As long as you have a strong mind!

[AdamGT]

I was just reading A story of Awareness - How can a deaf person dance?, a post by @ErmesT , and thought to write this short post about a personal experience I had. Have you heard of Zhang Hong, the blind Chinese mountaineer who just climbed Mt Everest, and from the Nepal side? I know this climb well and believe me it’s by no means an easy task for those with full-eyesight let alone a blind man, just so hard to comprehend! Actually, I think Zhang Hong is the third blind person to climb the highest peak on this planet!!! An amazing feat when you think about it for a moment with all the possible challenges!!!

It was mid-June and somewhere between Geneva and Lyon, I met a blind man on his Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, a long European walk from your home in Europe to Santiago de Compostela. With just under 1,700 km ahead of us I stopped and chatted to him a little. He was an Italian from Aosta, a place in the north-west of Italy. I asked how he was doing. He replied in his Italian accent-poor English along the lines that he was doing well and really excited as he had been planning this journey for years. “Well done,” I replied. Interested, I also asked him what his plan was as quite often Europeans walk the Camino for two weeks then return home and come back next year during their next summer holidays and continue on from where they left off for another two weeks and many years later they finish and get their Compestela (that’s a certificate you get on reaching the end of the Camino at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela). I recall him saying “no matter how long it takes, how good or bad the weather is, or whatever the devil should put in my way, I will walk all the way to Santiago de Compostela and get there before Christmas!” With some 1,700 km to go I thought towards the end of his journey it would very likely be late in the year and by then in European winter, especially around the Pyrenees, it would be extremely tough going and even more incredibly so for a blind person. As I wished him well, Buen Camino which means good road in Spanish (or good path which is taken to mean both physical and spiritual), he retorted with words something along the lines of “As long as you have a strong mind you can complete tasks that many others can’t, Buen Camino.” Quite profound I thought!!

After some 600 km and with badly blistered feet after wearing out one pair of hiking boots, I reached the medieval village of Conques in Southern France. My feet were so bad and without proper replacement hiking boots, I realized that this was the end of my Camino.

I knew that getting medical attention and finding proper replacement hiking boots in a village like this with a population of about 250, was a long shot at best. Well I very quickly discovered that there was no doctor in Conques, there wasn’t even a pharmacy and the nearest hospital was in Decazeville, about 20km from away What to do? The words of that blind Italian from Acosta, ran around and around in my head “As long as you have a strong mind!” and “no matter how long it takes, how good or bad the weather is, or whatever the devil should put in my way, I will walk all the way to Santiago de Compostela”. I was determined to continue!!

I found accommodation at the Abbey Church of Saint Foy run by a small community of brothers of the Premonstratensian order and located in the historic center of the village. Being an abbey it was once part of a monastery where monks lived, prayed and worked. They had a two-bed room in the dormitory however, as the number of dormitory beds were limited, stays during the peak pilgrim times were limited to only one night!! Although in French, this video will give you an appreciation of the Abbey, the village and it’s general “middle of nowhere” location!

20 ans de présence à Conques.mp4

I can’t tell you how so often over the next nearly 3 months while on my Camino how much I thought of that blind man and how inspiring and motivating he was to me. When finally reaching the Cathedral of Santiago and receiving my Compestela, I thought of that blind man and prayed that he was was well and not far behind!

“As long as you have a strong mind you can complete tasks that many others can’t”.

[GigiR]

“where there’s a will, there’s a way” one wise man said @AdamGT

Thank you for sharing!

[AdamGT]

Yes so true @GigiR , it’s just some people seem to have more will than others! How can a blind man have so much will to even consider climbing Mt Everest or walking a journey of close to 2000 km?

[ErmesT]

Beautiful post, @AdamGT , and I agree with you, the strength is in our mind first.

What a lot of people think is that a disabled person should stay at home, and for many is difficult to think that a disable is first of all a person, with the same dreams that we had, and with maybe an higher capacity to challenge himself.

For my mom the goal was to be able to go, alone, to the street market. She was in wheelchair, deft in one side, and blind in the other, and for her reaching the market was an amazing result. Feeling independent and consequently free.

So I have no doubt about the possibility for a blind person to climb Mt. Everest, with the necessary training of course

[Globe_trotter_Ish]

Lovely and inspiring post @AdamGT ! I agree with you… Strength comes from mind… Thanks for sharing this post and lovely image of Mt. Everest !

[SusyDj]

Se vuoi… PUOI fare tutto, perché se credi in Dio… Nulla è impossibile a Dio!

[Sophia_Cambodia]

Ouch @AdamGT that hurts… a wound to remember, isn’t it?

[AdamGT]

Thank you @ErmesT , I’m pleased that you enjoyed it. Oh you are so right! I have seen some disabled persons challenge themselves beyond what many other abled persons would ever think of. Whenever I meet such a person, I never focus on their disability. I talk to them as no different than I would talk to an abled person. I was touched by his phrase, “whatever the devil should put in my way…I will walk all the way and get there before Christmas” which at the time was some 1700 km and 6 months away! and later he touched my soul with his closing remark “As long as you have a strong mind you can…” Indeed yes you can and like you mentioned in the case of your mother, being able to independently go to the shops gives the feeling of independence and they deserve to have that feeling.

