The Art of Letting Go
Somewhere along the Camino Frances, you will start noticing the stones. Little piles of them. Big piles of them. Balanced on fences, heaped at trail markers, stacked at crosses. And guess what, they are not random.
This is one of the Camino’s oldest and most soulful traditions. Many pilgrims bring a stone from home – something small enough to fit in a pocket, heavy enough to remind you it’s there. It represents whatever you are carrying in your heart. A regret. A grief. A fear. All that burden you have been carrying around long before you ever planned your Camino.
Then, when you reach a place that feels right – for most pilgrims that’s Cruz de Ferro, the ancient iron cross that has been collecting stones (and tears) for centuries – you put it down. You leave it there. You walk away without it.
Simple? Yes. Silly? Maybe. Liberating – oh, yes!
Whether you bring a stone from home or pick one up along the way, the tradition is the same: you arrive at that moment carrying something, and you choose to leave it behind.
(I have my own Cruz de Ferro story. Of course I do. You can read it here.)