Comedian Hape Kerkeling illuminates the way for spiritual seekers

Today many people are seeking out more heartfelt stories with substance—with soul—to bring light and understanding to a sometimes soul-less existence. Somewhat disgruntled with the media-designated celebrities and heroes of yesterday, people instead are moving toward finding “real” people who can inspire and motivate them to be the best that they can be. Our nation has requested such monumental change that some days, we all wonder if we are in fact moving toward progress or away from it. With concerns and unrest coming from areas such as politics, joblessness, bankruptcy and foreclosure, and health care issues, Americans are becoming hard-pressed to find something to believe in. And many Americans are beginning their own inward search for peace and understanding in an often chaotic existence. German comedian Hape Kerkeling brings such substance and hope in his book, I’m Off Then: Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino de Santiago.

For Americans, the closest thing to the pilgrimage that Kerkeling tackled would be the Appalachian Trail, which reaches from Georgia to Maine, yet this account was not simply of the flora and fauna, the vistas or even the waterfalls and the multi-state crossings. There’s no doubt that those who choose to walk the AT in America truly find change within themselves, but Kerkeling’s journal entries leave all his readers privy to the amazing transformation that took place within both the pages of the book and within the very crux of who he was.

Reading this book and knowing it was the first hand account of a spiritual journey as well as an account of the 500+ mile hike through a part of the Pyrenees and across hot and grueling areas of Spain, I found myself looking for pieces of the book that I could apply to my own life, to my own spiritual journey. For Kerkeling, keeping a journal was the right thing to do so he would be able to recount the days and nights as he searched for the things within himself that were important. He carefully documented instances and people as he wound up his day in the local hotels and restaurants. What I noticed almost immediately was his humor and his honesty.

Within a few short pages, he mentioned that he had suffered a temporary but sudden hearing loss, and had also suffered a gall bladder removal surgery, which shook him awake. “…it’s high time I readjust my thinking. It’s time for a pilgrimage,” alerted me immediately to his own taking responsibility for his health and for his realization that those maladies could be connected to his less than healthy life. He immediately followed that with his statement that he’d been ignoring his inner voice. He knew it was time to make changes when he found himself suffering from the symptoms of heart attack. And I knew this was going to be my kind of book.

You see, this guy needed to create the time and the space he knew it would take to approach the tough questions of his life. His initial question of “Who is God?” morphed into the more direct question of “Who am I?” And within pages, he admitted a knowing that only through finding out who he was, could he then find out who God was.

Although many people ponder the same questions, very few are able (or willing) to take months away from their schedules of busy-ness, their families, or their careers and totally concentrate on answering these questions, but the beauty of the whole thing is that no one has to “check out” to find themselves. Hape Kerkeling shows us that through daily interactions and noticing the presence and power of the universe within the mundane, the self exists.

Kerkeling is a funny guy. Many of his tales of adventure leave the reader laughing loudly while others surely keep a smile coming. For those reasons, the book does not simply appeal to the spiritual seeker who is always looking for inspiration within the pages, but to the average person who isn’t ready to begin the challenge of discovering as he put it, “illumination.” His accounts and descriptions of his fellow travelers indicate for the reader just how his comedic genius has vaulted him to become a household name in Germany. But for those of us who search for the real people with real stories, he shows the way.

Kerkeling tackles major universal questions during his countless hours of walking. Who am I? Who, where, and what is God? How are my thoughts connected to me? Do I have more control over the way my body handles things? Is there a driving force behind what people call coincidence? Are the people we meet throughout our lives connected to us? Are they extensions of who we are? Is it necessary to suffer? What does it mean to be a good Christian? Should we detach ourselves from material things and focus more time inward? How serious is it to deny the inner work? Do we round metaphorical corners and fail to recognize ourselves? Can we tune into our own intuitions and accept that we are capable of greater understanding? As we walk farther in life, how hard is it to stay true to ourselves? How much do we learn about ourselves through our interactions with others? Do we think too much? Do we believe we are our thoughts? And can we escape those thoughts if they don’t serve us? Are our dreams meant to teach us things we cannot see in our waking lives? How valuable is meditation? Should we rethink our current beliefs on life and death?

Kerkeling’s account of his own spiritual journey began in France and ended in Spain. He walked more than five hundred miles in just over a month’s time. In addition to sharing with us the intimacies of the over-crowded cafes, or the recurrent meetings of the pilgrims, he gently guides us into a closer examination of our own lives. His portrayal of the physical challenges one meets along such a quest are minimal in comparison to the daily spiritual gains he made as he internalized and made sense of first himself, and then of his connection with all that surrounds him.

If you are one who is standing on the precipice of change, wondering if you have enough strength to keep going, Hape Kerkeling’s book is one which will help reveal some truths. This international bestseller (published by Free Press) has only been available in America since June, has already been translated into eleven languages and has sold upwards of three million copies. Yeah, I will say that many people are looking for everyday heroes to illuminate the path for the rest of us.

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Laurie M. Knight is the author of a spiritual novel entitled Journal to the Center of the Soul.