Much of the Philippines is welcoming. The people are kind and accepting, but there is a province that carries some difficult energies. It is a place that is rife with black magic and voodoo. When I was traveling with my mentor, Lois, through the islands to research the healers, we had the occasion to stay overnight in the only hotel in that dark town. I slept poorly. The hotel was located next to a slaughter house, and although the staff told us that they hadn’t used it in years, we heard the cries of the animals in the night. Perhaps they weren’t telling the truth. Perhaps it was a dream. Or if you believe in such things, maybe it was the death cries that were still hovering in the atmosphere.
When I told someone that I didn’t like being in that province, they told me that the faith healers, the light workers who are strewn throughout the islands, were born in that province or had ancestors
there. When I thought about it, it made sense. Folk wisdom says that “nature grows the cure next to poison.” Poison Ivy grows near jewelweed, whose sap can soothe the rash. Stinging Nettle is treated with nearby dock leaves. In the Amazon, some plants that are used for snakebite treatment, grow in the same ecosystems as venomous snakes and toxic flora.
The Buddhist monks who are walking 2,300 miles for peace are living that sentiment. I’ve written about them before but I feel moved to do it again as I watch and weep for the beauty of it all. I believe they are the antidote to the terrible politics that are making us weep for the ugliness. I believe they have risen up to remind us that while the negativity is loud and aggressive, there is a silent force that walks forward day after day, a strong and powerful energy that represents the light.
Each morning, I go on Facebook and watch their progression. Walkforpeace.com. They say, “This is not a protest. It is a walk for peace. We are not against anything. We are for peace.”
Beloved singer-songwriter, John Lennon, was famous for the lyric, “All we are saying is give peace a chance.”
The monks feel like a walking prayer as they systematically make their way from their temple in Fort Worth, Texas, to the White House in Washington, DC. They have been walking every day since
October 26th and they stop occasionally to speak, reminding us through their teachings that the light is present and unceasing. That we can embrace it. The head monk says that when the darkness seems to overwhelm us and make us afraid, we can choose not to react. Of course, we feel. We have to feel. We are not numb or trying to be numb, but the way we hold the difficulties and the suffering is our choice. When something very bad happens and it is happening a great deal these days, I don’t want to give the perpetrators my power. I don’t want to let them invade my thinking. I don’t want to crumble or become paralyzed. I want to draw my strength from my friends and my heart and hold onto compassion, love and courage.
The monks say, “We walk so that the seeds of peace, mindfulness, and loving-kindness may be carried forward on the wind, hoping they find a gentle place to rest in every heart we pass along the way. In every drop of rain and every ray of light, there is an opportunity for unity and a reminder that we are all walking this path together.”
These beautiful spiritual men are showing us that we don’t have to trip and fall down a dark hole. They are helping me find my courage, but it takes discipline and consistency to get there and remain there. It takes a powerful commitment not only to worship the light but to become the light for other people who are trying to find a way out of their pain.
If we want to be the light, each day we have to renew our vow to stop catastrophizing and start demonstrating compassion. We need to make a commitment to stand up for the goodness in the
midst of so much badness. The monks encourage us to say over and over, “Today is my peaceful day.” I talked to someone who said he felt guilty if he didn’t watch the news, even if it made him feel ill. I’m taking a different approach. I stay in touch with what’s going on but the TV newspeople’s eagerness to report the bad news is off-putting. Don Henley, late member of the Eagles, wrote the
lyrics:
“The bubble headed bleach blonde comes on at five.
She can tell you ‘bout the plane crash with a gleam in her eye.”
I can’t allow that kind of destructiveness to sully my consciousness. For me, that feels like giving in
and giving up. When I send out my wishes that all sentient beings be free from pain, I make sure I’m not leaving myself out. I remind myself to look inside, the place where peace begins. If I love myself and respond to others in a non-aggressive way, I am helping other people by helping myself. I am holding onto the dream of unity, compassion and inclusion.
Let’s dare to dream. How else will our dreams come true?
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