Me and village kids Well my Dear Boys and Girls, after fifteen months of walking the country, I have finally made it home.  Here we are at the end of one road and the beginning of another, such is Life.  A man once asked me, "Why are you walking across the country?"  At the time i didn't know why, maybe it was just to stretch my legs or lose a few pounds.  Well, I still can't tell him the Why of it, but I can most certainly tell him what I have learned from doing it. It goes something like this.  Starting off in May of 2008 I had absolutely no idea how I could possibly walk from L.A to D.C and what I could achieve as a result of doing so.  I had very little funds starting out and even less confidence, but somehow I had enough trust to get me started in the right direction.  Confidence I found out is achieved through doing and not thinking.  So little by little, day by day, I slowly started to let go and trust that all would work out and day by day, little by little, it did.  I took baby steps in the direction I wanted to go and the Universe held my hand as I did so.  I leaned up against my fears, reminding myself daily to laugh and not to take myself too seriously.  The more I walked the path the more I began to trust.   I let go of my plans and allowed something greater than I to take the helm.  It was not an easy thing for me to do but it was by far the smartest thing to do. Everyday I laughed a little more and some days I cried a little more, but through it all I kept myself open to new possibilities and miracles happened daily.  I learned to drop the oars, stop rowing upstream, allowing the natural current of abundance to take me for a ride. I learned to ask for help when I needed it and accepted when given, something I always felt was a weak thing to do, but now I can tell you dear reader that abundance comes in many forms.  After all we are here to help each other. I learned that people regardless of what state they were in, all wanted love and respect, they all wanted a friend to talk to, and they all wanted a little more peace in their lives.  I learned that every little thing we do towards peace in our own lives benefits the entire Planet(no exceptions) So Dear Reader, if you feel a bit discouraged with the consciousness of the Planet right now, don't worry, this is simply the storm before the calm.  I believe that the Divine architecture for the planet is Peace. How soon that happens?  Well, that's up to us.  Keep taking baby steps to improve your life and the lives of others.  When you feel down go out and find some way to be of service to another.  I have found this to be the secret to a happy life.  Everything you do counts, so do your life well, live for today, and let tomorrow take care of itself.  Thank you for all the love, support, and kindness you have shown this Paddy Peace Walker for the last 15 months.                                           BIG THANKS To Michael Ireland for all the wisdom and support To Martin Dunkerton for the cheerful enthusiasm and support towards the vision To Andrew Beath for his friendship and the extra funds To Shailee Mashruwala for all the love, compassion, and heart warming snacks To Michael Weatherhead for going the extra mile to capture it all on camera To my loving, outrageous, comical, caring, and wonderful Family-I thank you one and all for just showing up and being there for me A special thank you to all the people who opened their homes, hearts, and refrigerators to me while on the road And to you my dear readers, thank you for being a gracious and wonderful audience and for all the support and feedback Cheers to you, you, you, and you :) SUPPORT OUR PEACE WALK We have not yet raised all the necessary funds to build our education center in India.  If you feel to donate towards our vision, please visit our website at:     www.gandhipeacewalk.org or if you would like to make a tax deduction for your donation please mail a check made out to earthways/gandhipeacewalk  at 20178 rockport way, Malibu CA 90265.  The Gandhi Peacewak is a project of Earthways a non-profit 501(C3) organization. Please FORWARD this newletter to anyone you think would enjoy reading it. Peace and Truth, Dermot Butterly, aka Gandhi Rollingstone :)

