I was making my way ever southward thereafter, all the way to and through the city of Trenton, when I came to a section of town that was a confusing criss-cross of heavily-trafficked highways; on-ramps & off-ramps & underpasses & overpasses all intersecting in a jumbled mess that was less than ideal for any pilgrim, much less a pilgrim of peace … And so I started wandering around the neighboring area, looking for anyone who might be able to advise me on how best I should proceed. It came as no surprise that no one I asked was at all aware as to how a pedestrian could readily traverse the aforementioned metropolitan madness, and I found myself ambling easily into the lobby of the nearby Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex for help. This turned out to be a very wise choice indeed, as Brigid was the security guard in charge that early evening – a woman of great integrity and kindness. She heard my tale and immediately became as concerned as she was amazed. It seemed as though I was attempting to traverse said knot of highways at exactly the wrong time of day; that they would all be filled with rushing rush-hour traffic in short order, and that – at least according to her knowledge – none of them were designed to be safely crossed on foot. And so it was that she allowed me to use her personal cell phone to call my friend Ruth (who had already offered me a place to stay earlier in the day; an offer I had at first politely declined, and yet now an offer that seemed correct to accept), and so it was that she allowed me to wait there in the lobby of the Justice Center until Ruth could come pick me up, and so it was that she brought me water to drink and even paid for my dinner at a nearby eatery, and so it was that we sat together and talked about all matters of importance – Politics & Service & Kindness & Community (mostly how the former, unlike the middle pair, could never hope to engender the latter) – and so it was that a new Friend for Life was made …

“And so I began to read the guidebooks, the State Department warnings, the endless elucidation of national norms, cultural cues and insults and regional dangers, and I became wary and careful and prudent. I kept my money either taped inside my shoe or strapped to my stomach, and started to take any & every kind of precaution; believing that the people of this area did this, and the people of that province did that. And yet after a time I realized that no one of any region did anything I have ever expected them to do, much less anything the guidebooks or official warnings said they would. Instead, they all essentially behaved like everyone behaves, which is to say they behave as individuals of damnably infinite possibility. I realized that anyone could do anything, in theory, and yet I also realized that most of the time everyone everywhere acts with plain bedrock decency, helping where help is needed, guiding where guidance is asked. And so now I am a free soul, singing my heart out by myself no matter where I go. I call strangers my friends because I learn things about them and find ways to fit them into my world. I hear what people say and see what they do, and then I rearrange them and take them away and tear them apart until those people gain profound value in my reality. I find the spaces in between fear’s cracks and worry’s ruts and I let my Love flow into them. I simply find wherever someone feels dark or scary or empty and fill it with kindness. And that’s how I make it all work.” ~ inspired by Dave Eggers & Charlotte Eriksson

Filed under: Peace Pilgrimage #02: Walking HOME (2019) by Scaughdt