Preparing for the Camino: Learning to Let Go

As I prepare for another Camino, I’m discovering that the greatest challenge might not be the kilometres ahead, but learning to leave behind the responsibilities of everyday life.

The Camino Is Calling Again

On 3 November, I’ll be heading to Portugal with my good friend Ron to begin another Camino adventure. This time, we’re planning something a little different.

We’ll start in Porto, following the inland Portuguese Camino to Santiago de Compostela before continuing to Muxía and Finisterre , two beautiful destinations on the Galician coast. From there, we’ll return to Porto to meet up with some other friends, and together we’ll walk the Portuguese Coastal Camino to Santiago.

It’s an ambitious journey, but one I’m really looking forward to. There’s something about the simplicity of walking each day, carrying everything you need on your back, that I find incredibly liberating.

However, before I can enjoy that freedom, there’s quite a bit to organise.

Preparing to Leave Splash Behind

One of my biggest challenges isn’t preparing physically for the Camino. It’s preparing to leave Splash Colour Imaging in the hands of my employees while I’m away.

Having recently taken full ownership of Splash, I feel an even greater sense of responsibility for the business and everyone who works there. After more than twenty years of being involved in its day-to-day operations, stepping away doesn’t come naturally.

My biggest worry is that something might go wrong while I’m away, and I won’t be there to resolve it. Running a business means dealing with unexpected problems, often requiring quick decisions. I’ve become accustomed to being the person who steps in when something needs sorting out.

There’s a temptation to anticipate every possible problem before leaving, making sure jobs are organised, responsibilities delegated, and everyone knows what they’re doing. But the reality is that I can’t prepare for every eventuality.

I have capable people working alongside me, and perhaps this is as much an opportunity for them to grow in confidence as it is for me to learn to trust them.

Learning to Trust and Let Go

One of the lessons the Camino continually teaches me is that I’m not always in control, nor do I need to be.

When you’re walking, you learn to take each day as it comes. You can’t control the weather, the terrain, or the unexpected challenges along the way. You simply prepare as best you can, trust the journey, and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Perhaps that’s precisely what I need to learn in my business life.

If Splash is going to continue growing, I need to become more comfortable with delegating responsibility and allowing others the opportunity to make decisions, solve problems, and develop their own leadership abilities.

After all, building a successful business shouldn’t mean making myself indispensable to every decision. A business that can function well without its owner constantly present is surely a healthier business in the long run.

Making Room for God

There’s also a spiritual dimension to this journey.

The Camino has always been a place where I’ve found space to listen, reflect, and reconnect with God. Away from the noise and demands of everyday life, things often become clearer.

St Ignatius encouraged us to recognise where God is moving in our lives, particularly through moments of consolation and desolation.

Perhaps the anxiety I’m feeling about leaving Splash is something worth taking onto the Camino rather than something I need to resolve completely before departing.

I suspect there’s a lesson here about trust, surrender, and recognising that the weight of responsibility doesn’t always have to rest entirely on my shoulders.

Trusting God doesn’t mean abandoning my responsibilities. It means doing what I reasonably can and accepting that some things will always remain beyond my control.

One Step at a Time

For now, there are still plenty of things to organise, both at Splash and for the journey itself.

I’m excited about the walking, the friendships, the conversations, and the quiet moments that inevitably come with spending weeks on the Camino. I’m particularly looking forward to reaching Finisterre and Muxía, where the vast Atlantic Ocean provides a beautiful reminder of just how small our everyday worries can be.

But I’m also aware that this journey might be as much about what I leave behind as where I’m going.

Perhaps the first step of this Camino isn’t leaving Porto. It’s learning to let go before I leave Sydney.