It’s experiences like this in life that shape us Interestingly I’ve noticed other Connect Local Guides like @Chuytorres-alc (The road to Santiago) have also walked this Camino. @Giu_DiB has also.

[AdamGT]

Thank you @Globe_trotter_Ish I’m pleased that you also enjoyed this short post. It was certainly an inspiring experience in many ways!

[AdamGT]

It is so true @SusyDj . Sometimes we say it is impossible and I love it when I see the impossible becoming possible.

[AdamGT]

Haha @Sophia_Cambodia it certainly is a wound that I will never forget…my only regret is that I wrote the name of this lovely doctor on a piece of paper that I lost somewhere along the next 1000km or so

[Sophia_Cambodia]

I see, that’s okay @AdamGT

[Giu_DiB]

Hi @AdamGT ,

Thanks for tagging me here. I can confirm that walking the Camino to Santiago de Compostela is such a powerful experience and it has long lasting effects on the pilgrims lives, at least on some of us.

I also met a real pilgrim, many indeed, but this one was the one who changed my experience. He was a Belgian engineer who had left from Belgium, crossed all France and reached Roncisvalle during the same days I had started my journey.

I was impressed by the fact he was travelling without using money and I thought he was a real pilgrim, and I had completely misunderstood the actual meaning of what I was doing. After meeting him I decided I should take inspiration and I limited my budget to 3 euros per day, to buy bread, a source of proteins (usually eggs, canned beans or other legumes), chocolate, and fruit.

Being tied to this rule of 3 euros per day, I had to change my plans accordingly, looking for free accomodation in the hostels which offered to host pilgrims in exchange of some little work, like helping for the dinner preparation. I once slept in the priest’s garden, which I hoed in the morning before leaving, as a sign of appreciation for the hospitality. I slept in abandoned churches, under the stars in my sleeping bag, on a bench in the main square of a small village, even. Never had the impression I was missing anything.

When I started following the inspiration of this Belgian pilgrim, I became a pilgrim myself, I started to connect with other people on the way and my Camino turned into something special. I hope I will find the time to tell you more here on Connect about it soon.

Ultreya!

[AdamGT]

Oh how I love your reply @Giu_DiB for I see we had similar experiences however my budget was a little higher lol. In the beginning it was the usual comfort of staying in pensione/hostels but once I stayed in a Monastery and another time I slept in a local church’s presbytery, both amazing experiences. Another time I slept in the front garden but unlike you, there was an old unused caravan there which was offered to me and was just perfect. Like you, in the morning before leaving, as a token of my appreciation I hoed the old man’s front garden. He didn’t speak any English but was so grateful and gave me a loaf of home backed bread and some tomatoes and a cucumber from his garden; just amazing! There were a couple of other times when I wasn’t able to find anywhere to sleep so like you I slept under the stars, once however I was lucky and found an old unused bus shelter which basically was just an old wooden bench (if I could call t that) maybe 6 x 3 feet and a small tin roof. It rained that night, which was one of only 2 or 3 nights that it rained in the 3 months or so of my journey, so I was lucky that at least it had that old tin roof! Like you I gradually became a ‘pilgrim’ and didn’t really miss anything (well I did miss my electric shaver) but I gained a lot as my Camino turned into that once in a life time, something really special!

Ultreya indeed!

Edited: I was just wondering @Giu_DiB did you start your Camino in Roncisvalle or Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port?

[Giu_DiB]

Hi @AdamGT ,

I am glad you liked my previous comment. There are so many things I’d like to tell about my Camino that a single post won’t be enough.

I started from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, which is considered the beginning of the French Camino.

[AdamGT]

Hi @Giu_DiB

Yes I thought you must have started at beautiful Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, but on first reading your words where you said you met the Belgian engineer at “Roncisvalle during the same days I had started my journey” I thought to ask. And of course, I totally understand just one post isn’t enough to tell the full story, there are just so many stories to tell so I, and I know many others here, eagerly look forward to reading your story.

[Giu_DiB]

Hi @AdamGT ,

True, so many memories and so many stories to tell! The last photo you shared reminded me of the night I spent in a tent that was kindly offered to pilgrims by a bar owner in the little green area next to his business. There I was also invited to a special beer (Peregrina means pilgrim in Spanish) by a sister pilgrim named Maria, who wrote “Buen Camino, Pepe” on it.

[Chuytorres-alc]

@AdamGT me encantó tu publicación.
La frase de aquella persona debemos tenerla todos los días en nuestra cabeza al comenzar el día. pura motivación para mantenernos fuertes y con buena actitud.
Además tu historia es increíble, hacer 1700 km… se me hace sorprendente, ya que yo solo hice 100 y así fue un reto.
Gracias por habermela recomendado, ha sido un placer leerte.
saludos desde México.

[AdamGT]

Thanks for reading my post about this one story out of the many stories in such a long Camino @Chuytorres-alc . Yes it truly was a great motivating experience so early in the journey. In fact, it happened at the perfect time because it wasn’t long after meeting this blind man, when about 300 km further on we reached a place called Le Puy en Velay that my lady and I came very, very close to giving up. Perhaps that’s a story for another post. I think whether you do 100 km or 1000+ km the experiences and what you get out of such Caminos are generally the same…they just take longer, you visit more places, meet more people, and have more of these beautiful experiences.

Ultreya