Epilogue

I have been off the trail for several days now and am ready to walk again. Rest was much needed, but I find myself wondering what it would be like to continue on, to get up in the morning and start walking again, and to do the same thing the next day and the next. I am stronger than when I started, and a 10-mile hike with a full pack seems normal now. It’s not just the walk, but having a destination, a purpose, and an intention to complete the day’s goal.

I also find myself feeling that the walk was selfish. It provided a chance to shirk some responsibilities, and to focus on a much smaller set of needs - finding the way, finding food, and finding our place to stay. That was it. The way of the pilgrim is simple. It is an inner journey, in addition to a physical journey, but the responsibilities are minimal. Now it is time to return home, to return to my other personas - mother, wife, friend, worker, caretaker - yet retain the pilgrim heart, the desire to reflect on my place in this world and to see the value in my immediate surroundings. I enter this new stage with gratitude for the people that made this trip possible and for those who accompanied me on the journey. Thank you.