Alexander John Shaia (who used to live in Santa Fe and now lives in Muxia at the end of the Camino) has written a helpful book about returning from the Camino. I wasn't walking the Camino, but I had a dramatically overstimulating couple of weeks recently. Digging in my garden and caring for the perennials (who are blooming like crazy just now) is tremendously helpful. I told my neighbor "I garden because it is both cheaper (and prettier) than working with a therapist."
Thanks for the suggestion - I looked it up and found "Returning from Camino". Will need to pick it up. :) I'm with you "in spirit" in the garden. The other day I was out there smelling the beautiful scent of flowers, listening to the birds, feeling the sunshine on my face and I thought "More of THIS. How do I find a way to get more time out in my garden?!"
I love this post, Nadia. Thank you so much!!
After living out of a backpack for over a month, there is a liberation in realizing we don't need most of the crap we own. We're definitely designed for walking, fresh air, enjoying the restorative power of sleep after a day of exertion, eating good food with fellow pilgrims, and really connecting and finding a new tribe. It's about balance. We weren't designed to live online 24/7.
So true - I just stepped down as CEO of a sustainability NGO after literally 30 years of being caught up in strategy for battles (for the good - but still battles) on multiple fronts all the time with more moneyed and powerful interests (not to mention the ceo-ing part of endless financial pitching and anxieties...
I then 1) drove across country by myself, visiting and reconnecting with old friends, 2) visited with family on the East Coast and in France for weeks, 3) walked the Fisherman's Trail in Portugal for a week with my oldest best friend, and portions of the Camino Portuguese with my loved college roommate, 4) visited the rest of my close family in France for a week - dinners, hikes, picnics with 15+ of us of all ages. Now I have spent 6 weeks at home, catching up with more old friends, and working in my house and gardens, pulling them back from their neglected state (due to all that professional overwork!)
My body has moved out of fight or flight mode, my ability to sleep, cook and eat delicious foods, regulate moods, enjoy every day as a seemingly unlimited space to take up whatever activity I feel drawn to...has burgeoned day by day. As you say - being in nature, doing the tasks of living (e.g chop wood, carry water), walking, connecting with beloveds - feels like the way I as a human am meant to live.
I'm sure I'll engage in political.activism again - the times call for it, my skills are well suited to it, and I have begun dipping a toe in - but this expansion of my ability to live in specific moments, unburdened by the constant need to grasp information, determine next actions, fit personal life into narrow boundaries - feels heavenly, like being truly alive 'as a being , not a doing'.
Great question - I don't think the issue has been the political activism so much - the fights are meaningful, rewarding, nourishing. I love the challenge (and payoffs, frankly) of developing successful strategy on the fly and winning victories toward progress on world changing maters. But doing that work, which feeds me, while also holding the responsibility for financial and operational success has been the exhausting part - especially since I am an introvert and do NOT thrive on being in the limelight. I think the issue I confronted is that EVERYTHING in a leadership role in such a situation feels important - because anything could cause your mission to change the world for the better to falter or fail. So pressures that in a CEO role at a normal company would be important but small-bore, in a global sustainability campaign setting are literally critical to the survival of humans and the planet.
Of course that is also self-aggrandizing and impossible to maintain - the world will move forward, younger people will take up the banner and operate in ways that are more relevant to this moment. So my counsel will be helpful, but also only one voice among many - and likely not the most important. That in itself is my hope for this work in future - to provide insight (and some major tactical skills at kneecapping asshole arguments!) but to be able to cede leadership and the anxiety and pressure that comes from feeling SOMUCH responsibility.
Thanks for asking - I need to understand and move forward to a place where activism doesn't just represent anxiety and over-ownership.
I have found much peace in cultivating the habit of single-tasking. I tell myself, constantly, this is what you are doing. Embrace it. And only it. This is what I brought home from the Camino and it has changed everything for me.
When I’m stuck on the hedonic treadmill, rather than try to fix myself or my day, I try one little action. I call a friend, spend 5 minutes sitting in contemplative prayer, pick my socks up off the floor, write one line of a poem, read your substack…then I can say I did something and sometimes one thing leads to another.
