Coming to a Crossroad

Hey there folks,

So my time at my current Wwoof site, Les Tremblais, is coming to a close within two days and a wake up. It has been a most enlightening and delightful detour of sorts, one I hadn’t planned on undertaking, yet I am ever so grateful and thankful I decided to pursue this thread along the Way. By mere chance and polite conversation, I was turned on to the joys of Wwoofing and here I’ve been – for two weeks – working in an idyllic – yet difficult – lifestyle.

Oh, snap. Two sets of dashes one right after the other. Mmm, my grammar is strong tonight, son. Tangent; forgive me. (Bitchin’ use of the semicolon though, no?)

What then, one might wonder, are you up to next, you weirdo wandering Gypsy-type? Well, dear reader, that’s where you’ll find this monkey at a crossroads. Not a difficult one, mind you, but one worth mentioning for those curious as to my machinations. After all, I cannot simply just post photos of pretty landscapes and slaughtered animals can I?

I have many reasons for making this trip; many of them are personal and none of your damned business. My reasoning for bludgeoning my feet on a daily basis and roughing it on farms aside,  my ultimate goal is to once more sojourn to Santiago before returning home. I don’t care much for this holy city; it’s merely the physical proposed stopping point for an intense philosophical and emotional adventure. Mind you, this adventure takes many forms and variations throughout my lifetime – the physical aspect of trekking across Europe is the latest format.

Then what in blazes are you going on about? I hear my English readers saying aloud to their cuppa.

Forsooth, I have grown quite fond of Wwoofing. It is an incredible way to see foreign lands and their inhabitants, to embrace local cultures and customs, to really feel part of something far grander than yourself. The people you meet, both Wwoofers and hosts, are very unique and inspiring individuals: the couple who have spent 7 months abroad in various countries simply to learn, the farmer couple working yet another year on their small plot, the strangers in foreign lands who know neither lingo nor comrades yet tackle the challenge head-on. Truly, folks, something worth your perusal.

Yet Wwoofing is not the reason I came here to begin with. Yes, it has been a great detour, but it remains a detour nonetheless for I cannot ignore any longer the call of the Way. My crossroad.

It is something, folks, to put one foot in front of the other, day after day, and make your way towards a goal – whatever goal you might have. The people walking the Way are very similar to Wwoofers for they each want something out of their experience; they simply differ in how they go about achieving it. For myself, after having completed my first Camino back in 2014, the call to return has been irresistible. Whatever your reason for walking, and we all have one, you are right in pursuing it. Never forget that; never forget why you walk.

And that’s why I’m here today, making plans in this cozy farmhouse for the next leg of my journey, to continue the path of the Seeker: I aim for Mont-St-Michel to keep the Way going. Yes, Wwoofing for these past two weeks has been something I will cherish forever, but the time has come to continue my purpose. There is an entire world out there, one I wish to explore, and I cannot rightfully do so by staying put. I must, as Dory would say, just keep swimming.

And so comrades, I urge you to arrive at your own crossroads, to seize the detour, to embrace the uncertainty, and to never forget why you were at the crossroad in the first place. One foot in front of the other, and not one step back.