Well my dear boys and girls here we are again.  Friday of last week I crossed over the border into Virginia, (2,756 miles later) the last state of my peace walk.    Here is a litle story to warm the cockles of your heart.    I left my transport vehicle in Nashville,TN and decided to pick it up in four weeks.  I wanted to experiment with letting go of all my attachments to things and just see what happened.  An experiment in Trust if you will.  You see I believe that we are abundant beings and the Universe gives us everything we need, not always what we want though, but we must believe this first in order to see it.      With that in mind I wanted to test out the theory on myself at a deeper level than ever before in my life.     So I said Cherioo to my camper and left Nashville not knowing where I was going to sleep or eat for the next four weeks.  Later on that day I got a call from a man in Lebanon,TN inviting me to come stay at his home for the night.  After walking he picked me up and his lovely wife fed me some of the best home cooking I've ever had.  For the next four days Dan drove me back and forth to my walking stops and picked me up in the evening.  Having a hot shower and a warm bed for the night was wonderful.  At the end of four days, Dan got me a place to stay in the next town on my walk.  This time I stayed with a couple in the town of Smithville,TN.    Bert and Betsy treated me like royalty.  I got my own bed in the guest house and use of the pool and great company to match.  They drove me to and fro for a few days and also donated to my walk.  I must admit dear reader I had a hard time leaving.  Well my experiment was proving to be quite the adventure.  Staying with people I had never met and not knowing where I would end up at the end of the day was becoming a wonderful, freeing experience.  Down to my last dollar I entered the town of Jefferson city and I walked into a sandwich shop.  I had 7 dollars to my name.  As I was ordering my lunch to go,  a lady asked me what I was doing, I told her the story of my peace walk.  She handed me 20 dollars and said put that towards your walk.  I got my sandwich and asked the lady to join me.  We had a great conversation about life and all its little surprises, and before leaving she handed me another 20 dollars and said goodbye.  Leaving the shop I laughed at the thought of how many people actually enter a sandwich shop and leave with more than they entered with.     I walked all day and arrived in the tiny town of Mosheim.  I stopped by a few churches to find a place to sleep overnight, but no one was home.  After a lengthy and very confusing conversation with the local librarian about directions to the pastor's house, I headed out with only a small idea of where the house was but lots of trust to guide me. I walked for another two miles, tired and quite hungry at this point.  As I passed a house, a car was leaving, the driver pulled up and asked if he could help me.  I'm looking for Richard Smith the pastor of the Baptist church. Well my friend you just found him.  Hop in he said, come eat with us and later we will get you set up in the church.  We had a lovely dinner, talked about life and all things religious.  In the morning Richard bought me breakfast, with a full belly and a happy heart, I hit the road.    During this four week adventure, every night, porches, churches, and homes were to be my resting place.  I was given food and shelter every day and all I had to do was put one foot in front of the other and trust the abundance of the Universe within and without.  Starting this experiment I had alot of fear and doubt but as it unfolded my trust deepened and my heart lightened.  I have never felt such freedom.  Not knowing every day is an incredible experience in itself.  Life is truly lived in the unknown.  There were many such miracles daily, all too many to share here, you will just have to wait for the book.   If I could sum it all up in a few words, I would quote a sign on a church that I saw on the very first day of my experiment.  "When nothing is sure , everything is possible."     Well my dear readers I hope you found some wisdom and humor in my little adventure and the cockles of your heart have been warmed.  Take care of yourself and each other.  And please remember to enjoy the journey for it is perfect, Divine and full of unexpected surprises.   We are kindly asking for donations so that we may complete the last three and a half weeks of our peace walk.  Information on how to make a donation is given below. Peace and blessings, The Gandhi Peace Walk Dermot Butterly and Shailee Mashruwala

SUPPORT OUR PEACE WALK The walk is primarily being run on kind donations which are gratefully received at www.gandhipeacewalk.org If you would like to make a tax deduction for your donation, please make a check out to Earthways/gandhipeacewalk at 20178 rockport way, Malibu CA 90265. The Gandhi Peace Walk is a project of EarthWays a non-profit organisation.

