The dreaded "What if...."s

By far the biggest challenge for me in walking my first Camino, was just making it to the start of my walk! Having been someone who avoids uncertainty, and always likes to be in control, the act of going to a foreign country, to walk 900kms without a word of their language or even a map, was terrifying.  As before, this time I am constantly plagued by “What if …..” questions. Initially, I try to control these by reading and research, soaking up every shred of information I can find. However, this proves to be a double-edged sword! While the information is useful, reading others experiences only raises new fears of unexpected events. The only way I can handle this is to push these thoughts to one side, and to try to accept that I am able to handle anything that may arise. This process was not helped by reading that a woman who had prepared everything to the n^th degree, asked an experienced pilgrim if she had covered everything, and for his blessing. He responded “ Madam, I will pray that everything does not go according to plan”! That felt like throwing fuel on a fire, and was definitely not what she, nor I, wanted to hear.
However, as this is all part of the challenge of moving outside my comfort zone, I try to embrace it as part of my Camino!