This is one of my favourite stories from the Camino. Shortly after the ascent out of San Sebastián, there’s a little rest stop generously created by a veteran pilgrim who lives across the street. As I was resting, he came over to say hello and hand me the gift of a fig from his garden.
I won’t forget the experience of meeting him and the warmth of his gesture. Not least of all because I hadn’t eaten all morning (foolishly expecting to find a café en route) and besides some energy balls, that was the closest thing to breakfast I had.
This was what I experienced all through my pilgrimage. I had committed to doing it less than a week ago, and things miraculously fell into place, enabling me to get everything I needed to make the trip. And that included the weather: instead of a generally wet October, the Basque Country was enjoying unusually mild weather.
So instead of thinking that you have to have everything in place and be perfectly prepared to do something, sometimes you just have to dive in. You can only show up and allow the supporting cast to perform their role in helping you.