The Way & AT Trail

I watched the movie The Way recently and I was utterly shocked at the connections of spiritual elements. The movie is about a father who loses his son in a set of mountains on the Camino de Santiago trail. The father embarks on a personal journey on the Camino to feel connected with his son once again. Along the journey, the father meets several people, all hiking for different reasons. Most of them were hiking to get some sort of relief from life, to rediscover themselves, or find purpose. Much has been said about journeys and the spiritual aspects of pilgrimages. Two summers ago, I embarked on the Appalachian Trail as part of a class for CNU (Kip was the teacher). Along the way, many of the lectures pertained to pilgrimages and journeys and their connection to religion. So when I was watching this movie, I was blown away with the parallels I could draw between my journey on the Appalachian Trail and the group of people that embarked on the Camino. The experiences you learn and the personal growth you go under when you embark on journey's when placed outside of your comfort zone are profound. I really enjoyed the movie and enjoyed my experience even more. 

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