My husband's cup of tea doesn't include sleeping in a tent in the woods but he does enjoy walking and I'm delighted that we will walk the Camino together -- no tents just albergues/hostels. "If you want to walk fast, walk alone; if you want to walk far, walk together." ~ African Proverb
We plan to walk the Camino in late Spring/early Summer and arrive in Santiago de Compostela on our wedding anniversary to celebrate 44 years of marriage. Our walk, our pilgrimage will be one of giving thanks to God for the good times, the difficult times, and whatever awaits us in the future. God has blessed us and we are grateful.
The Camino will be a challenge for us in more ways than one; my husband laughed when he read this and said that may be an understatement. He likes to walk fast and get it done; I like to walk at a decent pace, take pictures and "smell the roses" or enjoy the poppies which should be in bloom on the Camino in May.
Remember the old expression "opposites attract." I was a psychology major so you might want to skip this paragraph because what follows may bore you. It is said that we are naturally attracted to individuals who are different from ourselves and, therefore, somewhat exciting. Research has concluded that it is very true when it comes to love relationships. However, it's not just the exciting differences which attract us to our opposites, it is a quest for completion. We are drawn towards those who have strengths which we are missing. So, when two opposites function as a couple, they become a more well-rounded functioning unit. There is also a theory that our natural attraction to our opposite is a subconscious way of forcing us to deal with the weaker aspects of our own nature. Two opposites involved in an intimate relationship have significant issues and communication barriers to overcome. In a sense, our attraction to the opposite personality can be seen as our subconscious mind driving us towards becoming a more complete individual by causing us to face the areas in life which are most difficult to us. I am an ENFJ and my husband is an ITSJ -- except for the Judging/Perceiving scales on the Meyers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator, we are direct opposites.
I hope that in 44 years of marriage we've learned enough to walk 44 days together; time will tell. We are asking St. James to pray for us as well as our family, friends, pilgrims who have gone before us to Santiago, and those who discover this blog.
"We are all pilgrims on our own quests, like it or not, deny it or not. The structure of life is so." ~ Robert Stone