Ch 06 – To eat or not to eat … (04/10/11 – day 1, part 5)
Walking 20 miles on no sustenance other than water is enough to make anyone a tad disconcerted, and that is how far I had come after passing through East Ridge and crossing the border into Georgia near the end of my first day. Part of me was a bit frustrated over my lack of success at being offered any food, and part of me was a bit worried that the rest of the trip was going to be equally as sparse. And yet at this point in the Journey, I remember that most of me was simply marveling – marveling not only at being able to walk 20 miles on nothing but water & one glass of green tea, but also marveling at how little hunger I was feeling; at how much energy I still had; at how generally happy I was.
I had attempted water fasts many times in my past, and had never been able to go very long before feeling dizzy and having to supplement my diet with fruit juices and honeyed teas. It was miraculous to me how well I was holding up.
Later in the Pilgrimage, I came to realize that there was another source of sustenance into which I was tapping (more on that in later entries), and yet at this time I wasn’t aware of that source. At this time I thought it was simply a minor miracle … and maybe it was.
I guess now would be a good time to answer one of the more commonly asked questions of me: why didn’t I simply ask for food along the way?
A good question indeed – and a very important one … You see, this Pilgrimage was not simply about somehow getting to Pompano Beach in order to share with that community (though that was one of its many purposes). It was also about sharing with others along the way – about inspiring others to live more Meaning-full & Peace-full lives.
Over the past five years of my life as a Peace Pilgrim, I had come to understand a few important things about the human psyche – one of which being that humans do not like being told anything unless they ask for the same. So many times I had seen others engaging in choices similar to ones I had made myself – choices that had brought me great suffering and that seemed destined to bring them the same. Out of a sense of Love, I had then warned them of their apparent errors. And yet every time I did so, they simply barged ahead with even greater resolve, charging headlong into consequences that were often even more painful for them than I had anticipated.
This was how I learned a valuable Truth: that humans do not long to learn – they long to self-Discover. I think this is why Jesus spoke in parables, why Socrates answered questions with other questions, and why Zen masters use koans to relay their lessons. And this is why I needed to let my actions speak for me – this is why I had to let the very nature of my Walk be a graphic example of the messages I was sharing.
And so I walked without a tent or a backpack or a change of external clothes – in order to show others that I had Faith in the power of selfless living; in order to show them that those who choose to live primarily for the benefit of others are always somehow given what they need to continue doing so.
And so I walked without money – in order to show others that money was a tool they could always use (no matter how little they might possess); in order to show them that it wasn’t something to fear being without.
And so I walked without asking for any food – in order to show others that the basic inclination of our fellow humans is to be Kind; in order to show them that we are all Good to the core, even when many of our external behaviors attempt to convince us otherwise.
You see, the true Joy in life comes not from receiving everything we desire, but rather from giving to those who can give us nothing in return. Walking without money gave thousands of others the opportunity to experience this Truth firsthand b y giving to me, and not asking for any food allowed that realization to become a powerful one. If I had asked for food, many would have given to me reluctantly – afraid of feeling guilty had they not done so. And this would not have been real Giving at all. Such true Giving occurs only when a Giver makes the courageous choice to Give – when he or she notices an apparent need and then Gives to it selflessly without being asked to do so.
And that is why I didn’t ask for any food – not once – along the entire 900+ miles of the Pilgrimage.
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