Santiago

Arriving in Santiago was nothing short of amazing!  For over 1200 years throughout history, thousands of pilgrims have made the same trip, and now I know why.  The feelings of humility, pride, accomplishment and gratefulness all came together.

In the square, where the huge cathedral sits, an American flag was waving out of respect for my accomplishment.  At the mass, the priest announced the pilgrim woman from the United States who began in St. Jean Pied De Port in France and made safe passage.   Admitedly, I had a lump in my throat and my eyes watered from humility.

The trek was an incredible gift which I will never forget.  I had learned from others in the past, but this journey made it very evident that my soul had to feel the experiences; I had to own them and really feel them deep down to understand their meaning, in short, they had to be mine.  You can be inspired by others, but that is not intrinsically you.  Just as mentors can’t give you the answers; they can provide guidance, however, in the end it is only you and the strength of your inner self which provides the answers to your questions.  They are there waiting for you.

The road to Santiago is just as life itself.  It has no end; when you arrive you realize you have to keep going and walking towards your inner self, others and God.  

There is a magical energy which exists on the trail.  Whether it be a directional cross road of confusion where a window shutter flies open with a 90 year old woman pointing in the direction for you to follow or the other pilgrims you meet along the way sharing their most intimate stories or simply the beauty of nature; there is one thing I am certain of, the mystery will live on forever because of the incredible energy which exists along its dust and this is why people will continue to walk it for thousands of years to follow.

It will take time to really ingest all that went on physically, emotionally, intellectually as well as spiritually and will really only be finished when life as I know it today comes to an end.

With Gratitude,

Dr. Evelyn Higgins