Late in 2006, after too many years of addiction and mental turmoil, as I was preparing to soon leave my job of seven years and venture into the unknown, I signed up to take a five-day meditation course being offered in central Portland. The cost was $450 for the whole thing, and though I wasn’t sure that the five-day course was the best course for me, it was the only course I knew of that was being offered, so I signed up out to take part in the “only game in town.”

Within perhaps a day of signing up, before confirming my attendance by making a payment, a very trustworthy friend suddenly showed up from an extended absence. Tom, who for years was the full-time elevator repairman at Portland’s World Trade Center, where I supervised the on-site security staff, appeared on a brief work break from other regional work he was doing. Tom called me down to the local coffee shop, and as I arrived, he informed me of a ten-day meditation course he had taken years earlier– a rigorous course conducted by experienced volunteers, at sites that only subsist from voluntary donations from students.

Though I’d known Tom for years, and didn’t even know that he’d ever learned to meditate, immediately I knew that the course Tom was guiding me to was the perfect course for me. I followed Tom’s guidance to Vipassana as taught by S.N. Goenka online, researched the website extensively, and felt very enthusiastic about signing up for my first ten-day course, held in January of 2007.

“The ten-day course was the most difficult thing I’ve done in my life, but it was also the most useful,” Tom explained to me.

Upon completing that first 2007 course, I would say the same.

Since my first course, I finally gained the upper hand on my boomerang addiction pattern, and haven’t smoked since. I’ve returned as a student six more times, and as a volunteer assistant a dozen times as well–giving me a grand total of over six months spent at meditation centers in since that first 2007 course.

I can’t even begin to explain just how extremely valuable a tool meditation has been in my daily life– EVERYTHING I do is beautifully enhanced so long as I continue my meditation practice daily (which, admittedly, has been a challenge on many occasions). Every major life decision I’ve made in recent years has been made while or after meditating. More than physical exercise, meditation was my preparation for walking across America– in addition to my best “medicine” across the miles. I meditate whenever unsure about which is the best road to take, literally and metaphorically. Should I begin teaching in 2014, I will meditate deeply in preparation to enter the classroom, as well as meditate daily throughout the school years.

I actually spent the first half of this month in a Goenka-taught meditation course, in southern Georgia– the first such course I’d taken in two years (I was long overdue). The course was great preparation for the challenges I face across the rest of 2013.

As I was preparing to leap into a whole new lifestyle in 2006, amid years of mental turmoil and addiction, I found the most important piece of the puzzle was to simply prepare to move forward–move ahead with the best tools and knowledge I had available to me. The intention brought my well-trusted friend Tom to me with angelic precision, arriving to guide my intention to the best of options for me at that moment in life. (Amen!)

I plan to meditate and volunteer with fellow students–many of whom have become dear friends of mine–plenty more in the years ahead.

S.N. Goenka, even though you and your assistant teachers prefer not to be thanked by your students, I’d like to thank you for the simple act of seeking your calling, finding it, and living it–for you’ve had a truly fantastic impact on the world around you.

May we all seek our unique calling, find it, and LIVE OUR PART as well…

Infinite Love,

GT

S.N. Goenka, 1924-2013

Bringing up the end, Wendy, Erik and their two young children come in last at this weekend’s colon cancer 5k in Washington D.C.’s Rock Creek Park.
As I’ve been remaining in DC to participate with different cancer-related groups and events (as I also await soon-to-come word from TFA), it was a great pleasure to take part in the 5k benefit. Given the good turnout of participants, and given the fact that I by no means was displaying any WALKING ACROSS AMERICA signs nor walking with my cart, I interacted with a very small portion of fellow participants. The only reason I came to talk to Wendy & Erik is because they were pushing their daughter in the same model Chariot that I pushed for thousands of miles.
We struck up a conversation quickly, where I learned that Wendy just had surgery for stage 3 colon cancer, and is about to undergo further intense treatment as she makes her way toward better, stronger health. As we met early on in the race, and quickly established a special rapport, of many questions I asked–some of which I told her I’d understand if they were too sensitive to answer–I asked her what it’s like to be this age, the mother of small children, and suddenly learn that you have a potentially fatal disease. Her answers enlightened me as to what my mother must have experienced, having been in the exact same scenario in 1984.
The crowd cheered as they brought up the rear, coming in last. When speaking to the group after the race, as a colon cancer patient, Wendy emphasized welcoming more humor into the colon cancer world: “We need to feel free to make more butt & poop jokes as we go through this process,” she laughingly explains…
Happy I am to have more wonderful new friends across the miles!!!

OK–I’m doing it!!

