Post 2 – June 2, 2016, What’s your Camino?

     Tom Gehring here.  It’s Thursday morning.  I’m at Café Heaven.  Need to go to court soon.  Stopped in for some Pope Francis coffee. Eleven days before we head off to Spain, and the Camino de Santiago.  Awesome.
     I wanted to thank Harold Rosenberg for the first post on my blog, my website, etc.  My man, thank You Harold!
     But, here’s how it really happened.  Several weeks ago, I finalized my decision to do the Camino de Santiago and leave on Monday, June 13^th, bought my ticket on Iberia Airlines, and started planning.  I needed the Camino.  So, I started telling my best friends, Danny Ovando, Mike Conner, David LaFaille, and some new friends from Australia, Michael Barrett, Chandré Duncan, and Sahra Swain.  I told them all about the Camino and how I had done it in 2014, the Francés route, and how it changed my life, healed me, I met so many people, and why I wanted to do it again—except a different route, the del Norte route including the Primitivo path.  So much to say, and I will slowly tell it in these blogs.

     And, of course the discussions always led to me asking them:
     What’s your Camino?
     What’s the journey you still want to take?
     . . . Then I asked the great follow-up questions:
     How long has this journey been on your heart?
     What’s holding you back?
     How do you think your life would change if you could do your Camino, your journey?
     And, lastly, are you willing to set a start date.  The date you agree to start your Camino.

     Wow, have I been having fun. I videotaped the interviews with my friends, and I’m still doing them. I explained that the Camino is a spiritual, physical and mental journey of life discovery and self discovery.  It is a journey that significantly enhances your life.  One thing it is not is a “bucket list” item.  It is not something to check off before you die.  I liked the movie, but I don’t like the concept of bucket lists.  What’s your Camino?  What’s the major journey you still need to do in your life to really enhance your life, get your major breakthrough, really feel like your life was a success? A blessing?  Something you should do now, or . . . soon?

     And the answers poured in, some tears poured in, and happiness poured in.  And in my discussions yesterday with Café Heaven’s cook, Tikipas, and of course:

     the Actor, Nick Tate,
     the Professional Man, Harold Rosenberg,
     the Everyday Woman, Tempie Teagarden,
     the Young Man, Norm Adams, now also known as the Problem Solver, or “TPS” for short,
     and, of course, Baby Doe 1, the photographer,
     the discussion around, What’s your Camino?, was really what got them to think.  Then I asked them if they wanted to go.

     And, one by one they said: yes.
     So, it’s on.
     . . .