Once again, there is no one way to reintegration your changed self back into everyday life. But your old life will pull you to return to being the person you were before your pilgrimage. To succeed in the process of reintegration, two things are necessary:

First, your reintegration must be approached in a similar fashion to how you approached your pilgrimage. Be mindful of the new aspects of yourself that you want to keep and find ways to mold your everyday life so these new aspects can thrive. Be deliberate in making changes, even though some changes may be painful.

Second, the community that blessed your journey should be asked to treat you differently. For example, if a 17-year-old goes on a pilgrimage, she will return to her community as a new person, and the community must relate to her as such.

As I concluded my hike of the Appalachian Trail, I came up with ideas and more ideas about how I would simplify my life back in normal society. I would live an austere, simple lifestyle. I would focus my life on spirituality more. I would bike more than drive. ...and so on...

However, when I moved into my own apartment in Atlanta, I found reintegration much more difficult. I had to mold the ideals from my pilgrimage to fit the realities of city life. But I found the particulars were not as important as was the pattern of life. I was able to use my pilgrimage as a benchmark of mindful living that I return to whenever I feel like my life has grown too complex or stressful.

Reintegration is not easy, and has often been painful to me. Overall, I have found that while my physical pilgrimage has ended, my life is a never-ending pilgrimage of struggle and enlightenment. I use the wisdom I gained on the Appalachian Trail to inform my approach to my life's pilgrimage.

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Naming Your Journey | Blessing By Community | Simplicity | Being Renamed | Building Community | Moment of Grace | Search for Conclusion | Reintegration