The truth about boots and life

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The truth about boots and life
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." — Marcus Aurelius

After almost three months of researching and trying on many different boots, and after purchasing then returning three pairs of boots that I thought were "the ones" only to discover they weren’t, my boot hunt has finally come to an end.

I have spent hours online searching for boots, reading reviews by experts and recommendations by pilgrims and hikers in various forums. Some people swear that leather boots are the only ones to buy. Some say forget boots and wear runners. Others suggest sports sandals are just fine. One person claims that boot X is "the best" while another says boot Y is.

I have spent many hours in different shops trying on boots, stomping down ramps and steps to see if my toes touch the ends; walking around with a weighted pack on my back to test the sole's thickness and shock absorption. At first boot X seems like the perfect boot until its heaviness and rigidity makes my feet ache and throb so I move on to boot Y but it is too thickly padded around the top and rubs and irritates my ankles. I’ve also spent hours at home wearing newly purchased boots as I cook dinner or do washing or walk laps of the dining room to see how they feel on my feet for an extended period of time. 

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Why walk thousands of kilometres at 4 km/h? Watch my Via Francigena video to see why

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Why walk thousands of kilometres at 4 km/h? Watch my Via Francigena video to see why
"But in every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” — John Muir

Back in my career-focused days, I rarely paid attention to the natural world around me. I spent a lot of time indoors: in the office, in airports, in shopping centres, in the lounge room watching television. I rushed from place to place not seeing anything but the next appointment or event ahead of me. In my rushing, I was not only disconnected from the nature of the world around me but also from myself.

Then, I went to Thailand on my 12-month sabbatical where my life instantly slowed down. On my first night in Phuket, I experienced this sunset...

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The happiness of boot hunting

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The happiness of boot hunting
When women are depressed, they eat or go shopping. Men invade another country. It's a whole different way of thinking. — Elayne Boosler

Once upon a time in what seems another lifetime ago, I used to spend almost every weekend at Melbourne's fashion capital — Chadstone shopping centre, spending a lot of money buying lots of clothes and shoes. Almost every weekend. Seriously. I didn’t even really like shopping but still I went every weekend and spent a lot of money that I often felt guilty about. 

What I didn’t consciously understand at the time was that I was trying to fix everything that was wrong in my inner world by making it look all shiny and perfect on the outside.

The truth was that I was desperately unhappy – in my relationship with my long-term boyfriend, in my career and within myself. And instead of facing what was really going on, I distracted myself by shopping for clothes to mask my loneliness, depression and misery with all things shiny and new.

In the middle of my spiritual crisis/awakening, I found the courage to walk away from what was no longer serving me – my relationship, my career and even my shopping – to follow my heart out into the world on a twelve month adventure that became a way of life.

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Introducing my first eBook...and it's FREE

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Introducing my first eBook...and it's FREE

Getting lost and finding my way are two things I know intimately.

Around seven years ago, I experienced a spiritual crisis as the perfect and safe life I created unravelled around me. Eventually, I took a leap of faith, leaving the life I knew behind to follow my heart out into the world to answer a simple but difficult question: what do I want to do with my life that will bring me alive everyday using my unique gifts to make a difference in the world?

That leap of faith eventually led me to discover pilgrimage and the adventure of walking through foreign landscapes alone to a holy destination.

As I walked the Via Francigena, I got lost, a lot, and I cried a lot too. But I always found my way and I learned how to embrace being lost.

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What are the possibilities?

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What are the possibilities?
"If you believe it will work out, you’ll see opportunities. If you believe it won’t, you will see obstacles." — Wayne Dyer

Since early November, I have been exploring the way I might walk from Rome to Jerusalem. Whilst I’m not planning an exact daily route — that will take care of itself when I start walking — I just want a reasonably accurate estimate of how many days it might take me to walk the whole way to know if what I am planning is feasible, especially for the European Schengen countries where I am restricted to staying 90 days stay in a 6-month period.

I have been feeling very excited about the possibility of starting my pilgrimage from my dear friend Ina’s house who lives near Augsburg, Germany and following the Via Romea Germancia to Rome then continuing to Jerusalem as originally planned. It sounded great in theory until I started getting into the detail and asking questions then I hit major roadblocks.

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It’s how we travel that matters

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It’s how we travel that matters

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." — Abraham Lincoln

Last Sunday, a man who I worked with closely for seven years – a colleague, a mentor, a friend – passed away, suffering a cardiac arrest in hospital as he was recovering from a stomach bypass operation.

The news was unexpected. At first I was filled with disbelief and shock. You see Max was larger than life. He was a people person through and through. He loved telling stories, very long ones so that you would find yourself walking out of his office two hours later when you only walked in to ask a quick question.

He made time for everyone, to listen, to help them and offer sage advice. He also made time to serve his community. Max was the co-founder of an amazing business; a longtime member of Rotary and past President; a supporter of the Austin Hospital and The Olivia Newton John Cancer and Wellness Centre. These are just few of his contributions to this world.

I think it is because of his great love for people, and his tireless and endless service in this world, it seemed like he would go on forever but maybe his physical heart couldn’t contain the enormous amount of love that was in there any longer.

Once the shock passed, grief rolled in on overwhelming waves. At first the strength of my reaction seemed strange to me. I hadn’t seen Max in just over 18 months — not since his original business partner and my very dear friend, Lynne retired. And I hadn’t seen him often since I left Snowball 5 ½ years ago as I spent a lot of that time overseas.

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The long or short of it: which way would you walk?

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The long or short of it: which way would you walk?
"Map out your future – but do it in pencil. The road ahead is as long as you make it. Make it worth the trip." — Jon Bon Jovi

Last week a fellow pilgrim referred me to this blog written by an American lady by the name of Ann who walked from Santiago de Compostela to Jerusalem via Northern Africa in 2011/12. Ann has walked around 8 pilgrim routes with her longest journey being 11 months. She walks less known routes like the southern roads to Mexico and the Way of Saint Andrew from the Ukraine to Patras in Greece - routes I have never heard of.

What is really incredible about her is how she walks:

  • Alone;
  • Without money - or a phone - or GPS;
  • Using maps she finds along the way and asking locals for directions;
  • Carrying only 8 kilograms on her back;
  • And a marathon almost every day!

 Her stories and her way of walking captivated me so I read all of her blog over the last week and it has given me a lot to consider:

  • How do I choose to walk this time? 
  • What boundaries within myself can I challenge? 
  • What can I embrace? 
  • What can I let go of? 
  • What are the possibilities?
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