A New Fixation

I’m a creature of obsessions. Sometimes, these obsessions enslave me. But in a writer’s life, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, more often than not, they fuel my creativity.

            

My current obsession is walking The Camino de Santiago across northern Spain. 

The seed was planted twelve years ago when Erinn and I met a young man who had recently completed the pilgrimage.

            

“It’s been the most significant experience of my life.” As he said this, his eyes took on the serene glow of someone who can step into the spiritual realm at will.

            

After that encounter, Erinn and I occasionally talked about walking The Camino, but it remained a distant dream, unlikely of materializing.

            

That started to change about a year ago when a former student posted on Facebook that she planned to walk The Camino with her father. It would be a college graduation present.

            

“Where did you get the idea of walking The Camino?” I asked her.  

I was surprised because I knew her well and throughout the years and countless conversations not once had the subject of The Camino come up.

            

“From watching The Way,” she said. “When the film ended, I had to walk The Camino.”

            

“Can Erinn and I join you?” I asked, unashamed about intruding on the father-daughter journey.

            

Her reply was vague enough for me to understand that I needed to embark on my own pilgrimage. Our exchange, however, inspired me to start researching The Camino in earnest. Since then I’ve learned that she was right—the journey is, indeed, an intensely personal thing.

Intrigued, my wife and I watched The Way—a film written and directed by Emilio Estevez and starring his father, Martin Sheen.

            

When it ended, I said to Erinn, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to take a group of students to walk The Camino with us?”

            

“Why don’t you organize it?” she answered. “I’m sure a few brave souls will sign up.”

            

I researched a little further and learned that to earn a Compostela—an official pilgrim's certificate—one needed to walk at least 100 kilometers (62 miles). In our case, that meant walking from the village of Sarria, the starting point for most. From there, it’s five days to Santiago de Compostela.

            

As Erinn predicted, a dozen brave souls signed up. Easter week of 2015, we will start on our journey.

            

And with that, I thought, my fixation over walking the Camino would be fulfilled.

            

But I couldn’t leave well enough alone.

            

I continued researching the Camino—its history, its miracles, its hardships, and its many tales of redemption and grace.

            

The more I learned, the more I realized that walking the Camino from Sarria would not be enough—at least for me.

            

Now, my fixation will not be satisfied until I walk the entire Camino Francés starting from St. Jean Pied de Port, on the French side of the Pyrenees.

There is a book in this quest, I am sure.

            

That’s my new obsession.

            

I will begin that journey in March of 2016—this time, alone.

            

At the moment, however, I am so excited about the walk with Erinn and the students that I’ve been wearing my hiking books every day for two weeks straight. I am determined to break them in fully before we leave for Spain.

            

The group pilgrimage of Easter 2015 promises to be one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

            

For now, the solitary pilgrimage of 2016 will just have to wait.

            

I can only handle one such obsession at a time.