I finally made it to the town of Buchanan, and was pretty exhausted after having already walked some 25 smooth-yet-arduous miles that day. And yet all the churches in town* were closed and empty, providing no refuge for the weary. I flow onward out of town and can’t even get anyone to slow down for my summons, much less stop log enough to let me ask about walking & water logistics. Tired and more than bit frustrated with this particular iteration of my human family, I pull into the Family Dollar Store on the far side of town, where super cool Ian lets me hang out in the employee break room and drink some water and write a bit until things cool down outside (Thanks Ian!) … Ian had told me that there were more than few miles of nothingness up ahead, so I walked a it further and pulled into the local Dollar General (literally the very last store in town) to see if I could get any better news before heading onward into the night. And it was here that 2 anonymous customers overheard me talking about my Walk with Tiffany (the store manager) and offer to pay for some foodstuffs for the road. They had both already departed by the time I was told of their generosity, so I couldn’t thank them directly, but that didn’t stop me from heading outside and sitting down and giving thanks anyway – for their act of kindness, yes, but also for whatever inspired me to engage this difficult-yet-hyper-meaningful pilgrimage in the first place. And as I was sitting there in my reverie, Tiffany came outside with two bottles of cold water and some very kind words of encouragement. It turns out that she had been having a truly terrible day when I arrived, and it seemed as though the tale of my Walk had turned her day around – and this news alone made all the pain & suffering of the past several days (even weeks) worthwhile. For this is why I am walking – to spread the message of radical kindness, yes, but also to bring my fellow brother & sister pilgrims some measure of joy & peace. I hadn’t seen any direct evidence of the latter over the past several weeks, to be honest, and it was more than a bit uplifting to see it here on this night …

*And by “all” I mean Buchanan Baptist, Buchanan United Methodist, Trinity Episcopal, Buchanan Presbyterian, and Buchanan 1^st Baptist. It truly seemed there were more churches in this town than other buildings entirely.

“I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be truly happy are those who have sought and found how to serve others … Indeed, the only antidote I know for worry or despair or frustration is loving effort offered to a cause greater than yourself. And in truth, the very best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more exhausted than you. One of the great ironies of life is this: He or she who serves almost always benefits more than he or she who is served … And so it was that I slept and dreamed that life was joy. And so it was that I then awoke and saw that life was service. And so I then I acted boldly for another and behold, my service became my joy.” ~ inspired by Albert Schweitzer, Gordon Hinckley & Rabindranath Tagore

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