Re-Entry: What to Do When You've Changed, but the World Hasn’t

I wrote this letter to 13 women returning from an Epic Adventure in the Wilderness—but it’s for anyone who’s come home from something that changed them.

Earlier this year, I led 13 women on a journey that included individual and group work for 4.5 months, before guiding them on an Epic Adventure in Zion National Park. It was a life-changing experience for many of them.

When you go through something that deeply stirs your soul, returning to your usual life can feel disorienting.

I wrote the following letter to these women, my Epic Sisters, as a helpful guide for the return. I’m sharing it here because I think it speaks to something many of us feel after big life shifts, and maybe it’s what you need to hear right now, too.

Dear Epic Sisters:

You’ve recently experienced what some of you have called an extraordinary, unforgettable, maybe even life-changing experience. You stretched yourself. You opened up. You walked through awe-inspiring places—inside and out.

And now?

You may feel energized and re-inspired about your life. There’s also a good chance you feel weary–really tired and possibly even a little lethargic. I bet some of you may even feel a little emotionally scrambled–and not quite sure what to do or where to place it all.

That’s completely normal.

Transformation isn’t pretty. It’s work. And the work is not just physical, but emotional, psychological, and even spiritual. It takes tremendous energy to be fully present and vulnerable, to hold space for each other, and to open yourself to beauty, discomfort, insight, and change.

Your whole self is likely recalibrating.

One of the biggest reasons you may feel a little off-kilter after returning from something so meaningful is because you’ve changed, but the world you’ve returned to hasn’t.

As a result, re-entry can feel clunky, even a little lonely at times. You’ve experienced something profound, but your people back home might still be in the same loop, the same rush, the same life.

So what to do?

• Give yourself space. Emotional integration takes time. Don’t rush to “make sense” of everything all at once.

• Rest deeply. You’re not “lazy”—you’re integrating. This is sacred downtime. Restoration is part of the transformation process.

• Reflect. Write. Walk. Sit in silence. Let the meaning come to you rather than chase it.

• Be gentle with re-entry. Try not to expect your partner, your kids, or coworkers to fully get it. They weren’t there. That’s okay.

• Stay connected. Keep reaching out to the Epic Sisters–to any or all of us. Sometimes it’s only in reflection with someone who walked beside you that the clarity starts to settle in.

And remember, if you feel a little tired, untethered, or unsure, it means you’re in the midst of something important. I invite and encourage you to trust–and let it unfold…

This is the “between” space—the liminal zone—where some of the old you has started to fall away, but the new parts of you haven’t fully landed. It’s tender territory. (And also, quite powerful!)

In closing, I will say again–probably for the hundredth time–how much the experience with all of you meant to me, and continues to mean to me. Your inviting me into your sacred circle in such meaningful ways–individually and as a group, and during what is a tender time in my life–touched me so deeply, and I’ll forever be grateful.

And you’re all the gift that keeps on giving! As I recall, often and fondly, the memories of our time together, I experience so much joy. Thank you for that!

With love–and all of my heart,

Shelli

© 2025 Shelli Johnson / Epic Life Inc. All rights reserved.

(This letter is part of the Epic Life re-entry process, developed by Shelli Johnson through 15 years of guiding transformative experiences in wild places.)