Pilgrim for Peace

A pilgrimage is usually defined as some sort of spiritual journey often to vist a sacred place or series of places. There are Sufi pilgrims, Muslim pilgrims who journey each year to Mecca, Christian pilgrims who journey to visit sacred places such as shrines and cathedrals. I suppose that "pilgrim" is most associated with an old, old book, Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, in which the journey, if I remember it correctly, sees the hero beset on all sides by evils and dangers but never giving up his commitment to follow the Master, knowing that the final goal witll be the Celestial City, his heavenly home. A hymn entitled He Who Would Valiant Be or To Be A Pilgrim was adapted and set to music in 1906. I personally find the words inspiring and I rather love the call to journey on in one's "first avowed intent to be a pilgrim."

However, I think a pilgrimage can have a much broader meaning: it can refer to a life spiritual journey in which the goal may be justice or peace or enlightenment. I have been reading online about the life of a remarkable person, Mildred Norman Ryder (1908-1981) who for 28 years walked all over North America promoting non-violence and disarmament. She was called Peace Pilgrim and today a non-profit group, Friends of Peace Pilgrim, continues her work.

One of Peace Pilgrim's goals was to teach people how to have inner peace and how to live the way of peace. Her motto was - "overcome evil with good, falsehood with truth, and hatred with love."

It's all so simple when we really think about it, isn't it?

I have to learn how to do links on my blog. For now, if you want to read more about Peace Pilgrim, go to: http://www.peacepilgrim.com