Well my dear friends its time to give you an update on the GPW. As always I hope to educate, entertain, and above all else inspire you. Its day 40 of the walk and I am outside Joshua Tree National Park with two hundred and forty five miles under my blistered feet. The heat here can not be described in words. Lets just say that when I want to make a cup of tea I don't have to boil the water. I simply leave the kettle outside for twenty minutes and wallah, hot water.
All the planning and creating of how the walk will be has helped but nothing prepares you for the real thing. Challenges along the way include blisters, dehydration, food poisoning, the flu, constipation, and a whole lot of not showering. I wouldn't change a thing, ok maybe the blisters on the feet, but apart from that this is becoming one incredible journey. Out on the road I have been mistaken for a Hari Krishna, Indiana Jones, and yes even the big guy himself, Jesus Christ. I have been walking around ten to twelve miles per day working my way up to fifteen and its slow going in the heat . The day is spent finding somewhere to camp for the night, which has been mainly church parking lots (God bless all the Christians), running errands, and planning my monthly events.
Walking everyday has taught me the first lesson in creating more peace within and that my dear reader is Patience. Im learning to slow down and just take a minute to appreciate my surroundings. I had an amazing experience on the Angeles Crest Highway. I stopped to check out the mountain range in front of me, when all of a sudden, the mountains and I met in the present moment. It was incredible! There was no separation what so ever between us. Time vanished and in that moment I truely saw and felt the beauty of my environment. I suddenly began to cry because I realised from that experience how the environment is being abused and how sad I really felt. I know we can change what's happening to our Planet but we must all do our part, large or small.
I am currently in 29 Palms, home to the largest marine base in America, where I am interviewing marine corp wives whose husbands are stationed in Iraq. More on that in the next newsletter. Check out deserttrail.com newpaper for an interview I did on the walk to be released on 7/03/08.
On a personal note this walk is challenging me to dig deeper for my own truth and faith, to expand and not be so rigid of how I think things should be or look, and to go beyond my self-imposed limitations. Simple Yes, easy? Not always.
This is the GPW saying dream big, put one foot in front of the other and step into the adventure.
SUPPORT A GOOD CAUSE
The walk is primarily being run on doantions which are gratefully accepted at www.gandhipeacealk.org
or if you would like to make a tax deduction for your donation please mail a check made out to earthways/gandhipeacewalk at 20178 rockport way, Malibu CA 90265. The Gandhi Peacewak is a project of Earthways a non-profit 501(C3) organisation.
Special thanks to Andrew Beath at Earthways for his kind support.
Please FORWARD this newletter to anyone you think would enjoy reading it.
SPECIAL NEEDS
People who want to come and help out with the driving 3 days or more. Food, lodging, and adventure provided.
Peace and Truth,
Dermot Butterly, aka Gandhi Rollingstone
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