                                       Love The Ones Your With

Well My Dear Friends,  We went to D.C.  a few weeks ago to support the We Are The Dream Concert and to do a Gandhi Peacewalk of our own.  My sister and niece from New York, two sisters, one brother, and me dear Mammy all came from Ireland to show their support.  After a lot of hard work from Michael, Maria, Martin, Shailee, and Tommy we were ready to sing, dance, and walk for peace, but alas it rained Saturday morning and we had to cancel the walk.  So the entire Butterly clan plus friends headed for tea and biscuits.   It was so nice to have most of my family in one place.
 Around 12:30 pm we headed over to the Washington Mall area where the concert was being held.  Maria and I kicked off the Concert in the rain, as we began to sing, wouldn't you believe it,  suddenly the heavens opened and the clouds disappeared and the sun shone it's rays of love and light upon us.  REALLY YOU ASK?  No Not Really, but we were hopeful.  We sang our little Irish hearts out and everyone just made the most of the cold, wet weather, even me dear little Mammy :)   It was a great lesson in letting go and just enjoying the moment, regardless of how it was previously planned.
After D.C.  I headed to L.A to do some fundraising to help support the last three months of the walk.  I must say a special big thank you to Shailee for all the help in selling T-shirts and her continued support.   We raised enough money to get me back on the road for another month or two with a few extra dollars to spare.
   I want to say a special thank you to all my friends in L.A. (you know who you are) for their support and to all the kind people who bought t-shirts and gave donations.
So here I am back on the road, a few miles East of Memphis on my way to Nashville. 
My new date for D.C. is August 1st but who really knows.  I'll get there when I get there.  Or as my father always says, cross that bridge when you get to it.  I love you Pops.  The next 300 miles are dedicated to you, because i know you did the best with what you were given and that's a lot to be grateful for.
Take care of yourselves, your family,  and your friends.  I wish you all the very best that life and love have to offer.  We will talk soon, Dermot Butterly aka Gandhi Rolling Stone  :)


SPECIAL THANKS TO
Mammy for all the love
Maria for coming to D.C.  and all the support
Tommy, Caroline, Andrea, Andrea, family and relatives
Martin for the flyer donations
Michael for the T-Shirt funds
Robyn for giving us her home for a week
Colman McCarthy for his inspiration
Harris Wofford for his wonderful interview

Well my dear girls and boys, here we are again.  I am now in Little Rock, Arkansas, (bless my little Irish feet) the weather has been nippy but nice.  It's been a busy month.  I've talked about a lot of topics during the last eight months of my peace walk across America, but there is one topic I have avoided until now.  The topic is Self-Love.  Now what does that actually mean to love yourself.  Should I hug myself, kiss myself all over, or even make love to myself (clean thoughts only please).  Before I dive into that pool of emotional mushyness,  let me back up a little and share with you about my not so little insignificant smoking habit.  Yes, you have heard correctly.  Gandhi Rollingstone, the guy who is walking across America for peace, the guy who is telling kids at high schools to treat their lives and their bodies with respect, the guy whose mantra is Be The Change You Wish To See In The World, is a joker, a smoker, a midnight toker.  And If you are still not sure what the potatoes I am talking about. Let me spell it out.    I SMOKE CIGARETTES.   Now I don't smoke everyday, just when I am a little stressed or at a gathering of some sort, but I can't say NO when a cigarette is put in front of my perly lips.  On and off through this walk, I have smoked around 10 nails for my coffin every month.  It doesn't seem a lot but it is more the fact that I am treating my body in this way.  My dear girlfriend asked me the other day why I smoke?  I gave her all the bull???? answers my smart little cunning brain could come up with but the sheer, gut wrenching, heart stopping, lung corroding truth of the matter is I am hooked on the habit.  I have through the years trained myself well to have a puff every time I am stressed or out for an evening or whatever excuse seems appropriate for the time.  I have told myself many times l will quit and for even years at a time I did, but I always come back to it.  So what does this puffing on carbon monoxide sticks have to do with Self - Love?  Well my curious reader,  I asked myself, how can I talk about being the change during my peace walk, treating our bodies as temples, and still carry on smoking.  Well I am a hypocrite, plain and simple.  I applaud my girlfriend for having the courage to bring this to my attention, even though when she did I was quite annoyed by it or should I say my Ego Self was quite battered.
      So what does it all mean?  Well I can no longer indulge in this habit, if I am to talk to other people about Being The Change, I just cannot.  I do not want to be a person that says do as I say not as I do.  So to all the Gaia readers in this moment I make a solemn promise Not To Abuse My Body in this way any longer.  My girlfriend and I have decided to start practicing daily Self - Love.  This is quite new for both of us but I know that healing is the application of Love to all the parts inside that hurt, and I know there are parts of myself that need some tender loving healing.  So every night before going to sleep we take one part of our body or the whole package and send love to it just for a few minutes.  We raise our vibration to heal ourselves and in doing so we help heal the World.  In this Paddies book that's a win-win situation.   Try it for 30 days and let me know how it goes.  Peace and Blessings, Dermot Butterly  aka Gandhi Rolling Stone  :)

