I Teach Mindfulness. The Camino Reminded Me I Need Practice

Do you ever feel like you’re missing being in your life because you’re so afraid of missing out?

I spent my birthday week walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain, and that question wouldn’t leave me alone.

I went there seeking presence. Space. A walking meditation. The kind of quiet that makes you remember what your own thoughts sound like. And what I found instead was a masterclass in how hard it actually is to be present - even when you’ve traveled thousands of miles specifically for that purpose.

Lesson 1: The Lunch Dilemma 

The first day, I planned everything that morning - where we’d stop for lunch, how fast we needed to walk, and what time we’d arrive. He called it “New York mode.”

But I’d also told myself this walk was going to be a meditation. No hurrying. Be present. Go with the flow.

Except… I was really looking forward to that lunch (it was a special place with amazing reviews!)

The irony that I’m a meditation teacher is not lost on me.

And there it was - the tension so many of us live with every single day:

How do you hold goals AND stay present?

Because we need both, right? Goals give us direction. They motivate us. They help us move forward. But when we’re only focused on the destination, we miss everything along the way.

Think about how many goals you set for yourself in a single day. The meetings you need to get through. The emails you need to answer. The tasks you need to check off. The next thing, and the next thing, and the next thing.

How often are you racing toward what’s next instead of being HERE in your life?

I watched myself do this on the Camino. Beautiful vineyard? Glance, keep walking, lunch is waiting. Interesting path? Maybe later, we’re on a schedule. My body is saying slow down? Just a little further, we have a plan.

And I realized: I’m missing my life because I’m so afraid of missing out on… what exactly? A lunch reservation?

The Camino taught me that maybe it’s not about choosing between goals and presence. Maybe it’s about holding both - lightly.

Having a destination without being enslaved to it.

Pursuing your goals without missing your life along the way.

(The next day? We didn’t plan lunch. Or the day after that either, and yet we still ate well thank you Spain!.)

Lesson 2: The Loud Italians 

A few days in, I found my rhythm. Meandering along through Spanish countryside, doing my meditation thing, finally feeling that presence I’d been seeking.

And then… a loud Italian couple appeared behind us. And when I say loud, I mean REALLY loud.

One of the women did NOT STOP TALKING. Like not a pause for 30 minutes.

My immediate reaction? Irritation.

There goes my peaceful moment.

But here’s what hit me - and what I teach my clients every day:

The irritations ARE the practice.

Because in real life, peace doesn’t arrive perfectly packaged. There’s always noise. Interruptions. Things that pull us out of the moment.

The loud conversation behind you.
The meeting that runs long.
The email that lands wrong.
The person who cuts you off in traffic.

And I know from years of practice that these are the teaching moments. When we can look at our irritation and be like, “Well, I can stay irritated or I can be with what is happening now, and let myself feel it so I can get to the other side quicker.”

Because if we can’t sit with that discomfort - if we immediately resist it or try to fix it - our minds just keep spinning. The stress compounds. And I would have ended up pissed off by strangers when I was in a beautiful place doing something I’d looked forward to for years.

The discomfort isn’t the problem. Our resistance to it is.

What These Two Lessons Have in Common 

At first, these seemed like separate challenges. One about planning vs. spontaneity. One about peace vs. irritation.

But they’re actually the same lesson:

Presence isn’t about controlling conditions. It’s about showing up for what is.

Whether that’s letting go of rigid goals so you can actually experience the journey, or sitting with discomfort instead of fighting against it.

Both require the same thing: releasing our grip on how we think things should be and meeting life as it actually is.

The planned lunch and the loud Italians were both invitations to practice the same skill - being HERE, even when HERE isn’t what I expected or wanted.

That’s the work. Not creating perfect conditions for presence, but being present WITH imperfect conditions. Because of course much as we want perfect, life never is.

Your Turn 

So I’m curious:

Where do you get stuck?

Is it the goals piece - racing toward the next thing and missing your actual life along the way?

Or is it the irritations - letting small disruptions derail your entire day?

Or maybe, it’s both?

What would change if you could hold your goals a little more lightly AND sit with discomfort a little more easily?

Not someday. This week. Today.

What’s one small thing you could practice?