Shopping malls and fancy restaurants and nice hotels and beautiful, well dressed people are what my world has been filled with these past couple of days. Distractions, distractions, distractions. I arrived in Santiago and had no time to process- it was straight to a hotel, then out for shopping and drinks. After Santiago it was Porto, another big, bustling city.
I am not unhappy with where I have been. Porto was one of the best places I’ve ever visited and I love being back in the comfort of a city after so many weeks of small villages. It has just been a difficult and overwhelming transition. I catch myself wanting to go shopping and wear makeup and be done with this whole pilgrimage lifestyle. I really have been dreading this walk to Finisterre, especially after getting a taste of normal life again. Normal life doesn’t make me as happy though. I don’t like feeling as though everything I do stems from the need to kill time or to be someone else, someone better. I don’t like focusing on what I don’t have.
I think it’ll be interesting to get back to walking after a week of this. I am thankful to have had this exposure; I think it will give me a new appreciation for pilgrimage and a different perspective regarding lack and simplicity. It’s a nice reminder of how easy it is to get stuck, but also how easy it can be to get out.
I hope I never allow myself to get stuck.