Sean, I first read "welcome back" as you saying it to yourself. As in, pulling yourself away from the unreality of screens to pick up a sock from the floor (which IS real), and saying "welcome home".
Some things our human ancestors did: sat together around a campfire, told stories that helped define who they were, took direct care of someone when that someone was sick, shared what they had so all could eat and live. And I’m sure there’s much more. More things we humans now rarely, if ever, do.
Christmas 2020 we did a campfire all in our little pods with our down coats and a propane heater in Asheville NC, and for me it was wonderful. We had the normal food we eat at every Christmas. We were together in such a different way and we were all together. It was magical with the campfire!
When I get overwhelmed with life, and can’t get outside because of one reason or another, I make something for someone else - then mail it to them! I’m pretty crafty; and I get my daughter with disabilities involved. Together we talk about, and pray for, the person who will receive our gift! Then off it goes, with a little piece of my heart and her soul! Refreshing!
A few weeks ago I was incredibly overwhelmed and my therapist (what a luxury to be able to access therapy!) asked me to list all the things that made me feel that way. One of the biggest ones was "the news". Then she asked me how I could make it less overwhelming and it was the first time it occurred to me that I could just... not check out all the news all day long.
So ever since then I have installed this app on my phone that makes me take a pause before I can open my most refreshed news sites (and facebook!) and I feel so much less overwhelmed in a 21st century way, since I often decide I don't actually need to see it at that moment. There is still an endless to do list, but I don't feel like I am carrying all the suffering of the whole of humanity anymore and I can actually connect so much more to the people closest to me.
Of course there are days I opt to turn off the app, but after a few hours I can feel the existential dread return. So I try to stick to checking the news once at lunch and once in the evening.
I had burnout from my last full time job, from which I retired. But I find myself inexorably drawn to full-on, all-the-time information flow. And I'm tired. And too much screen time is affecting my eyesight. That's scary. It's like an addiction. I.must.not.be.inactive.for.even.one.minute. It staves off loneliness. I do better when I write by hand. And I do enjoy the company of others, even in silence. And here I am, on screen. Maybe I'll go for a short walk right now. 🤔
Bless you Nadia. On your walk when you see some tall thin grasses, pull gently but firmly on the end, it should come out of the stalk and have a white tip at the end. Just take a bite of that end let the taste take you back to your 11 year old self and enjoy the feeling.🫶
Each night before sleep, sit and stare at the campfire and let your mind wander across the mysteries of the universe. (Or simply, mindlessly, watch the flames dance and the sparks drift upward.) [in other words, no screens before bed! Argggh!]
Such a relatable discourse today and while I am now too old and slightly disable to do long walks, I have many memories of walking the many trails here in New Zealand and the dopamine high that comes with that. As others have commented, I tend to spend too much screen time, too much news time and too much inactive time. It doesn’t help that I have had three weeks of a very heavy cold that kept me house bound and no energy, but I can sing, I can chant and I can go outside and watch the birds in the trees. I can even do a short walk . Now today, we are celebrating Matariki here in New Zealand which is the Maori new year and so I am spending my day with friends which means I won’t watch that debate. Others have posted so many wonderful ideas to fill our ancient selves needs and I applaud all.
Your posts are always great, good, poignant, wonderful to read, etc. But this one was particularly so. For me it was specifically pertinent, immediately useful, almost painfully so. I need to spend more time being with humans (and being one). Reading, typing, and doom scrolling all morning tends to make me more of the artificial creature that lives in my head and behind my eyes . . . and only that. I need to get out in the garden more (and earlier in the day). Thank you for being you.
Cutting, splitting, stacking, and burning wood for heat. It’s only in winter that I’m truly alive so maybe I am adapted for the Ice Age. Which makes the current climate crisis disturbing not only on a global level but also on a personal one.
Alexander John Shaia (who used to live in Santa Fe and now lives in Muxia at the end of the Camino) has written a helpful book about returning from the Camino. I wasn't walking the Camino, but I had a dramatically overstimulating couple of weeks recently. Digging in my garden and caring for the perennials (who are blooming like crazy just now) is tremendously helpful. I told my neighbor "I garden because it is both cheaper (and prettier) than working with a therapist."
