Dear Jessica Brennan,
Quite a few years ago I read about a woman called Peace Pilgrim. She was someone who went out for a walk one day and never came back. 28 years later she was still walking.
I was so taken by her, that I know there were moments when I first read her book, when you and Dad got nervous about my new found enthusiasm for walking, and offered to come with me in case I just kept on going.
Peace Pilgrim was born Mildred Lisette Norman in 1908. By the age of 45 she had been married once and divorced, and had simplified her life to the point that she had no worldly possessions. She sold everything she had and gave it to the poor keeping only enough to buy her first pair of shoes and to make a tunic that bore her name: Peace Pilgrim. By this age also, she was the first woman to ever walk the entire length of the Appalachian Trail in one season, and on Jan 1, 1953 she made the choice to begin walking full time for peace, initially to spread a message specifically to end the Korean War. She said, “When enough of us find inner peace, our institutions will become peaceful and there will be no more occasion for war.”
Needless to say, we aren’t there yet.
Peace Pilgrim was on her seventh trip walking across America in 1981 when she was in an automobile accident and died.
Her purpose was to spread peace without the distraction of things, so traveled only with a comb and a toothbrush. She walked until someone gave her a place to sleep and food to eat. She walked until someone gave her new shoes and clothes. She never asked for these things, and almost never went without. Her message was nondenominational and clear.
This is the way of peace:
Overcome evil with good, falsehood with truth, and hatred with love.
I am always surprised that the remarkable story of Peace Pilgrim is not more widely known.
Her book is free and available here in 12 languages.
I know that what she did is not something most of us could or would ever want to do, yet I am still inspired by her resolve and commitment to spreading the message of peace to everyone she met.
Don’t get me wrong. Because I have seen a thing or two, I also know that even if everyone who reads this blog, put on their Converse and set off in the morning to spread the message of peace for the rest of their lives, sadly it would not make a lot of difference to the planet.
But what if we all tried to spread this message in the circles we are currently walking in? It might not change the planet, but it would change everyone who reads this blog, profoundly.
Less evil. Less falsehood. Less hatred.
More good. More truth. More love.
Peace Pilgrim spoke to thousands of people fearlessly and joyfully throughout her life, about peace.
All these years later, I am still in awe.
Dear Jessica Brennan, get your shoes on. We’re going for a walk.
Love,
Mum xo
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