer experience, but it feels okay, as they are both places I find God waiting.
