The Most Important Discovery

Learning to Love Myself on the Camino

There’s a painted rock along the Camino with a heart and these words:

“Of all the amazing things that I discovered on my Camino journey, the most important and my favorite is… myself.”

I saw it while walking alone one morning—just me, the trail, and the steady rhythm of my steps. I paused, smiled, and took a photo because it rang so true.

The Camino has given me so many gifts—new friends, quiet towns, starry skies, and early morning mist—but the greatest gift of all has been discovering who I am underneath it all.

Every day, I walk alone for hours.Through sunflower fields and eucalyptus groves, up rocky paths and down into ancient valleys.My muscles ache. My feet are sore. My body is tired.But my heart? My heart is wide open.And my eyes? They witness so much breathtaking beauty.

When I’m out here in nature, day after day, I begin to hear myself more clearly.

There’s a stillness in the silence, a softness in the solitude.

It’s in that stillness that my past gently rises to the surface.I remember things I’ve buried. I forgive myself for old hurts. I laugh at memories long forgotten. I cry when I need to. And eventually… I worry less.

That’s something I’m still learning—how to worry less.Out here, it comes more easily.Maybe it’s the fresh air.Maybe it’s the trail stretching out ahead, asking only for the next step.Maybe it’s that here, I’m not performing. I’m just being.

I’m learning that peace isn’t about having everything figured out—it’s about learning to be okay in the not-knowing.

And I hope that when I return home, I can carry this version of myself with me.The one who walks slowly.Who listens closely.Who trusts the path.Who knows that she is enough, exactly as she is.

Of all the amazing things I’ve discovered on this journey, the most important and my favorite is… myself.

🩵We are all pilgrims of the heart.🩵Let’s walk this path together.🩵

@Home | The Joyful Gypsy Gal

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