This Sunday, September 22 (my birthday), I’ll continue the Walk– from the White House to the Atlantic. (How can I walk across America, from the waves of the Pacific, and not reach the salty sands of the Atlantic?)
In private conversations, I’ve actually been talking for years about continuing the Walk all the way to Portland, Maine. Having walked from my home in Washington State through California and later Florida, reaching Maine on foot would complete the “4 corners” of the continental United States– the “Lower 48.” I’m confident I’ll make it all the way to Maine someday, but I don’t see reaching Maine as being likely this year– and maybe not next year either.
Though 100% of my commitment of walking from Washington (state) to Washington (D.C.) is complete, I’ve come to the decision that walking till my feet reach the waters of the Atlantic would be a good aim for the rest of this calendar year–and Long Island, NY, appears to be the perfect port on the Atlantic to achieve this aim. (I’ll walk New England some other time.)
From the White House, I’ll walk through the rest of D.C., and then Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York City. I plan to reach the shores of the Atlantic Ocean at Long Island–which will probably take me till this December. These upcoming miles will largely proceed in the form of previous miles: I’ll connect all the steps from DC to NY, I’ll speak to schools and other groups as much as possible, I’ll blog on my website (enjoythewalk.org) and update FB, and I’ll have a somewhat flexible timeline and path en route to New York’s Atlantic seashore.
All that said, while it’s highly likely that I’ll reach NY on foot by December, I’ll stop short of making a firm commitment to finishing these miles this year. Though I’m pretty confident I can make it through, there’s also a small chance that exhaustion could get the best of me, as I’ve been on the road for a looong time. I’ve also learned to expect the unexpected–and I have no idea what sort of surprises may occur between now and then. (E.g., If I sustain another injury as serious as the bloody left-foot laceration in Richmond, I’ll immediately have to suspend the DC-NY Walk indefinitely.)
Financially, can I afford to do this?
No. But, I didn’t know how I was going to be able to afford to walk all the way from home to D.C. either, and strong determination coupled with plenty of help from my friends (new and old) made it happen.
Therefore, especially given that calendar year 2014 could very quickly bring me up to my neck in many other life and work commitments, and given that I still feel great residual walking momentum within after only having reached DC at the beginning of summer, I’ve decided it best to use this fall to continue the Walk from DC, aiming for the Atlantic via Long Island, New York.

Ready, Set, Go!!!

This map is a semi-rough sketch of the route I’ll walk from DC to Long Island, NY. I won’t walk all of these exact roads, and will often follow the guidance of locals as I continue along my path.

Well, despite having the best initial intentions of continuing this blog on a weekly basis, I have to apologize to anyone who may have checked here weekly for something posted from me. I’m more consistent with posting to my personal Facebook page (something far easier to do from anywhere, and from the smart phone), but even my Facebook posts have slowed tremendously in recent months, as I’ve been inspired unto and enjoyed many days of digital fasting here and there. (Yes– I find it healthy and recommend it!!)
All that said, life hasn’t slowed down at all: I spent July back home in the Pacific NW, and in addition to catching up with many wonderful friends and family (not quite all of you, unfortunately), I began to face the gargantuan task of narrowing down the lifetime’s worth of possessions that my parents have been very helpfully hanging onto for me. My goal is to ultimately get everything squeezed down to what will fit into my small sedan, and drive to Atlanta (to join Rocio). As I’ve been an avid bibliophile through my adult years, narrowing down many shelves worth of books to that which will fit into the back of a small car is a very formidable task (despite the assistance of now owning a Kindle). And I own plenty more than books…

PERU:
Early this year, Rocio stumbled upon an awesome airfare deal where she could get 2 tickets to her native Peru for what one normally costs. She asked me if I’d care to join her– and I couldn’t say yes fast enough. So, we spent over half of August in Peru, where I enjoyed the wonderful privilege of meeting her parents and her four brothers!! Rocio also escorted me onto the sidetrips of Nazca and Machu Picchu–which were utterly fascinating beyond all imagination!!!
Tonight finds me at a meditation center in southern Georgia– not far from Savannah or Jacksonville, Florida. I just finished a volunteer commitment to assist with a silent course which ended yesterday, and later today, I’ll become a student meditator for the coming eight-day silent course. I’ll be out of contact with the rest of the world till the end of next week, as I both clean any dirt and mildew from my mind after bouncing around non-stop for years, and feed the necessary love and strength for where life takes me this fall.
THE ROAD AHEAD:
I’ve been leaning heavily toward continuing the walk beyond D.C.; however, I never wanted to commit to that until reaching D.C. on foot. (Intuition would be followed from there.) This was the perfect path. I’ve been very happy to take these past couple of months away from the road, and though I won’t make a final decision till I finish my eight-day meditation course (the end of next week), it’s likely I’ll return to the Walk later this month. After all–having walked so many miles of the Pacific Ocean– I should really walk to the Atlantic Seashore, shouldn’t I..?
Stay tuned…

PICS from PERU:

Having lunch with Rocio’s parents and four brothers in Lima, Peru!

Rocio & her mother in Lima, Peru’s central square, the “Plaza de Armas.”

Rocio, Amigos, Familia

Rocio and I in central Lima

All aboard to Machu Picchu!!

Verdant Inca Hills of Ollantaytambo!

Yet another form of transportation (just before seeing the Nazca lines!)

Machu Picchu!!!
I HIGHLY recommend a visit to Machu Picchu to every living being!!!

Climbing to the top of WaynaPicchu, looking down to Machu Picchu