---

A journey of awareness

Mastering the art of vitality has been a journey of awareness for me, and this is how it started. A few years ago, I removed the “digital validation machine” that I kept under my dressing table. Every morning, when I got up, I visited that “digital validation machine” and  watched the numbers change. They grew higher and higher, and my eyes got rounder and rounder. One day, when I realized that I was on self-torture mode and had become obsessed, I took out the battery and put the scale away. I began to use my clothes as a “weighing scale.” 

I continued to move as I always had, became more aware of what I was putting in my mouth, but the changes were there to stay. I have never weighed much, but after menopause, I experienced how my body was becoming  more voluptuous. I could see the difference when I looked at old photos or compared myself to younger women. 

“The only stable thing in life is change” has been said by many wise men & women, and I guess I was entering my wise phase. I noticed the changes more consciously. My reflection in the mirror and my inner landscape reminded me that I had reached what folklorist Robert Graves called the third stage of a woman’s life —the crone. I saw two options in front of me: 

1. I could walk around and be miserable because the earth’s gravity had started to take effect on my body.

2. I could accept that I had entered the crone phase. I could open up for myself and life differently than before, or as Linda E. Savage, Ph.D. writes:

“The developmental mission of the Crone Stage is to share wisdom. In Neolithic times, Crone women were the tribal matriarchs. Their heightened awareness of human nature provided great insight and they were the source of wise counsel for important decisions. Spiritually, this is the Mastery phase. The wise woman teaches knowledge from her skills and life experience. It is a time to reach into her spiritual depths, tap into her powers of intuition and find meaning in her visions from the dream world.”

I walked my doubts away

In the autumn of 2023, I walked my doubts away. I did that by fulfilling a long-standing dream. A dream that had taken shape after my nine year old son and I, walked the last 150 kilometres of the Santiago de Compostela Pilgrimage Route. Paulo Coelho’s book “The Pilgrim” planted the seed of inspiration for that walk, and ever since 2010, I have wanted to walk one of the Santiago pilgrim routes. 

Before I started to walk, my doubts were again there, running their show. 

“Will I be able to walk that far? Can I carry my luggage and walk daily over such a long period? Will I….? Can I….?”

While the thoughts were playing in the background of my head, I prepared myself by listening to podcasts, among other things. What I noted was a common mantra that everyone spoke of, “taking one step and one day at a time.”

I took the mantra to my starting point in Lisbon, and carried it from there on. By making it part of my daily attitude, I carried out a hike of over 860 kilometers. That mantra helped me overcome each seemingly impossible kilometer. One step and day at a time became the core of my incredible adventure. It was an escapade I could describe from many different angles, but for now, I wish to focus on those who inspired me most and impressed me beyond words–the fit 70-year-olds who walked the Camino. Some of them had even walked several of the routes. 

I was lucky to walk with and get to know some of them. Like the two friendly Canadian men. The deep, calm, and super fit Gus and Rino, the fantastic storyteller. Compared to those two gentlemen, I felt like an antique.

The secret to staying in good shape

I felt the same when I walked with a super-dynamic Frenchman for some days. He had worked as a helicopter pilot in the French military and had walked many routes to Santiago after retiring. Celebrating his 70th birthday in Porto, I asked him about his secret to staying in such good shape and his vitality.

“Be a good listener, smile, be of service to others and move,” he replied.

An answer and an approach to life that I could easily resonate with and practice in daily life. Movement was for sure an essential part of the Camino, and with every step, I conjured my doubts away. Being on the Camino also worked wonders. I ate what I usually don’t allow myself to eat, but despite that, I felt beautiful, full of joy and vitality. I was not trying to fix my body by forcing the change to happen. There I was, walking and not overthinking. No hang-ups  running the show. Through being in my proper element, movement, I discovered my key to vitality. It is about living out my element, doing what brings me joy and pleasure in everyday life, and letting go of all the thinking or overthinking. 

I would like to hear your perspective on what you regard as the key to vitality.

---

Thank you for taking the time to visit Wise and Shine and reading this post. If you have not already subscribed to Wise and Shine, you can do it here. You can also follow me on my blog, Instagram or Spotify ( Movement Coach Parisa)