The Camino Means Freedom
The Camino Means Freedom
by Kurt Fauser | Keller, TX
Ten years ago, my wife and I felt like the weight of the world was upon us. Our small business was a burden and the long hours were killing us. We were miserable, burned out, and on the verge of breakdown. How were we going to get out of this hellhole?
Thirteen years earlier, we had opened our business confronted with negatives: unachievable contractual agreements, bad goodwill, high turnover, and huge debt burden. We sought legal advice, and were told bankruptcy was our only option. We were too hard-headed to give up that easily! We found a way to make it work successfully, but at a cost to our relationship, sanity, and freedom.
I kept myself going through the stories told by our customers of their travels. We dreamed of someday being free to travel and enjoy life again. Saturday nights were our only chance to relax. Netflix was becoming a good source of entertainment back then, so we would often catch a show to escape. For weeks, I would pass a movie titled The Way. We finally gave it a look and little did we know it would offer the key to our new future. We watched intently and concluded at the end that we had to go!
The timing could not have been more perfect. Coincidentally, our daughter was living in Madrid at the time. She had never seen The Way or heard of the Camino, but after watching the movie, she liked the idea (though wasn’t convinced about walking 500 miles). Still, the seed was planted, and we could now see the clear path forward! We met with our advisers who confirmed we could afford to sell our business and retire. We worked out all the details and quickly became retirees. We were now totally stress free and able to do whatever we wanted! We now had free time available for planning our Camino adventures.
By the time we arrived in Madrid to embark on our Camino, our daughter had committed to walking the whole French Way. Her Spanish and tech skills are excellent which allowed us to truly enjoy the moment. Our Camino was such a wonderful immersive experience. Each step taken was a reminder of the freedom felt from unloading all the baggage we once carried. We could not stop smiling and feeling the joy even on the long climbs or the hot Meseta afternoons. The Camino taught us to travel light, enjoy the moment, and smell the roses.
