Every year my mom does a 25 km pilgrimage, in thanks of the many good (and sometimes bad) things that happen in her life. My mother is a religious person, not one of those super strict types but religious nonetheless. Growing up we went to church every weekend, we laid our shoes out for Jesus on Christmas Eve (this is a tradition in Portugal lol) and we were always, always taught to say our prayers before bed.
As the years have gone by my views of the catholic church has changed greatly and as a result I no longer go to church every weekend. Even though my beliefs in the church have shifted I am still a very spiritual person, I pray every night, I believe in God and although I don't go to church frequently I will still go for special events (weddings,baptisms etc.).
So, when my mom said she was doing her pilgrimage on Saturday I decided to join her. In case you're wondering what a pilgrimage is, it's a journey of moral or spiritual significance. It is usually a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith.
Over the last few months my mental health has been very up and down, I truly believe that the worst of it is finally over (fingers crossed) and I dedicated my own pilgrimage to that (among other things).
This walk was by far one of the most challenging things I have ever done. I workout almost everyday, so I am a very active person and this walk was seriously tough. 25 kilometers in rain, wind and cold weather is no joke. At no point did I want to quit though, every time I started to feel a little pain I just kept reminding myself why I was doing this and it really worked.
Since I do workout frequently, I was curious to see how many calories I would burn during the walk. I can openly admit that I did not eat the healthiest meals the entire walk but honestly it seemed like there was a hole in my stomach because I was so hungry the ENTIRE walk, the rest of my night and the next day afterwards haha.
I am so happy and proud that I did it and am already planning to join her next year, I've even recruited Brent to do it with us (he is 100% atheist). Doing things that are so physically challenging and accomplishing them gives you such a sense of strength and determination. The body is an amazing thing.
Happy Monday friends and I hope that you have a lovely week!