Events We Are The Dream Concert planned for D.C on April 11th   Go to www.wearethedreamconcert.com                           GPW Daily Diary Would you like to know what we get up to on the road? Go to website for a link to my  Daily Diaries and then click on My Blog :)  GANDHI T-SHIRTS Dear friends we are now selling t-shirts to help with gas and food costs.  If you would like to support the walk by buying one, please e-mail me at dermotmb@yahoo.com or if you would like to sell five t-shirts in support to some of your friends, we will give you one free for yourself.  T-Shirts are 20 dollars.  More info available on our website SUPPORT OUR PEACE WALK The walk is primarily being run on kind donations which are gratefully received at www.gandhipeacewalk.org or if you would like to make a tax deduction for your donation please mail a check made out to earthways/gandhipeacewalk  at 20178 rockport way, Malibu CA 90265.  The Gandhi Peacewak is a project of Earthways a non-profit 501(C3) organisation. Please FORWARD this newletter to anyone you think would enjoy reading it. Peace and Truth, Dermot Butterly, aka Gandhi Rollingstone :)

 

Well boys and girls, lads and lassies, may I be the second to wish you a happy healthy and wholesome New Year.  Where does the time go?  I just don't know.  Now to what I do know, which is very little indeed.  I know that it is a Monday afternoon and I'm parked in the forest, its cold outside,  and it has been raining all day.  I know I am in Oklahoma and approximately 110 miles from the Arkansas border.  I also know that I haven't showered for a few days and it's a good thing no one is sharing my little camper with me.  Don't worry Shailee I will shower before you get here.  So I am now 1736 miles into my walk and 1320 miles to go.     Dear reader,  I write these newsletters with the intention of inspiring you in some small way.  So lets see what I've learned since beginning this little walkabout.      In Gods Time, Not Mine.  Let me go a little deeper into that one, otherwise your going to start thinking crazy things like, what do you mean God, are you saying she is real?  Oh yeah, She is real and more amazingly, She is running the show, not you and not me.  I know, slap me twice and call me Shirley, but it is true.  The last few month or so I have been without a driver, so I walk my fifteen to twenty miles and then I hitch back to my truck.  Now when I first started doing this I would get very mad at all the good holy people who were not giving me a ride.  As time went on,  I realized that the right people were picking me up at the right time, just not in the time I wanted them to.   One day I was out walking in the  cold and I started to hitch back to my car just before the big circle of light in the sky, said nighty, night.  I didn't get a ride and ended up walking twenty four miles to the next town, by this time I was really cold and hungry.  I hung out at the gas station but no one was going my way.  I walked another mile to the next gas station and saw a casino.  A voice clear as the nose on your face said, "Go in and treat yourself to dinner,"  but I said, "I need to get a ride back to my truck."  Then the voice said, "Go in and eat."  I went in and asked how much for the buffet? the lady said fourteen dollars.  I responded, with "Does that come with a massage?"  She didn't think it was funny, I however was laughing hysterically, Internally of course :)  It was a little over my budget,  but I told her I wanted to check it out first.  I was really looking forward to some fish but there was none.  The man behind the counter said he would go in the back and get me a piece.  I was to tell no one.  So I sat down and he brought me this beautiful piece of fish.  Well dear reader I didn't know whether to frame it, dance with it, or make love to it.  After some contemplation I ate it.   A couple sat down beside me and we got chatting.  We hit it off and before they offered to drive me back to my car.  I thanked them and off we went.  We chatted about life, love, and everything in between on the ride back.  Pamela got out of the car and gave me a big hug and wished me well and placed thirty dollars into my hand.  I was tongue-tied.  I said good bye and realized, In Gods Time, Not Mine or as the big lady with no hair on her head, all on her back, says, drop the oars and go with the flow.  Now you know the rest of the story Rory. :) Events We Are The Change Concert planned for April 11th in Washington D.C. More info in the next newsletter.                              Big Thanks GPW Daily Diary Would you like to know what we get up to on the road? Go to website for a link to my  Daily Diaries and then click on My Blog :)  GANDHI T-SHIRTS Dear friends we are now selling t-shirts to help with gas and food costs.  If you would like to support the walk by buying one, please e-mail me at dermotmb@yahoo.com or if you would like to sell five t-shirts in support to some of your friends, we will give you one free for yourself.  T-Shirts are 20 dollars.  More info available on our website SUPPORT OUR PEACE WALK The walk is primarily being run on kind donations which are gratefully received at www.gandhipeacewalk.org or if you would like to make a tax deduction for your donation please mail a check made out to earthways/gandhipeacewalk  at 20178 rockport way, Malibu CA 90265.  The Gandhi Peacewak is a project of Earthways a non-profit 501(C3) organisation. Please FORWARD this newletter to anyone you think would enjoy reading it. Peace and Truth, Dermot Butterly, aka Gandhi Rollingstone :)

