For years I have had a vision of stepping from one stone to another, across a peaceful body of water. On the far side sits a proud snowy mountain. Glistening in the sun. Inviting me to summit.
Deep inside I know where I’m headed.
If only I knew how to “get there.”
I have spent nearly a lifetime in high tech and it no longer fits. Or does it, but in a newly creative way?
Surely my purpose must be more …
And I began to Walk into my vision … stepping from one stone to another, to contemplate where to take my “one wild and precious life.”
Summers ago in France, I walked a small part of The Camino, the Pilgrim’s Path, through medieval villages and beautiful countryside.
It was an early stepping stone – to open my heart and ready me for more.
Then I went to Spain to Walk the main Camino de Santiago, the Way of St. James.
My destination was the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, to see the remains of the apostle like so many before.
Pilgrims have been walking the Camino for centuries, to contemplate their lives, atone, start over.
It’s a deeply spiritual journey shared over a thousand years by saints and popes, religious leaders, seekers like you and me.
And St. James was an early Evangelist for Christianity… a missionary who inspired others through storytelling and kindness.
As a Cloud Computing Evangelist, I love the parallels of storytelling and kindness to inspire and invoke action. And I sensed that by Walking the Way, St. James could help me learn more about who I am and why I’m really here.
I walked from Sarria to Santiago, sometimes alone, sometimes with our group … through villages and farmland.
It was life-affirming and peaceful, a cornucopia of Nature.
In so many moments I stood silent, simply awed by the serenity of Life.
And I discovered a lovely metaphor in the scallop shell symbolizing us Pilgrims – how elegantly its grooves join to form a single point of origin.
That was the whole purpose of my Walk, to elegantly join my spiritual life and my high tech career in a way that empowers me and serves others.
And what I learned on the Walk made my vision real.
It truly is one step at a time, one foot in front of the other and enjoying the view along the Way.
“Don’t try to rush things: for the cup to run over, it must first be filled.”
So for now, that’s what I will do, just put one foot in front of the other. Live in the moment, enjoy the mysterious and Walk into my future. In a Way that is uniquely mine.
I learned that if you do what you love, even in small ways, a secret magic takes over.
Opportunities present, dreams become real and all of a sudden, you’re living your “one wild and precious life.”
As Spanish poet Antonio Machado discovered on his journey,
“Wayfarer, there is no path.
The path is made by walking.”
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jacqueline vanacek 