I recently read a book called “Peace Pilgrim”. It was the compiled quotes from a woman peace activist from many years ago. I took my time going through it, because I like to mediate on words of wisdom, and there were many. She was self-educated but spent many hours trying to think things through and talking to God.
She never married or had kids. She worried a lot about the nuclear arms race and wanted true peace, after living through two world wars. Her idea was to work towards peace on both the personal front and the global front. She was a minimalist and a vegetarian; preferring to spend her time seeking wisdom, communion with God, and speaking to others about peace. She felt that she needed to perfect her inner peace before focusing more on world peace.
When she was about 43, she hiked the Appalachian Trail and it changed her life. Being in nature and walking became her goal in life, along her activism and religious thoughts. The next year, in 1953, she decided to do a walk for peace across the country. Her goal was 10,000 miles, which she later amended to 25,000. She made a smock that said Peace Pilgrim, 10,000 Miles for Peace. It had numerous pockets and everything she owned fit in those pockets. A toothbrush, a comb, a pen, pamphlets of her arguments for peace. But not much else. She never carried money. She decided to trust God for all her needs and didn’t even carry a backpack or blanket. Her daily average for walking was around 25 miles a day. She mostly walked the rural roads and trails. She didn’t eat until someone offered her food, sometimes going up to 3 days without any. She slept on the ground in her clothes, unless someone offered her a place to stay for the night. She never asked anyone for anything, but accepted what help was offered. She was a hardy soul, seldom getting sick, even after sleeping in the snow during snowstorms. People were curious and she talked to anyone, often making speeches in churches, schools, colleges, and various organizations. Newspapers, radio stations, and TV stations often interviewed her. Many others wrote to her mailing address and asked questions about all sorts of subjects. A friend would forward these letters to her and she answered every single one.
After completing 25,000 miles of walking, she stopped counting the miles and became more receptive to receiving occasional rides from drivers who offered, in order to get to scheduled speeches and interviews. One time, a large rough-looking man in a big car stopped and offered a ride. She accepted, and curled up in the backseat and went to sleep. When she awoke hours later, the man confessed that he had planned to rape her and even laid hands on her twice to do so. But she looked so peaceful and innocent that he couldn’t go through with it. She said that God had prevented him.
Her religious beliefs were hard to categorize. She didn’t align with any organized Christian denominations, and even praised other religions, believing there were many ways to reach God. She thought it was possible to attain perfection in this life and believed she had become perfect.
Most people would consider her a fanatic and maybe a little simple-minded. But her writings show a lot of deep thought. When a person spends that much time just walking, one needs to think about something, not just zone out. She had strong beliefs and was willing to sacrifice most of the luxuries of life to follow what she felt was her mission. That’s very commendable. Did she make a difference? Many would say No, because world peace is still elusive. I think she changed many peoples’ opinions and influenced them to live better lives. When I meet a strong, positive person, I tend to pay attention to what they say and do. Sometimes I even emulate them in small ways, if I agree with their message.
She died at 72, in a head-on collision, after accepting a ride from someone. Her work still lives on, through an organization that distributes her book and pamphlets about inner and outer peace. It’s been almost 40 years since she died but she is still influencing people. Maybe even me, a little. One can always use more wisdom and peace.
iggyvandweller 