Gandhi Rolling Stone -- Stories From The Road
 
Follow Your Bliss by Dermot Butterly aka Gandhi Rolling Stone

Greetings my dear readers.  Here I sit in my little camper in the long-term parking lot of the Oklahoma City airport hoping they don’t kick me out in the middle of the night.  You see I just returned from a few days in Los Angeles getting some dental work done and now I’m back on the road.  I’m feeling quite sad and even a little sorry for myself.  The transition from a hot apartment, great meals,  and the warmth of my girlfriend’s body as I sleep next to her to a freezing cold camper and nothing but the cold air to hold on to is a little challenging, to say the least.  I listened to some spiritual words from Yogananda and reminded myself that every day is new and it is ok to feel this way just for today. 
I wanted to talk about the little chat I had with the cab driver on the way to the LAX Airport today.  His name I have forgotten but I know he was from Russia.  Dark black hair, good looking but I believe I saw a tear of sadness behind his fake designer sunglasses.  He told me he was not happy living in L.A. All he wanted to do was to live in a small town away from L.A in the country near a lake.  Why don’t you move I asked?  He then spent the next twenty minutes telling me all the reasons why he could not.  I asked him, what was more important, finding a way to create his dream or finding ways not to.   Just because it is hard, does not mean it is impossible.  I told him all about my walk and how scared I was when I first started to organize it all.  I had no idea how to do it and no money to do it with, but where there is a will there is always a way. He said it was too hard and I said it’s harder to live the lie of not believing it’s possible than to go and create the life you want. I wondered how many people lie or convince themselves that the life they want is not possible.  In this Universe of  Infinite possibilities, anything is possible.  The Universe only says YES.  If you say I cannot have that, the Universe says YES you are right and when you say I can have that, the Universe says YES you are right.  Whatever you believe that is what you will create. 
 I asked Russian cabbie when you are ninety years of age, sitting in your rocking chair inside your noisy L.A apartment looking back on your life, what will you say about it?   I’m so glad that I never made the effort to live in that wonderful town by the lake, or will you say I’m so sad I never even tried?  This question really made him wonder.   It’s good to ask ourselves these deep questions every now and then. So many people look back from the rocking chair and say I wish I had done blankety blank well my dear reader you can fill in the rest of the story. 
Life is constantly inviting us to create the life we want everyday and in everyway but most of us are too afraid.  I spent most of my life feeling and acting this way. 
My dear reader whatever you want to do, please start it now.  Take small steps towards your new life.  This is the time.  Not tomorrow, not yesterday, but today, NOW.   Find out what makes you happy and move towards it.  I guarantee you miracles will happen.   The journey of ten thousand miles begins with one step.   Peace and Blessings, Gandhi Rolling Stone.     
For more info on the Peace Walk go to www.gandhipeacewalk.org