Jim, your note reminds me of a sign on my garden gate. It says, "Garden, because murder is wrong." It makes me chuckle every time I'm out there.
love that!
Thanks for the suggestion - I looked it up and found "Returning from Camino". Will need to pick it up. :) I'm with you "in spirit" in the garden. The other day I was out there smelling the beautiful scent of flowers, listening to the birds, feeling the sunshine on my face and I thought "More of THIS. How do I find a way to get more time out in my garden?!"
I love this post, Nadia. Thank you so much!!
After living out of a backpack for over a month, there is a liberation in realizing we don't need most of the crap we own. We're definitely designed for walking, fresh air, enjoying the restorative power of sleep after a day of exertion, eating good food with fellow pilgrims, and really connecting and finding a new tribe. It's about balance. We weren't designed to live online 24/7.
So true - I just stepped down as CEO of a sustainability NGO after literally 30 years of being caught up in strategy for battles (for the good - but still battles) on multiple fronts all the time with more moneyed and powerful interests (not to mention the ceo-ing part of endless financial pitching and anxieties...
I then 1) drove across country by myself, visiting and reconnecting with old friends, 2) visited with family on the East Coast and in France for weeks, 3) walked the Fisherman's Trail in Portugal for a week with my oldest best friend, and portions of the Camino Portuguese with my loved college roommate, 4) visited the rest of my close family in France for a week - dinners, hikes, picnics with 15+ of us of all ages. Now I have spent 6 weeks at home, catching up with more old friends, and working in my house and gardens, pulling them back from their neglected state (due to all that professional overwork!)
My body has moved out of fight or flight mode, my ability to sleep, cook and eat delicious foods, regulate moods, enjoy every day as a seemingly unlimited space to take up whatever activity I feel drawn to...has burgeoned day by day. As you say - being in nature, doing the tasks of living (e.g chop wood, carry water), walking, connecting with beloveds - feels like the way I as a human am meant to live.
I'm sure I'll engage in political.activism again - the times call for it, my skills are well suited to it, and I have begun dipping a toe in - but this expansion of my ability to live in specific moments, unburdened by the constant need to grasp information, determine next actions, fit personal life into narrow boundaries - feels heavenly, like being truly alive 'as a being , not a doing'.
beautiful
If you go back to political activism, how will you do it differently?
Great question - I don't think the issue has been the political activism so much - the fights are meaningful, rewarding, nourishing. I love the challenge (and payoffs, frankly) of developing successful strategy on the fly and winning victories toward progress on world changing maters. But doing that work, which feeds me, while also holding the responsibility for financial and operational success has been the exhausting part - especially since I am an introvert and do NOT thrive on being in the limelight. I think the issue I confronted is that EVERYTHING in a leadership role in such a situation feels important - because anything could cause your mission to change the world for the better to falter or fail. So pressures that in a CEO role at a normal company would be important but small-bore, in a global sustainability campaign setting are literally critical to the survival of humans and the planet.
Of course that is also self-aggrandizing and impossible to maintain - the world will move forward, younger people will take up the banner and operate in ways that are more relevant to this moment. So my counsel will be helpful, but also only one voice among many - and likely not the most important. That in itself is my hope for this work in future - to provide insight (and some major tactical skills at kneecapping asshole arguments!) but to be able to cede leadership and the anxiety and pressure that comes from feeling SOMUCH responsibility.
Thanks for asking - I need to understand and move forward to a place where activism doesn't just represent anxiety and over-ownership.
I have found much peace in cultivating the habit of single-tasking. I tell myself, constantly, this is what you are doing. Embrace it. And only it. This is what I brought home from the Camino and it has changed everything for me.
When I’m stuck on the hedonic treadmill, rather than try to fix myself or my day, I try one little action. I call a friend, spend 5 minutes sitting in contemplative prayer, pick my socks up off the floor, write one line of a poem, read your substack…then I can say I did something and sometimes one thing leads to another.
Welcome back.
Sean, I first read "welcome back" as you saying it to yourself. As in, pulling yourself away from the unreality of screens to pick up a sock from the floor (which IS real), and saying "welcome home".
I love that! I’m going to start saying it every time I tear myself away from my phone.
