Human Dignity

This post is somewhat emotionally driven, as it is a combination of thoughts and experiences I have had over the past few days. I never thought I would encounter anything like this on my pilgrimage, but I am happy that I have come to know more about it.

There are two things which have become blatantly obvious for me as I walk the Camino. The world is broken, and yet it is redeemed. I have had too many conversations with people who have troubling pasts. Everyone of them is as unique as the person telling it. Some have dealt with recent deaths of loved ones, some are recovering addicts, others are searching for answers after ending a heart breaking relationship, and still others are simply unhappy with how their lives are being lived. Although the magnitude and severity differs, they all have difficulties that are holding them back. Back from the best person they can possibly be.

You would think that they are all walking to Santiago to sort things out, but that is not the case. Some came to Spain looking for an exciting trip abroad to give them the joy they have been missing. There are also pilgrims who come to run away from their problems. Neither one of these reasons for walking the Camino is fulfilling. In fact, I have come to the conclusion that walking the Camino is not going to fix any problems you have. There is of course reasons to make this pilgrimage, however, it is not the be all, end all problem fixer.

It is quite evident that there is actually nothing in this world that will satisfy our longings. Even if we do not come from a broken past, there are things for which we desire and yearn, some of which even causes us some pain. Obtaining any material object, praise, or glory, fades quickly and we will soon want more. The answer we seek is not of this world.

Happily, what we are all looking for has a name and a face, Jesus Christ. He under went his passion and death so that all of us may be free. All that is being asked of us is to pick up our crosses and follow him. This path is not easy, in fact it is often more challenging than doing our own will. Many times we will fall back into the same temptations and feel as though we have reached rock bottom. Even if we continue to mess things up our human dignity and ability to love and be loved never changes.

No matter if someone is young or old, disabled or handicapped, religious or not, their human worth dos not fluctuate. Nor can anyone take this dignity away. Others can make our crosses harder to bear, adding to the weight, but they will never be able stop Christ’s constant love for us.

True freedom and joy is found in denying ourselves and follow Christ: to realize that we are infinitely loved and that such a dignity should not turn us in upon ourselves but should turn us to others with love and awe. There is no need to come walk the Camino or make any great pilgrimage. My heart aches for those who continue to live a life filled with empty promises. I have been carrying many of these people in my thoughts and prayers as I continue to offer sacrifice and deny myself, so that I too may come to a greater freedom. I pray that God graces me with many more years in my life so that I can keep working on uniting myself to him.

-Luke

I’ll add a few thoughts of my own as well.

There are many who walk the Camino, but are not on pilgrimage for religious purposes. The three motives that I hear the most are 1) to work out some problem 2) for the experience 3) I heard about it and it sounded fun. Like Luke mentioned, even those who do not come directly to figure out some issue in their life, we all struggle with something, large or small, and it’s bound to come out on the Camino just as it does in ordinary life.

The purpose for your journey is always a point of discussion among pilgrims, especially when you first meet and start to walk for a bit. I was once boldly told that “the way you live the Camino is the way you will live your life.” I don’t quite subscribe to this idea, but it does have some value. Again, walking the Camino is not going to fix your problems, and it is not going to determine the rest of yoyr life, it is not the pinnacle of your life, but it is a part of it. Although the Camino is an extraordinary experience, I’ve been trying to treat my days here as I would any other. Some come expecting a huge change in their life after the Camino or just to have a fun time meeting people and enjoying the local food and drink. But the Camino is more than that and also less. You’re in a different place experiencing new people and places, enjoy them! But live it as you would live the rest of your life. Life doesn’t go on pause nor does it truly begin when you step onto the trail, it is simply a continuation. I hope to grow while on trail but I know that I won’t be a finished product. As Luke said, the Camino isn’t necessary, we can grow, especially through self denial, every day of our lives, but it is a good place to break away from the ordinary, and set aside time for God.

A pilgrimage is a total gift of your time to God. The goal isn’t just to get somewhere or to set aside more time for prayer. The whole walk (and flight and buses) all of your time is given to God. Just as structured prayers help us to reorient ourselves to God and to make one prayer of the whole of our lives, so a pilgrimage or retreat serves to reorient ourselves on a larger scale.

In this gift of our lives, we are required to trust much. Difficulties come and the cross feels heavier, and these are times to trust. We should realize that God is challenging us just as a coach challenges an athlete. At times, the athlete may doubt himself or his coach because the training is too hard. But eventually he will overcome the difficulty and realize that the challege was to make him stronger. Trust is difficult because we usually only see the darkness when we need to trust, but once we crest the hill and see the light on the other side, it makes a little more sense. We might get a few false peaks but we’ll probably also get some great views or sneak peaks of our destination before going again into a valley. Sometimes we only think of trust when things are difficult but I think we should always practice trust by practicing gratitude and hope.

Here are a few ideas or the tip of a few ideas. It is hard to explain some thoughts through typing, especially on a small mobile phone. Most of these ideas have resulted from many days of thinking, experiences and conversations, and some are still in the works, thus they are diffiucult to put into only a few words.

-Michael