I’ve recently returned from spending a few days walking the Welsh Coastal Path in Pembrokeshire, as part of my training for walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela next month.

At the beginning of each day I would set the goal of where I wanted to get to and had a reasonable idea with my map of how long it would take me to get there. 

But not everything went according to plan.  The weather was variable and wind and rain affected my mood.  I hadn’t also taken account of the twists and turns of the path as it followed the contours of the coast.  At times I could see the destination which was encouraging. However, I soon learnt that the coast was not straight and detours inland to cross inlets or go round hidden coves were frequent. 

After a while I gave up with the map as it was making me think about the next stage and how far away I was from the finish.  I was following the coast – as long as it was always on my left I couldn’t  go far wrong!  And if I did then I would be able to find my way back pretty easily.  Trusting my judgement and intuition was liberating.  I no longer was thinking about the end. I focused more on the present, the beautiful scenery surrounding me and being curious about what might be round the next bend, rather than being annoyed that it was going to take longer to reach the final destination. 

It made me realise that we can often get too focused on the goal and the outcome, and achieving it in the quickest way possible, getting frustrated when we’re not making progress as fast as we might like.  It’s worth considering that the journey is just as important as the destination.  By living in the present we can notice so much more, catch our thoughts and analyse them in the moment, or make a note to do so later.  Journeys are not linear and we can’t always go at the same pace.   Discarding the map occasionally might mean that we might take the odd wrong turning down a cul-de-sac.  However, it may open up to something beautiful that we would have never discovered otherwise. 

Which brings me back to the pilgrimage route of the Camino – which translated means “The Way” and the purpose of a pilgrimage to go on an outward and inward journey of discovery.  As such the journey is just as important, if not more so, than the destination.