Pilgrimage, Separation- Christine Ellis

1.) Pilgrimage has to be the epitome of all spiritual ritual. There is no other ritual that requires as much from a human being than a real pilgrimage. There is a period of separation, where the pilgrim must break ties with society they came from. Having no experience with pilgrimage myself, I can only imagine the painful break from all creatures comforts like sleeping in your own bed. What would be more distressing for me is leaving behind friends and family, knowing that they would never really be able to understand the experience I had, or maybe even who I become. Once you’ve been on the road awhile, wherever that path may be, you forget that at some point, you have to go back to your old life. Going back, you have to re-integrate into society and remember how you used to think, talk, and interact with people. You have to see with new eyes everything you have learned to live without.