Love this, excellent advice 🥰
I’m curious: what else is uncomplicatedly human, something our ancestors also did, that we can add to this list? SLEEP!
i wish i was better at it!
Some things our human ancestors did: sat together around a campfire, told stories that helped define who they were, took direct care of someone when that someone was sick, shared what they had so all could eat and live. And I’m sure there’s much more. More things we humans now rarely, if ever, do.
Christmas 2020 we did a campfire all in our little pods with our down coats and a propane heater in Asheville NC, and for me it was wonderful. We had the normal food we eat at every Christmas. We were together in such a different way and we were all together. It was magical with the campfire!
When I get overwhelmed with life, and can’t get outside because of one reason or another, I make something for someone else - then mail it to them! I’m pretty crafty; and I get my daughter with disabilities involved. Together we talk about, and pray for, the person who will receive our gift! Then off it goes, with a little piece of my heart and her soul! Refreshing!
This is amazing. Great idea. Getting things / cards in the mail is such a special treat.
A few weeks ago I was incredibly overwhelmed and my therapist (what a luxury to be able to access therapy!) asked me to list all the things that made me feel that way. One of the biggest ones was "the news". Then she asked me how I could make it less overwhelming and it was the first time it occurred to me that I could just... not check out all the news all day long.
So ever since then I have installed this app on my phone that makes me take a pause before I can open my most refreshed news sites (and facebook!) and I feel so much less overwhelmed in a 21st century way, since I often decide I don't actually need to see it at that moment. There is still an endless to do list, but I don't feel like I am carrying all the suffering of the whole of humanity anymore and I can actually connect so much more to the people closest to me.
Of course there are days I opt to turn off the app, but after a few hours I can feel the existential dread return. So I try to stick to checking the news once at lunch and once in the evening.
I had burnout from my last full time job, from which I retired. But I find myself inexorably drawn to full-on, all-the-time information flow. And I'm tired. And too much screen time is affecting my eyesight. That's scary. It's like an addiction. I.must.not.be.inactive.for.even.one.minute. It staves off loneliness. I do better when I write by hand. And I do enjoy the company of others, even in silence. And here I am, on screen. Maybe I'll go for a short walk right now. 🤔
do it!
I did! We are having nice weather today.
well... clearly sex is about as uncomplicated as it gets.
agreed. big fan.
Bless you Nadia. On your walk when you see some tall thin grasses, pull gently but firmly on the end, it should come out of the stalk and have a white tip at the end. Just take a bite of that end let the taste take you back to your 11 year old self and enjoy the feeling.🫶
Each night before sleep, sit and stare at the campfire and let your mind wander across the mysteries of the universe. (Or simply, mindlessly, watch the flames dance and the sparks drift upward.) [in other words, no screens before bed! Argggh!]
Such a relatable discourse today and while I am now too old and slightly disable to do long walks, I have many memories of walking the many trails here in New Zealand and the dopamine high that comes with that. As others have commented, I tend to spend too much screen time, too much news time and too much inactive time. It doesn’t help that I have had three weeks of a very heavy cold that kept me house bound and no energy, but I can sing, I can chant and I can go outside and watch the birds in the trees. I can even do a short walk . Now today, we are celebrating Matariki here in New Zealand which is the Maori new year and so I am spending my day with friends which means I won’t watch that debate. Others have posted so many wonderful ideas to fill our ancient selves needs and I applaud all.
I make music. No matter my mood or anxiety level, it lifts me up, particularly if I’m practicing on the organ for Sunday morning.
Your posts are always great, good, poignant, wonderful to read, etc. But this one was particularly so. For me it was specifically pertinent, immediately useful, almost painfully so. I need to spend more time being with humans (and being one). Reading, typing, and doom scrolling all morning tends to make me more of the artificial creature that lives in my head and behind my eyes . . . and only that. I need to get out in the garden more (and earlier in the day). Thank you for being you.
You're so very welcome, Ted. Thank YOU for being here.
Cutting, splitting, stacking, and burning wood for heat. It’s only in winter that I’m truly alive so maybe I am adapted for the Ice Age. Which makes the current climate crisis disturbing not only on a global level but also on a personal one.
great example!