Gandhi Peace Walk – Dermot Butterly: Personal Bio
 
My name is Dermot Butterly and I am an Irish man born in Dublin and came to America in 1995.  I had dreamt of coming to the states for a long time and eventually ended up moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in singing and acting.  Little did I know that God had other plans.  In 2003, I started practicing yoga and meditation which led me on a journey to India.  My plan in October 2006 was to visit all the places Mahatma Gandhi and Paramahansa Yogananda had lived.  During this trip I met a man in Calcutta who invited me to visit his village in a remote part of Orissa, India.  I spent three glorious weeks there, tutoring the children in English, eating with my hands, and learning how to squat.  At the end of my visit, I was asked by my friend to help build a community center that would be used as a school, hospital, and training center for the villagers.  I told my friend I would come up with a way to help raise the funds.  If I had told him at the time that my idea was to dress up as the Father of India and walk across America talking about peace and raising funds to help build the center he probably would have thought I was crazy.  We started a non-profit called Peace of the Heart Foundation.  All the proceeds from the walk will go to fund this project and many others including planting trees to clean up our air.  And that my friends is how the Gandhi Peace walk from Los Angeles to Washington D.C was born.  

Walking from Los Angeles to Washingtion DC, I have had many experiences that have guided me towards my own path of inner peace.  I started this walk thinking it would be some glamorous, world changing event but I have realized that outward change comes from within.  It is not big things that inspire change rather the little things done well and in all our lives there are many things that can be done.  Gandhi has been my inspiration for a long time and his life was a wonderful and powerful example of service, not only to his fellow man but also to himself.  To me service has become more than the act of giving but also an everyday experience.  Learning how to listen from the heart, serve with my hands in a compassionate, caring way.  It is about asking myself what can I do in this moment to serve, remembering that we are all children of god.  So my dear friends, what is the secret to inner peace?  Well, for this Irish man it is the simple act of service that comes from the heart, driven by passion, humility, and trust.  Starting out the intention of this walk was to raise funds to build a community center, plant trees, and promote peace.  For me it has been more than that.  It has been very empowering, rewarding, challenged my beliefs, tested my faith, and transformed my doubts.  It has left me with a deeper connection to the divine within and a clearer vision of peaceful future.  For more info on our Peace walk go to www.gandhipeacewalk.org     Peace and Blessings to you all, Dermot Butterly 

Gandhi Peace Walk – Amarillo, TX

A Slice Of Service To Go

Well my dear friends, peace and blessings to you and all the souls you know.  Now girls and boys the story of the week.  I would like to start introducing you to some of the fascinating and wonderful people that I have had the privilege to meet.  So I want to start to share with you some of their stories, in the hope that you find inspiration and wisdom from them.  I am realizing that there are far more good people in the World who are being of service in many valuable and inspiring ways.  It is my intention to document the stories of these passionate people on my Gaia blog.  I met Leroy at the Salvation Army Outreach Center on Thanksgiving.  He is the kitchen manager there and here is his story.  Enjoy ☺
       My name is Leroy Anderson.   When I was sixteen I had my first beer and smoked my first joint.  Everything in my life started to go wrong from that moment on.  From 1979 thru 1984 I partied like there was no tomorrow.   In 1991 I started to smoke crack cocaine and went on to dealing drugs to keep the habit alive.  I was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison, after two and a half years I got out.  I had every intention of staying clean but it was not meant to be.  I got a job working as a dishwasher in El Paso and after a short time I got promoted to kitchen manager.  I was feeling good about myself, so good in fact that one night I decided to live a little.  I had one line of cocaine and that my friends sent me straight back to the beginning of another chaotic life.  I remember having saved 300 dollars to go and see my sick daughter in Amarillo and before I could buy the ticket it was all snorted up.  In 2001, back in Amarillo, I stayed with my brother for a while until he threw me out for lying about being clean.  After living on the streets for three months, I ended up back in prison for another two years for selling drugs.   In prison I developed a serious desire to live and serve.  I started to help people with prayer and bible study.  It’s easy to say I am changed on the inside but it needs to be reflected on the outside and that is where service to others begins.   People looked up to me for guidance and I was not going to let them down.  It was at this point in my life that I surrendered my will to God and asked Him to take over.  Well He did.   After prison I got out and went to the Salvation Army Center to volunteer my time.  I got up every morning at 5am to make sure that people had cleaning supplies everyday. I helped out for eight months every day until 3pm and afterwards I would go to my other job. I was offered a full time position as a kitchen manager at the center.  My day starts at 5am and ends at 4pm.  I cook breakfast, lunch, and I also help to set up for dinner.
      I learned thru service that you cannot swim in shallow water, you have to step out into the deep end.  A meaningful life is a life filled with meaning.     I thank God every day that I went thru all that craziness because it has helped me to get here, where I am very happy.   I really care for all the people at the center because I have been where they are now.  I know what it is like to be homeless and to feel hopeless.  I tell them to hang in there when times are tough.  I want the best for these guys.  I have found peace and freedom thru Service to others.     I hope my story inspires you in some way.
May God bless you all, Leroy Anderson

