Facing Fear: What a Pilgrimage Taught Me

Morning breakout session II 11:10-12:00 PM

Facing Fear: What a Pilgrimage Taught Me

At 49 I was satisfied with what I had accomplished in my personal life and professional career as a college professor, however, sometimes I felt dull and uninspired. As my 50th birthday got closer, I knew that I wanted to spend time alone and get to know myself better. In researching,  I found thought-provoking facts about women: 53% of professional women travel, 57% include a leisure element when they travel for business and 63.6% of women traveling feel unsafe. Women also are more likely to travel solo. Abruptly,  I knew what I wanted to do;  I decided to walk alone El Camino de Santiago (Saint James Way, Spain) as a pilgrim. I was going to walk 490 miles in 34 days! A pilgrimage is a very long walk that is inherently transient and removes the person from home and identity. A pilgrim walks intentionally, always moving toward a destination, a place of great significance. This presentation is about a pilgrimage and how fears, as well as opportunities, led me to new parts of myself that felt unexplored personally and professionally. Legend says that El Camino invites you. What started as an idea became a recurrent thought, an awareness that required preparation and action. Fears started to creep as soon as I committed to walking, but the same fears forced me to develop an immense amount of skills that have enriched my personal and professional life. The pilgrimage brought immense growth and opportunities in new fields of study and unexpected places. As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” So, I became a pilgrim.

Learning Objectives:

• To understand what is a modern pilgrimage in terms of spirituality and personal growth.

• To comprehend that fears are a call to act.

• To recognize that all invitations require acceptance, preparation and action.