Pauline, on the road to life and to Compostela
At 33 years old, Pauline Wald defines herself today above all as a traveler of the Worlds, but she spent the first part of her life following the highway to success.
After a prep and a business school, she started working in the banking sector in Paris. Despite this royal road which promised her a great "career", after 3-4 years, she wondered about the meaning of her life. As she confides to me, on paper, she had “everything” to be happy according to the criteria of well-meaning society, but deep down she had the feeling of slowly dying out.
To rediscover her inner flame, in 2013 she decided to resume studying psychology at a distance, then to take a sabbatical year to travel the world. During her various trips to India, New Zealand, Mexico and Peru, she went in search of answers by questioning all the inspiring people she met along the way, by asking them all the existential but essential questions. that she had already asked: "How to stay healthy? ", " What is happiness ? "," What message would you leave your young you? ", " What is the meaning of life ? ".
During our interview, the first question that I in turn wanted to ask him is what is his dream today? Before answering me, Pauline lifts her head in the air and then answers me with a smile: “this is precisely what I am most often asked when I lead a conference. This was asked of me in particular during the last screening evening of my film “Paths of Life, Walking towards its Essential.” If you had asked me what my dream was 10 years ago, I would have told you that it's having a good, well-paid job, getting married, having children, buying real estate etc ... I would have answered very automatically, without asking myself too many questions, but with Looking back, I can clearly see that this dream was tinged with social construction. I dreamed of this, because I had been taught that this was happiness, but my "real" dream was hidden within me, a few layers deeper. . Today I would tell you that my dream is to make another documentary that explores the human being, to write a book, to have a home in nature or to become a therapist. But still thinking about it. more deeply, I believe that my dream is to bring who I am to the world, in freedom and in joy, whatever form it takes. 'elsewhere, work, as an opportunity to bring our musical note to the world.
Photo credit: Pauline Wald
It's funny, through the question of the dream or the meaning to give to his life, I see the young "Pauline child", who wanted to have good grades, to be one of the "best students" in the class. Through your question, I also see the "Pauline young adult" who wanted to earn more and more money and climb the ladder of the hierarchy, with this strong desire to exist and to be loved. For a long time, I gave the school my power to teachers and teachers, my parents, my bosses, friends, doctors or therapists ... I believed that other people knew better than me what to do with my life. I listened to their advice, I submitted to their word. Deep down, I wanted someone to decide for me. It is so much more reassuring that we are told what to do. Then I realized that none of the people I had given my power to really had answers. None of these people knew what was good for me better than I did. They had ideas based on their own filters of reality, their own fears, their past experiences. Finally, they were like me, students of Life, to try, to fall, to make mistakes and to get up again. The people who have guided me the most have been inspiring to me especially by their way of being and not by their advice. When I figured it out, it was a great relief: if no one really “knows”, if no one has universal answers, then I can be the captain of my own ship. So I can experience Life as I see fit. So I can finally listen to myself. Perhaps this is true freedom? "
At the dawn of her 30th birthday, Pauline listened to her little voice and decided to leave her stressful Parisian life. In 2017, she began to walk alone with her backpack for only home, in the direction of Compostela, symbolically leaving Strasbourg, the city where she was born and where she grew up. During her 4 months of walking through France and Spain, she covered around 2,000 km on foot.
During our discussion, Pauline explains to me why she left on the road to Saint-Jacques: “when I left my job to go for a walk, I was told that I was going to lose quarters for retirement. I replied that I was just going “on retirement”. In the word "retirement", there is "withdrawal", it is the fact of withdrawing from the world, from our sometimes routine and oppressive daily life. I am convinced that these regular withdrawals are necessary, to live better in the world, to come back to it later with a much clearer mind. By interviewing pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago for my film, I could see that there were many of us who had this need to withdraw. The Way offers us a bubble sheltered from the world which often goes too fast. I like the idea of giving myself time to “retreat” regularly to carry out projects, experiences or long-term trips, rather than waiting until my old age to be able to really retire. I travel, not to run away from myself but to meet myself more deeply. When I change horizons, I don't see life the same way, I am more inspired for writing and I also breathe differently. Other facets of me are revealed and I want to go and discover them. By setting out on the road to Saint-Jacques, I needed to live from day to day, to be in nature and to find myself in this simplicity. I wanted to discover myself a little more and feel more free. I decided to take the first step on this path and let myself be carried away by what it will make me discover and experience. I didn't yet know where he would take me, but I wanted to let go and let go of my tendency to want to plan and control everything, to leave more room for the unknown, following my lucky star. I no longer want to run away from my desires, run away from myself through “must” and “must”, by accepting a situation that does not fully develop me, without trying to experience something else that attracts me and call me. "
Pauline continues our conversation with her words of wisdom: “I am always on the way. When you move forward in life, there are sometimes times when you just have to take one step in front of the other, without asking questions. There is only one road, it's easy. There are other times when we are faced with several possible routes. But there are no signs that clearly indicate where they lead. We can find ourselves paralyzed for months or even years in the midst of these crossroads of life, waiting for a clearer sign to point us in the right direction. Choosing a route means giving up all the others. Not to choose a route is to give up your life. What I understood is that all these paths, although they pass through very different landscapes, lead to the same destination. No matter which route we choose, what matters is that we will experience more of who we are and maybe that is just the way to go. Sometimes the Path does not give us what we want. He gives us what we need. I integrated this principle by understanding that the Path knows exactly what I need the most at all times. I am learning to have infinite gratitude for all that is given to me to experience, with less and less resistance. I am learning to be more honest with myself about my real needs, behind the conditioning of society. It is the best way to walk on the Path, with more lightness and joy, hand in hand with Life. Being in constant movement and having a backpack for only home is also a way for me to cope with the permanent uncertainty of life, without knowing in advance where I will sleep at night, what I will find to eat, the meetings I will make. In this permanent uncertainty, I feel more alive than ever, listening to myself. From the start of this adventure, I got into the habit of leaving my phone in airplane mode all day and turning it back on about every other evening. It helped me enormously to clear my mind and find peace. I began to write a lot on the Camino de Santiago, while I hardly wrote in everyday, in "my life before". I also had a small camera to film and do some interviews for my YouTube channel and my Pauline - Across the Worlds facebook page . "
Exactly Pauline, how did you come up with the idea of turning your adventure into a film?