Well my friends here we are again.  It’s November where does the time go?  So presently I am in Fort Sumner, New Mexico where Billy the Kid is buried.  
So where do I start?  Well my experiment of leaving the truck for a few days at a time and going back to it was a real success.  It’s true you know, if you want to go swimming in the lake you have to let go of the pier.
The first week of my little experiment in Faith was an interesting one.  I stayed in lots of interesting places including a Church floor huddled next to the gas heater and on another occasion I had the good fortune to stay at a Motel. On the third day I stood out on the road with my little Irish thumb hanging in the wind for two hours.  Finally I got a ride from a truck load of American Indians and I got to sit in the back chatting to none other than Geronimo’s great grandson.
The second week I was put up by Nita the owner of what is known in Pie Town as the toaster House.  She keeps the house open for hikers and bikers traveling the Continental trail.  Nita my darling you are a classy Lady!!
After walking nineteen miles with a huge blister I had to take the next 2 days off to let my foot heal.  Blisters are Gods way of saying slow down Paddy.
I got back on the road and stopped by the VLA (very large array), which is where they map the stars using radio astronomy.  You may remember seeing the very large dishes in the movie Contact with Jodie Foster.  There are twenty-eight of them spread across the desert.  It is quite a site.   That week I also visited the Trinity Site where the first Atomic bomb was tested and I even ate some fries at the restaurant where Oppenheimer hung out.  I was offered a place to stay in a Bed and Breakfast and the following day I stayed at a ranch house in the middle of nowhere next to somewhere.  For the entire week, places showed up for me to stay.  I was quickly letting go of the fear of the unknown.
During week three there was a day when I had to walk on the highway in the dark for quite a few hours.  I didn’t lose faith trusting that someone would give me a lift and sure enough at 9.30pm they did.  I made it back to my truck just in time for a cup of tea and a good nights sleep.   Leaving my truck for a few days on week three was particularly difficult.  I was filled with a lot of worry and doubt.  However if I want to talk about Peace, faith and facing your fears, then I must be able to face my own.  So after a week of people putting me up I parked my truck in the middle of the forest and on my 40th birthday I decided to really face my fear of being alone in the dark.  I parked my truck in the forest and that night I went for a three mile walk in the woods.  I was so scared.   I never prayed so much in my life but after it was over I felt liberated, realizing it takes much more energy to run away from fear than it does to face it.  I’m learning more and more to just let go and trust that the Universe has a better plan for me than I have for myself.    The biggest step to inner peace is facing that which you fear most. I cannot be peaceful and fearful at the same time.  The best way to face life is with Faith.   My fear of the dark is really of the unknown.  Gandhi I believe showed us all that it is possible to overcome any obstacle by the power of faith, love and truth.
I will do my best from now on to update my Blog on www.gaia.com every Thursday.  Type in Gandhi Rolling Stone to find the blog on Gaia.
My friends thank you so much for all your kind words of encouragement and support.  They are sincerely appreciated.  I leave you to ponder this:  “We are so willing to send our sons and daughters off to fight in a War, but what are we willing to sacrifice for Peace?”
We are currently looking for contacts in Amarillo Texas.  If you know of people there who could provide a room from Nov 26th-Nov 30th,  Please let me know
For more information on the Peace Walk click here    www.gandhipeacewalk.org
Peace and Truth, Dermot Butterly aka Gandhi Rolling Stone………