Date: 2011-11-20
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Home
Miles today: 113.5

This journal entry is my last and by far the most difficult to compose. I started it many times and just couldn¢t find the right combination of words to articulate my thoughts. Phrases like ¢ I¢m done¢ or ¢finished¢ are to finite....Yes,I did hike the entire length of the Appalachian Trail, but a more difficult journey is about to begin. I¢m not referring to the Pacific Crest Trail, or the Continental Divide Trail, both of which are surely wonderful; I¢m referring to my continued journey through life, while maintaining the keen awareness that I¢ve experienced on the Trail. Many people understand what I¢m referring to. The past 7 months were spent enduring a significant physical, mental and spiritual endeavor of monumental proportions, and now it is time to apply what has been learned¢¦. For me, the hike was a period of great spiritual growth. How could it not be? Imagine placing your current life on hold and being away from family and friends for several months. Take away all stress, no job, no boss, no schedule. Your slate, as they say, is not just clean; it is totally empty and free of external influences. Soon the basic instincts of survival, i.e., food, water and shelter become the primary focus¢¦. Admittedly, the scenario described is difficult to imagine unless you¢ve experienced it yourself. Under the circumstances described, a new perspective develops that allows one to perceive things differently. Some may refer to it as being in the zone, a Zen, quantum physics, synchronicity, or a host of other awareness¢s. An astute hiker will soon realize that stress on the trail is often self induced and subconsciously fabricated from nothing important; because living without stress is a foreign concept. It¢s bizarre, but some people do not know how to live stress free and actually maintain a threshold-level of stress. I¢ve learned that stress can be contagious, that is, we become stressed out after being exposed to others who are stressed..... With a little practice stress and anxiety can be controlled and dealt with from within, by allowing yourself to become internally quiet¢¦. On the trail, and with a minimum of external influences, there can be an abundance of internal quietness if sought out¢¦. While maintaining the left right left cadence, I would often contemplate the differences of life and my level of awareness from a ¢on trail perspective¢ and a ¢off trail perspective¢ and have concluded that the latter is so cluttered with unnecessary hyperbole that we subconsciously lose touch with our inner selves. For example, television is full of scripted dramas that dictate how we should act in crisis situations and then we get brainwashed by commercials that sell us stuff we don¢t really need. That is entertainment? Consider the old saying, ¢we are what we eat¢; then it stands to reason that ¢we become what we watch¢ and television is just one example of how we can lose ourselves and live fictitiously without realizing it..... On the trail, I had many magical experiences. I¢m not talking about the guy cooking hotdogs at a road crossing, although moments such as those have renewed my faith in mankind and will be treasured forever; I¢m referring to the numerous happenings of ¢divine intervention¢ or the moment of realization that a prayer has been answered. (A few of these magical events were chronicled in this journal), and some (like what happened in Mahoosuc Notch) can never be explained.... Unfortunately, our ability to recognize and appreciate these magic moments is hindered by the bombardment of external influences and these subtle moments become obscured or overshadowed by common events that make up our daily routine. But on the Trail, where life is much simpler, and the setting much less hectic, spirituality takes over and beautiful moments become easily recognizable and abundant. It was my wife Lisa, who reminded me that magic moments are not limited to the trail and occur around us every day.... So, therein lies the difficult challenge, to continue the journey of life with an uncluttered trail perspective¢¦¢¦ unquestionably the road less traveled¢¦¢¦Thank you so very much for being part of my journey.