“This project literally fell on me. It was written as they say !!! At the beginning, it was while walking on the Way that I had the idea of making this film. I wanted to understand what prompts someone to leave their comfort zone to go for such a long walk. I was filming without thinking too much in advance of what use all these images would serve me and what form it could take afterwards, but when a pilgrim friend met in a stopover suggested that I film myself for a few days as we walked, little by little, the idea of making a film gained ground. When I got home, I edited my film and offered it to a travel festival, just like that, with the idea of simply sharing this great adventure. Against all expectations, the film was subsequently screened in many travel festivals, cinemas, even a church, restaurants, etc ... Then when the association " We pass to the act " suggested that I extend the length of the film and make it into DVD and VOD , I again doubted my ability to do so. "Alone, I can't do it," my damn little voice told me. "But you are not alone, you will never be alone, let the film be," replied my other inner voice. Since the beginning of this adventure, the help I needed has finally come to me as I went along. It wasn't all that smooth all the time, it's true, I had to sort out a few technical issues, but looking back, moving forward, I was convinced that the help I had I needed it right now, not necessarily when I thought I needed it most, but at the right time, a few steps later. It's like walking in a dark forest, the light is revealed by continuing to walk. I saw all these pilgrims walking on their own path, encountering pitfalls, but moving forward anyway and finally encountering great joys the next day. When I see the emotion that my film arouses, when I receive the messages of thanks and when I also see the joy I had to make it, I do not regret all these efforts to get there. The enthusiasm of people who saw the film made me want to create a longer version of an hour and more complete, released on DVD and VOD . My intention is also to show that we can start from scratch and make a film that will be shown in cinemas, festivals and above all that will touch people. This film could not have seen the light of day without the intervention, the help of dozens of people: first of all the people interviewed who agreed to confide with so much authenticity on their Path, all those who told me. inspired by their generosity on my own journey, the people who helped me with the filming of the images, those who brought their eyes to the editing, those who accompanied me in the sound mixing and color grading at the end and who now distribute the film. Without feeling supported like this, I would certainly not have managed to find the sufficient energy to carry out this project. As on the Way, it is often in the moments when I was going to practically give up that an outstretched hand presented itself to me. I don't know where this film will take me in the next few months, but I really want us to walk him and me in lots of places across France, for a screening tour when it is possible again in 2021, I hope. "
It's all the good that I wish you Pauline. I recommend this film which speaks of a generation of pilgrims, ready to question their habits, to open up to the world, to the unknown and to the magic of life.
If you want to organize a screening of the film, do not hesitate to contact Pauline who will be happy to organize it with you. It generally offers an evening of a format of 1:30 to 2 hours with:
- a conference of about 15 minutes on the reasons for which she decided to leave to walk on the Path and what it brought to her.
- followed by the screening of the current film (lasting 55 minutes)
- then a period of discussion in the form of questions and answers of about 30-40 minutes with the public.
More Info :
On You tube : in 3 years, Pauline has published more than 50 videos on the themes of happiness, spirituality, the law of attraction, shamanism, ayurveda etc ...
On his Instagram account to see all his photos,
On his facebook page to follow all his news and new projects,
On her website : about once a month, Pauline sends a newsletter in which she shares the articles from her blog (on the Camino de Santiago, the inner path, the journey towards oneself), the videos and interviews of the month , the events around the film, it also incorporates spontaneous reflections.
For those who wish to receive its newsletter, it is here to subscribe:
Why are you walking?
I walk to get closer to my Essential.
I walk to let the sound of my footsteps cover the hubbub of my mind.
I walk because I believe that something else awaits me.
I walk to feel the caress of the wind and smell the rain.
I walk to let the movement of my body bring movement to my mind then little by little, I notice that I am walking without desire or destination, with no other justification than the pleasure of walking.
I walk.
There are no more thoughts.
Words are too many.
Maybe that was the essential thing I was looking for.
Pauline Wald
To extend this pretty text, I will end with a quote from Jean de la Bruyère:
"There is no way too long for one who walks slowly and without hurrying"
Vous trouverez dans les pages suivantes,
toutes mes randonnées longue distance
à pied avec le descriptif des étapes et photos.
Bientôt la suite... alors, abonnez-vous au site ici
ou sur ma chaîne Youtube.
Buen camino !!! Lionel de Compostelle
