day 1413: Learnings From The Camino (part 1): A Very Long Walk

“Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”

The first thing you need to know about the Camino de Santiago is that it is a very long walk.  Depending upon where you start, it can be as long as you want it to be.  Here is the map of Europe that shows all the different ways one can walk (or bike) all to Santiago, Spain:


 My Camino journey was just at 100 miles. For other pilgrims I met on the Camino their walk was eight times and plus that distance. When we decide to do anything that is going to be long and arduous, it takes commitment and a reason.  When we think about delivering on an organizational strategy it means that it won’t happen overnight and that many people will have to be committed for a long walk.  A learning from the Camino is that if we allow each person to understand why they individually will want to sign up for the long walk, that there is real power in the “What’s in it for me” mentality.  While we don’t want to set up activities and purposes that revolve just around the “me” in us, it is very much in that place where if we are honest, we can understand and express our “why”.  And knowing our “why” is a powerful motivator.

Our walk with God is as long as He determines it will be, which we don’t know the length until the end. But, we can make that walk in assurance because of where we know we are going. There is no greater “why” than this!  Today, we start a continuation of that walk and will see arrows and signs pushing and pulling us in many directions.  If we keep our eyes on Christ, then the path we are walking, the words that we speak, the actions that we take will be moving us in the right direction in our walk with Him.

Reference: Genesis 13:17 (New Living Translation)