A Pilgrimage to Your Own Life
For the third time I was able to experience the healing and clarifying power of walking daily over the course of several weeks on one of the ancient routes of the Camino de Santiago in Spain. All the details and stresses of modern life fall away. What emerged is a strong connection to my priorities, values and desires. Returning to the cluttered schedule and life back home is harder than walking the 500 miles. The main question after such an amazing experience is, “how do I continue the serenity and focus and not fall back into a hectic life?”
While going on an extended trip and walking several hours daily is not everybody´s desire or option, there are still things that can be done to form a strong connection to your own heart´s desires. Focusing on what matters ensures that meaningless items won´t distract us. Too much time is regularly spent on non-fulfilling habits (channel surfing anyone?).
In my private coaching practice I notice regularly that it is not even clear what matters to the person I am listening to. Getting clarity is a first important step which will determine the direction and quality of life. A non-committal approach to our own values and goals is very dissatisfactory on the long run. Often, a fear of failing is blocking any clear direction or commitment. The saying is so true that “only the one who never tries will never fail.” We can and need to learn to accept failure as necessary ingredient to living a fulfilling life.
It does take courage to stand behind what matters to us. Once we make the decision to do it so many other things we spend time and resources on will fall away. It is like a big de-cluttering of our whole life. It can affect our possessions, the things we say “yes” to, the friends we have and cherish, the projects we take on at work (or not volunteer for anymore), the clarity of our communication with others, and many other things. It will be very different and unique to each one of us, but it will always be liberating and invigorating. It gives us that bounce in our step and happiness when approaching each day from the moment we wake up.
Nothing can replace that feeling of loving our own life, no matter what our circumstances. The consumer industry tries to make us believe that purchasing items is better than going through our days with a chuckle in our throat, fulfillment in our heart and the knowledge that the life we live is our own and forever unique. The knowledge that we make it work every day, in our own unique way, with our own decision powers and according to our own values, is priceless and does not require a single item from any store.
I highly recommend you enjoy your very own life. Sometimes it helps to get assistance from professionals to figure all this out and to shed the general conditioning we all received from the various environments that surround us. At the end, we are primarily humans who feel and love and live. I am wishing you a heartfelt holiday season. Please send comments to: sabine.starr@yahoo.com.
Author Sabine Starr is a psychologist licensed in Vienna, Austria, currently living and working in Mission Hills. She has written numerous articles for professional psychology journals. For further information, visit www.starrcoaching.com and follow her blog at www.HealthwithTaste.blogspot.com.
Category: Life Style, Local News
