Culture
The Path of Peace
by Elyssa Paige
In 1953, the United States was a nation gripped by fear. There was even a name for it: The Red Scare. Programmed by the government and mainstream media to be afraid of Communism, people remained silent as the Korean War raged on.
It was at this time of fear and apathy that, as a retirement project, a woman named Peace Pilgrim set out to walk across the nation for peace. She left the comforts of home with no possessions beyond what she could fit into the pockets of her blue tunic which read, “Peace Pilgrim” on the front, and “25,000 Miles On Foot For Peace” on the back. She walked until given shelter, fasted until given food and vowed to remain a wanderer until humankind learned the way of peace.
Peace Pilgrim believed that the only way we can reach world disarmament is by finding inner peace through love and service to others. She taught people that we must stop living for ourselves and start living for the good of the whole. In recognizing that we are all part of one creation, the walls of separation and isolation are no longer real. We are all connected; so all of our actions, good or bad, affect each other.
Those 25,000 miles were completed in eleven years. Peace Pilgrim continued walking for the next seventeen years, no longer counting the miles. Her pilgrimage was a prayer for peace and a way to inspire others to work for peace in their own lives. She spoke at colleges and churches and broadcasted over television and radio. Her words live on today: “This is the way of peace: Overcome evil with good, falsehood with truth and hatred with love.”
Today, we are still working to put these words into practice. If we replace Communism that was the object of fear fifty-five years ago with terrorism as the object of fear today, we will find that the two eras aren’t much different. Still, we are at war, separated from our brothers and sisters whom we now regard as enemies. And still, walking pilgrims are rising up to share the way of peace with the world.
On March 15, 2008, a peace activist by the name of Art Brown will begin walking north from the Mexican border in San Diego, California. On his second journey on foot for peace, he will travel to Peace Arch Park at the Canadian border in Blaine, Washington with his walking companion, Aaron Stanfield. Together they will spread the mission to “build bridges of understanding, love and compassion with non-violence, global peace and unity at its core.” Brown has found peace through service to others by participating in food drives, tornado cleanups, and helping the homeless. Now he walks as a messenger of peace and a symbol of altruism.
The time of inspiration and hope is upon us and more pilgrims are stepping forward. On May 1, 2008, Dermot Butterly will walk from Los Angeles across the country dressed as Mahatma Ghandi as a message to “be the change you wish to see in the world.” After leading a life “trying to accumulate external things in order to be internally happy,” Butterly found that true happiness lies in being of service to others. His walk is an effort to raise money to build a community center for children in the poverty stricken village of Soro, India. It is also an invitation for people to do just one thing for someone else in the name of love.
So let us live to give instead of to receive. As we shift our focus from the good of the self to the good of the whole, we are creating peace in our world. You don’t have to walk thousands of miles to do this. It can be as simple as volunteering for an organization that you believe in, cleaning up your local beach, or just smiling at your neighbor. Experience life with love in your heart and it will naturally flow outward into the world, making it a better place for us all.
For more information about Peace Pilgrim or to obtain free books and literature, please visit www.peacepilgrim.org. To learn more about Art Brown, visit www.peacesteps.net. For information on Dermot Butterly, visit www.gandhipeacewalk.org. Elyssa Paige is on staff at Vision Magazine. Contact her at elyssa@visionmagazine.com.