I then made it into and through the township of New Baltimore and shortly thereafter stopped by a wayside IHOP on the near outskirts of Haymarket. I wasn’t that thirsty actually and only wanted to sit for awhile and rest, but manager Hassan (who didn’t want to be photographed) would hear none of it, telling me to take “the booth of honor” and paying himself for my delicious pancake breakfast. The wait staff on hand were just as moved by his generosity as they were by my Walk, and there was much Joy shared there that morning. And after a time I rose to leave, thanked Hassan profusely, said my farewells, and then secretly donated the two bottles of water that Hassan had given me for road by placing them surreptitiously into the cooler in the 7-11 store next door …

“No matter how different we may seem, we are all ONE. We all breathe the same air and we need to treat one another that way. For every instance in life there is a Good Way to take, and we must all look for that way until we find it, and then we must take it.” ~ Hassan

“Don’t even halt for a second to think if you would help another, no matter how distant that person might be or how different they might seem. In fact even if that person hasn’t been good to you at all – or was mean to you — or scarred you, stay true to your path and treat them with the Compassion and Love that they too deserve (and they too so obviously need). Know in your daily dealings with others that in the Book of Life every chapter finds both a beginning and an ending, that how you greet and treat the ones you meet writes those beginnings, and that you paint each parting with a hug or a smile or a compliment or a giving makes each ending more glorious. Know that any act of kindness is the brightest sunshine of our shared Universe. So resonate love and light to all you encounter. And stay kind, no matter what falls upon your path, because eventually all it takes is one iota of love to declutter even the deepest cloud of darkness. When you make your life about giving instead of getting, you start to make a real difference, and there is always something to give – a warm smile, a heartfelt hello, a caring word, a self-sacrificial goodness. Your concern and your attention and your time and your love are all significant to those to whom they are give them. Give them recklessly.” ~ inspired by Debatrayee Banerjee & Roy T. Bennett

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