Valerie posted a wonderful article yesterday about peace. I was reminded of the roots of the term “walk the talk”. It comes from the work of John Woolman, a Quaker, who walked and shared his belief that owning slaves in the 13 Colonies and then the US was immoral and God would disapprove. Parker Palmer tells this story in his books. The reference to the Shaker hymn, “Simple Gifts” brought to mind the writings about peace of Thomas Merton, the Trappist Monk, who is seen by many as instrumental in the the contemporary peace movement although he passed away in 1969. Valerie’s last reference was to Thich Nhat Hanh, the Zen monk, who has written about peace that begins with me and extends outwards. Have a beautiful and peaceful day.
Last night I read a novel by a distinguished prizewinning writer. I polished it off in a few hours, turned over and went to sleep.
This morning I awoke thinking how depressing it was… not one man or woman who was inspirational, kind, or good – everyone ambivalent and self-absorbed. And then I remembered one peripheral historical character, whose real life contribution to the care of the wounded in World War One is one of the more fascinating true stories of that time. He was a man of integrity, compassion and genuine goodness.
And as I thought about him, I could feel my whole body relaxing, and a smile on my face. I thought to myself how much I love reading about goodness.
I thought about Mildred Norman, the Peace Pilgrim, that amazing woman who for twenty-eight years walked the length and breadth of the States seven times. She…
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Teacher as Transformer 