Our Camino – A pilgrimage of purpose, hope, love and trust

In October, I’ll be walking approximately 230km along the Camino de Invierno to Santiago de Compostela (a destination for pilgrims) — with three amazing people I deeply respect and admire – walking with my feet, my heart, my soul, and all the stories and hopes I carry.

A long-held dream

It has been a dream of mine since I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018 and started a new life supporting my health in body, mind and, importantly, spirit. Before cancer, I could barely walk a mile without pain. A year later I was on holiday near St Jean Pied de Port and was so very moved by the atmosphere in this beautiful town where so many start their pilgrimage to Santiago along the Camino Frances. I walked just one stage with my family and dog and it was an experience that deeply moved me. It’s something we can’t quite put into words – but we yearn to experience it, because it changes us and how we relate to the world.

Over the years, I’ve discussed walking the Camino with friends, with my husband’s and even alone but the time never came. Then, seven years later, while simply sitting in a coffee shop, having mentioned to a colleague at Yes to Life back in July, that I’d love to walk it one day, I received a message “Are you serious about doing it – and would you like to join Robin, Miquel and Sue in October?’. It was time!

Why this matters now

So what is a pilgrimage? – the dictionary describes it as a journey to a place that is considered special, a holy or sacred place. Santiago de Compostela is the reputed burial site of St. James the Apostle which is why the Camino de Santiago is known as The Way of St James.

For me it is a spiritual journey of faith (not necessarily religious), as well as a physical and emotional challenge. A deeply touching journey that can lead to personal transformation. While typically defined as devotional, involving a prolonged journey, one dictionary defines pilgrimage as “the course of life on earth” – a definition I love.

The symbolic scallop shell that Camino pilgrims now carry, represents the various routes that converge at this destination. I feel each pilgrim’s path is unique – just like every human journey through life, and every cancer journey.

The ‘purpose’ for this pilgrimage is steeped in centuries of history and some judge that some of today’s, perhaps more ego-centric motives, are at odds with what it ‘should be’ (cue the play on nomenclature and the term ‘Turigrino’ used to describe a pilgrim who is more of a tourist than a seeker vs ‘Peregrino’, the Spanish word for ‘pilgrim’). Could this be said of our efforts to raise supportive funds for the charity? One can say and conclude what one likes but here are my thoughts…

Pilgrimage and cancer: the parallels

A pilgrim sets out with trust and purpose, but without expectation…

…and it is this that speaks to me so much and where I see the parallels with life itself, my own healing journey and anyone on a ‘cancer journey’, especially if taking an integrative approach.

We love to be in control but we live with uncertainty. Never more so than when we are navigating our way through cancer.

Yes to Life brought me so much hope, knowledge, self-empowerment, courage and strength from my breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and thereafter. But the greatest thing of all is the community. People ask me why I ‘stay around cancer’. Well firstly, even if it wasn’t my work, 1 in 2 people are being diagnosed and everyone else is impacted. But my main reason is what I witness each week in our Wigwam Cancer Support Groups and through Yes to Life – connection, support, kindness, empowerment and hope.

This hope is a mindset that can come from feeling held, heard and understood by others, who are going through a similar experience, without judgement or advice. It creates an energy, a spark, a softening of our fears and overwhelm. An energy that helps us to take our next steps.

When we are lost, hope helps us take one step in front of the other. We can continue to move in our direction of travel (towards our goal), with trust and purpose but without expectation.

This pilgrimage is the perfect representation of what many of our beneficiaries experience – the path, next steps, carrying stories, listening to the land, our environment, and to our intuition – walking forward with intention – along the way.

What better way to honour our own personal experiences, those that so closely align with the values and mission of Yes to Life. What better way to say ‘Yes to Life!’ amidst all the uncertainty we face. What better and more honourable way to raise the vital funds needed to help others say ‘Yes to Life!’ as they navigate cancer.

Every step has meaning

Every step I take is for those who are recently diagnosed in the shock, fear and overwhelm, those in treatment and everyone navigating a future with or after cancer, still searching for answers, or needing to feel less alone. It’s for everyone who is caring for, or who has lost, a loved one with cancer. It’s for everyone who has come to one of our Wigwam Support Groups looking for hope and inspiration. It’s for all the wonderful people who support Yes to Life and our wonderful volunteer Wigwam Group Facilitators and volunteers.

I’ll also be walking with the memory of my beloved Mum held in my heart. We lost her at New Year, and her spirit continues to walk with me. After an accident in the 1960s, doctors weren’t sure if she would ever walk again. But through sheer determination, and love, she did, often with a walking stick, always with grace. She wanted to walk more, further… and to dance. So for her, I take these steps — privileged steps — of faith, hope and love.
The name of our adventure, “Hold My Walking Stick,” therefore came as a true surprise — and now feels like the most perfect tribute at this time.

So I will take one step at a time and walk an average of 23k a day for 9 days with purpose, hope, love and trust but of course without expectation.

“Se hace camino al andar (The path is made by walking)” — Antonio Machado

Please support us if you can…your messages of support are so wonderfully kind, generous and motivating.

Sara Spinks
Wigwam Groups Co-ordinator