WALK
REPORTS
Day
1, March 6 - Day 2, March 7
Day 3, March 8 - Day
4, March 9 - Day 5, March 10
March
9, 2003
Emotional Highs, Thermometer Lows
WALK
QUICK FACTS: Today's walk began at 10:50am and concluded at 3:45pm.
Kept a mindful, meditation pace with more stops. A wonderful lunch was
provided by Anyetsang's Little Tibet restaurant. Total miles covered
10.5. 33 walkers were present at the start, joined by 4 more along the
route. Ambrose, our young friend from Muncie, and her father joined
us at the TCC this morning. Media contacts included: WTHR Channel 6
photographer.
It
was the best of our days; it was the coldest of days. We rose very early
in order to begin our day with special news. All the walkers were going
to have an audience with Taktser Rinpoche, Thubten Jigme Norbu! It was
an extremely, extraordinarily emotional experience! We were all honored
to meet Him and to share in the experience together. We have become
one big family! Out of deep respect, we each offered Rinpoche a kata
(a traditional Tibetan offering scarf) which He in turn placed around
our necks. Rinpoche thanked us for walking and asked each of us where
we were from. He gave each of us a memento from the Kalachakra. His
beautiful wife told stories of when He walked and explained that He
has put many organizations together to enlighten the world of Tibet's
illegal occupation. Mostly, He reminded us of the struggles of Tibet
and the fact that Tibetans will overcome these challenges! Some of the
young Tibetans told Rinpoche about their long time admiration for His
dedication and their shared feelings concerning the importance of pursuing
independence for Tibet. They also told Rinpoche that they needed more
leaders to advocate for independence. Today, Rinpoche was truly our
inspiration. Our pains and ailments left us as soon as we entered His
presence.
We assembled into cars around 9:15am and began to walk about 10:50am. It was extremely cold today. At the infamous Morgan County Bank, it was only 24 degrees. There was a very strong, cold, Canadian wind that didn't rest all day. Lunch was much earlier at 11:45am. The hot food and tea from Anyetsang's Little Tibet warmed us greatly, giving us much needed energy! After eating and drinking we had to say goodbye to our 8 Berea College (in Kentucky) and 2 Muncie friends. It was sad to see them leave. Jigme gave each of them a kata, thanking them for helping Tibet. After hugging and thanking and wishing safe travel, they waved and honked in the large white van that had to be back by 5:00pm. It was truly an honor to have been able to have Berea's young, intelligent, peaceful people with us! Thank you!
We
continued walking at 12:30pm with four more people who joined us at
lunch. The wind refused to be calm or warm. On our way, there were young
kids down the hill next to the road who were riding on four-wheelers.
Topden, a Tibetan from Minnesota, and I waited to see if they were jumping
the hills. He was surprised about how many sports there are in America.
I didn't think to point out how much athletes are paid and teachers
are not. We also passed some graceful horses. The horses were mesmerized
by all the flags, both Tibetan and American. They ran to the fence and
stared at us, watching us on our path. We took a moment to watch them
run, free.
Our
pace today was in a Buddhist meditation style, slow and mindful of the
present moment. The struggles of the Tibetans to gain independence of
their country and homeland from China were on our minds. We knew we
had to make every vehicle that passed us today read each and every sign
that we carried. We have been displaying the American flag on the entire
walk to show respect and thanks to be able to tell the Tibet story outloud.
Awareness is the only way for the Tibetans to own their homeland again.
As every vehicle passed, I looked at each person and prayed for their
curiosity to grow. As I made eye contact with the motorists, I hoped
that an awareness had been sparked. If we wait too long, an entire culture
and population will become extinct. Not just any culture, but an ancient,
uniquely non-violent culture. Independence must happen NOW!