Camino de Santiago: Day 1

The short climb from seen Jean Pied de Port is as picturesque as it is steep. The name of the town means Saint John at the foot of the pass, and it is terribly accurate, as the path starts at the foot of the Pyrenees and climbs vertically out of town. That said, at the end of the day it is not my body that has suffered but my expectations. Its a lesson I have learned many times before-- to abandon my expectations, to take life as it comes-- and yet each time I learn it anew it is no easier. Whether it is my expectations for the climb, for a quiet and peaceful morning, or for my own body, having expectations does not improve my Camino, nor my life. Perhaps by the end of the Camino I will have learned to take life as it comes, but for today I am still learning, and I am grateful to have the opportunity. Tomorrow and each step down the road, I will try to live without expectations and simply take joy in what I find.