Thursday, November 3, 2011

The Game's Afoot! (But Why Am I Walking?)

November 20, 2010
Culver City, CA

(Please note:  Originally published in 2010, this blog was the first in the series.  It was recently revised to correct an error.

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Rev. Doris Davis, a 72-year old Interfaith minister and three others, supported by an RV and driver, plan to walk 2700 miles from Oceanside, CA to Washington D.C. in the 6 1/2 months from March 8 to September 21, 2011.  They expect that local walkers -- both women and men -- will join them along the route (Oceanside / Phoenix / Albuquerque / Denver /  Kansas City / Indianapolis / Washington D.C.) for a little or a lot.  They will welcome the companionship and the conversation.  She writes:

Why Am I Walking?  
First of all the dates are significant:  March 8 is the 100th Anniversary of the International Day of Women, and September 21 is the International Day of Peace, declared by the United Nations.

Why Am I Walking?  
People always want to know.  But really, I want -- and need -- to know, and I ask myself many times a day, and get different answers.  If you ask me a year from now I may have a better answer, I may even have a book put together about what I saw, felt and learned from this adventure, but at this point, as I begin my training, I can say that I am inspired by a group of women (sole2soulwalk.com) who are imagining a world where women are equally valued decision makers all around the world in partnership with men.  The call has gone out for women to step up, step out, and step beyond their previously perceived and accepted limitations to make this happen in meaningful ways.

Why Am I Walking?  
As a 72-year-old White-Anglo Saxon-Protestant (WASP) woman who has had the benefits of being a wanted child, born into a stable, prosperous and orderly society, I have been blessed by abundance, opportunity and good fortune.  I have had a first class education, enjoyed excellent health, raised beautiful, healthy children and found meaningful work and advancement in a society where I have been free from want and fear.  I have no complaints whatsoever.  But I know that the blessings I have received are simply not available to billions of my brothers and sisters across the planet -- especially my sisters.

Why Am I Walking?  
Really, there are two kinds of answers:  outer ones and inner ones.  Outer answers are the ones people want to hear so that they can label them and perhaps dismiss them more easily, like: "I am walking to help cure cancer," or "to end world hunger" or "for nuclear disarmament and world peace."  But always between the goal and the reality there necessarily stands a great abyss.  The kindly well-wishers will say, "Good luck."  The cynical will add under the breath "That will never happen."  And quite often the bottom line will be the amount of money raised because that seems to justify everything in the end.

But the inner answer, the one that satisfies me and gets me up in the morning is more mysterious:  I am walking for no reason that I can put words to.  I am walking because in some deep inexplicable way I know that I was born to do this very thing -- crazy as it may seem.  It is not a matter of survival, it is a matter of completion.  Knowing this, I have arrived at a very meaningful and joyful place -- by G-d's grace.  I aim to be celebrating my gratitude every step of the way.   
Let me be careful to explain that last paragraph, because it is important:  I am walking because I have already arrived at a place where I can see that  ALL ARE NOT THERE YET.  Still, I want to draw others -- especially women -- out of striving and efforting into the circle of celebration, where they can experience the perfection and the completion of the NOW moment.  I am walking because I can, and because I choose to integrate walk and talk;  because my life is about the unalienable right -- meaning the power and freedom -- to CHOOSE to have my life be exactly the way it is.  All else flows from the first choice to be at peace from within.  With my head in the clouds and my feet on the earth I am choosing to integrate the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical aspects of my existence in the most meaningful way I can imagine.  I am literally walking my talk.  This is a pilgrimage, and every step is a prayer.

Why Am I Walking?  
When men's feet touched the surface of the moon and walked, there was great rejoicing.  A small step for man was a giant leap for mankind.  Similarly, I am holding a vision for this walk:  When women's feet walk the earth with that kind of intention we will see giant strides for humankind.  The sleeping sister giant will awaken with all of her latent potential for decency and compassion.  The Dalai Lama said in 2009, "The Western woman will save the world."  The Dalai Lama and I agree, and I am walking to gather the WOmentum for the next quantum leap in our collective evolution.  There are many ways that men as well as women can join this movement.  For details, e-mail me at walkdoriswalk@gmail.com

And Finally:  Why Am I Walking? -- NOT!
Firstly, I am NOT walking to demonize or blame men or "the patriarchy."  I am not walking to defy, fight against, or change anything.  I doubt that anything can be changed until and unless it is fully acknowledged, as experienced,  and therefore completed.  It must be allowed to be just the way it is, and the way it is not.  No doubt the critical change I want to see in the individual and in the collective will come from within.  I will be writing more of this in future blogs.

Secondly, I am not walking primarily to raise money for myself or for any cause.  All I want is for people to use my example and whatever inspiration it may spark to get in touch with whatever it is that they are passionately committed to, and to find a way creatively to embody the new paradigm that they want to operate from in their own reality.  Yes, our little expedition will have need of money, for gas and food and many contingencies unforseen, but we are stepping out on faith, knowing that our needs are known before we ask and therefore we will be provided for.  Love offerings will always be gratefully accepted in the name of the Divine Mother.

Always Victory!

Doris


















































5 comments:

  1. Loved this when I first saw it. Love it now. Love your spirit and your heart and your determination. Love to know that I may finally meet you as you make your way across the country and hit the heartland where I am!

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  3. I have been putting some thought into your challenge, to take on something, commit to it. It does not have to be a walk. I will take your challenge and sign my paper. What a wonderful opportunity.
    I am so proud of you Doris, this is a huge undertaking. I am excited to see what unfolds with all of this attention. Are you planning any media interviews radio etc??

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  5. I handed Doris her walking stick at the start of her journey and said a blessing for her and all the walkers:
    May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the power of womentum be under your feet each step of the way.
    May the hills bow down to let you pass. May the valleys come up to greet you. May your paths be made straight so that you will find your way. May a million blessings come each day. And may each person you meet be a blessing to you, and you to they.

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