The first post of this blog was written in 2015 before my Camino (what follows is that post):
I have decided to attempt a 6 week sabbatical by walking in Spain the Camino De Santiago, French route, in September of 2015. It has been years since I have taken even a week long vacation, so a sabbatical of that length is a daunting mental challenge.
A Sabbatical is a literal ceasing or resting from work. The Hebrew root is Shabbat, which means refraining from work activities, most often associated with observance of the Sabbath. A Shabbat is to create the time in life to allow contemplation on aspects of life, the spiritual, the mental and the physical. I believe the spiritual cornerstones of life will be enriched by time not focused on work but focused on what God really wants from my life. I think the mental basis of my life will be broadened as I spend time on a Sabbatical focused on things other than the earthly anchors that keep us all weighted down. Also, I have to believe the physical aspects of life will be strengthened by using my 2 feet to traipse across a country in a foreign land.
Stay tuned to find out if I truly can take a Shabbat in my life and do what I always challenged my daughters to do in their college years, “backpack across Europe and gain a broader perspective on this world and your life in it”.
…..David has just reached the end of his backpacking sabbatical. It was a great experience and also a joy to keep everyone updated and to share the experience through this blog. Your can review the daily posts with pictures anytime. Also, I will add as I have time to process what the Sabbatical meant.