- Peter Martin -

Life’s Journey, Just Me and the Road

On the Camino, with each day, when it came down to it, it was just me and the road, no excuses, no reasons, no focusing on aches and pains. Just another little decision that wasn’t really a decision because it was a “No Other Option” Goal.

When it comes down to it for you, it’s just you and your road. Since you, as a human being, are outcome oriented by design and nature, even if you choose not to choose to have a goal, that in itself is the goal, to stay the same. When you look in the mirror, it is you! There is no one, no something, no circumstances that can stop you when the goal is a “No Other Option” Goal. Instead of saying internally or out loud “I can’t because . . . . . . .”or “ If only they hadn’t . . . . .”or something similar, you’ll say “This is the situation. . . . . .” Now! “How can I respond?” “What can I do?” Because of the nature of the brain and mind, you WILL find the way to continue.

On the second last day of My Camino, I ended up walking 50 km. A decision I made on that day regarding the position of albergues and distances to travel was not a good one in hindsight. By the time I reached Arca I had a very sore lower shin and muscle around the shin on my left leg and limped slowly into the Albergue at 5.45pm. From Palas de Rei, where I had started, it had been ten hours of walking. I was a little concerned how my leg would be when the tissue cooled down.

I reviewed my day and my plan for that last day. My thinking process was even if I have to walk slower, even if I have to lean heavily on my walking stick, even if I took all day to walk that last 18 kms – I will finish TOMORROW – no question about it. You see it was a “No Other Option” Goal and from travelling the road with that attitude, I had learnt to look at “How I could “not” why I couldn’t”.

Amazingly, the next morning as I started slowly and gingerly, my leg unseized and responded to my attitude and although I walked with a slight limp and a little slower, I finished in Santiago 4 hours later.

Just you and your road – an incredibly freeing realisation that you have it in you to find a way. It may not be as you planned, it may not be you who directly solves the challenge, but intuitively the resources and where with all will appear such is the awesome power of the body, mind, and spirit under the influence of a “No Other Option” Goal.