Lately I’ve been coming to a rather startling realization.
Immediately before and shortly after leaving for my adventure on El Camino I was so focused on being in Spain, handling my classwork and a huge amount of stress-induced breakdowns that I blew right past things that I realize now were vastly more important.
The most overwhelming regret I’ve felt was not spending more time with my grandmother and brother before I left, as they’ve both now left Seattle permanently while I’ve been away and the ever-increasing miles between us have begun to seem far more vast than any ocean.
I regret allowing friends from all over the country slip through my fingers. As we grow up many of us have grown apart, begun to feel neglected and/or inadvertently misunderstood/hurt one another. My closest friends are beginning to settle down, start families, graduate college and move while I walk aimlessly across Spain searching for my ‘true purpose.’
I’ve found that El Camino progressively provides clarity and then quickly blurs and skews the lines that I’ve only just begun to understand.