In the fall of 2012, I embarked on an adventure in Spain to walk 500 miles on the Camino de Santiago.  Like every other journey in my life, I departed without any expectations and tried to let the trip unfold in a natural manner.  I had taken many trips before and many after but for some reason, the walk in 2012 seemed to be a Mount Everest experience.  It was a life bending trip and I have completely enjoyed every additional step on my fresh and altered path.

Many people think that walking the Camino ends when arriving at the cathedral in Santiago.  A major lesson in my life is that there is never the proverbial ending and instead; we accumulate experience that influences our next step.  There are two ways to take the beauty out of the current step.  One is to waste time evaluating the last one and the other is to fantasize about what may happen on the next one.

I have followed my own footprints back to the banks of Mother Ganga in Rishikesh India and the vast jungles of Nosara Costa Rica.  While the sunsets are amazing and the cuisine divine, the real attractions are the friendships accumulated during the time on the ground.  Spending time in foreign lands has reinforced my belief of how similar we all are as human beings.  Our problems with relationships, finances, health, and mortality are all universal, as are the common denominators that unlock our enjoyment of happiness.  I appreciate your friendship.

This is the 291st installment in this blog series.  I try to keep this fresh and free flowing.  For the past few months, writing these posts feels like a forced endeavor and in need of some rest.   For that reason, I have decided to sunset this blog for an indefinite period of time.

Thank you for letting me into your hearts and minds to share my stories during the past seven years.