I recently read a book called “I’ll Push You“ written by two amazing friends, Justin Skeesuck and Patrick Gray. Years ago Justin developed A progressive neurologic degenerative condition that now has made him effectively a quadriplegic. They’ve been friends since they were young children and they have done many travels over the years. A few years ago, Justin saw a Rick Steves travel special on television about the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail in France and Spain. He got excited about it even though he knew his disability would make it quite challenging. The next time he saw Patrick he showed him the video of the Rick Steves program that he had recorded and when it was finished he asked him what he thought about that for a buddy trip. Patrick was quiet for a long time and then he looked at Justin and simply said, “I’ll push you.“ And that was the beginning of what became an amazing journey for the two of them. With great effort, they completed all 500 miles of the pilgrimage trail, they created a documentary, they wrote a book and they created a business all from the lessons that were gleaned from this Journey!
For obvious reasons their journey has deeply inspired me! It’s a story of hope and it’s the story of teamwork and it’s a story of trust and faith. This inspiration has led me to setting a goal to do part of the Camino myself with friends and family supporting me. my partner Beth, has walked approximately 120 miles of this pilgrimage trail on three separate occasions. It has been a powerful experience for her emotionally and spiritually. The past two times she has walked part of the trail, she has lead a small group of women on a grief focused journey. These two inspirations have come together for me and I already have a small handful of people who want to come with me and support me on this journey! People have been walking this trail for hundreds of years and I have learned there are many stories of emotional and physical and spiritual healing.
My goal is to build my business enough so that I can pay for this trip for myself out of my own money that I have earned instead of money from donations. Justin and Patrick’s trip is a potent reminder to focus on the why and not the how! My engineering brain off and gets lost in the details of how to make something happen, even though I know from past experience says the magic, the real magic happens when I set my sights of the positive aspects of why I want to do something and also how It will feel when I do.
For obvious reasons their journey has deeply inspired me! It’s a story of hope and it’s the story of teamwork and it’s a story of trust and faith. This inspiration has led me to setting a goal to do part of the Camino myself with friends and family supporting me. my partner Beth, has walked approximately 120 miles of this pilgrimage trail on three separate occasions. It has been a powerful experience for her emotionally and spiritually. The past two times she has walked part of the trail, she has lead a small group of women on a grief focused journey. These two inspirations have come together for me and I already have a small handful of people who want to come with me and support me on this journey! People have been walking this trail for hundreds of years and I have learned there are many stories of emotional and physical and spiritual healing.
My goal is to build my business enough so that I can pay for this trip for myself out of my own money that I have earned instead of money from donations. Justin and Patrick’s trip is a potent reminder to focus on the why and not the how! My engineering brain off and gets lost in the details of how to make something happen, even though I know from past experience says the magic, the real magic happens when I set my sights of the positive aspects of why I want to do something and also how It will feel when I do.