Trails


***

pp. 6


...and the more I trust somebody, the more of a chance I will find something in them that otherwise I didn't know existed. Everyone is an exception. A Voice rings in my head... Talk to Strangers.

I can't tell if it's good or bad. Images are scattered in my memory, of times when people saved my life... of times when people stole my hope.

We may never know how much we influenced each other, but if you can't trust me, then you may never find a reason for our meeting.


***

pp. 30


That morning I decided to leave. For the past two days I had been looking dreamily at a map of the United States and figured I would walk backwards down I-80 with my thumb in the air and a smile on my face. I asked my friend if he could drop me off at the on-ramp to the highway. I think I caught him a little off guard. He asked me if I was sure... I nodded my head in affirmation.

The beginning is difficult to remember.

By 8 AM, I was sitting on the curb with my thumb raised in the air. For a couple of hours I was making a lot of eye contact with those in passing cars, even saw a few people wave to me, but no one was stopping. I figured I should make myself look as least threatening as possible, so took a stroll to a nearby gas station, found a piece of cardboard and wrote in large letters with a black marker, "Going EAST."

I then wandered back to my previous location, put my pack on the ground in front of me, and held the sign up over my head. The sign worked to attract more attention. About twenty minutes went by when someone stopped over on the shoulder and asked me how far East I was going. I told him I needed to get to Washington, DC. He laughed, said, "Good luck," and continued driving.

Within the next few hours two other cars stopped, but both drivers said they were only heading to Sacramento. That was east, but no more than an hour from where I was, so I turned the rides down, hoping someone traveling further would come along. More hours passed, I remained sitting on the curb, occasionally standing up and reviving the thumb technique. No one else stopped and by now I was preparing to accept any offer.


***

pp. 76


The position we have found ourselves in is quite unique. The unity of our nation in recent times has enabled us to persevere through disaster. We have been expressing solidarity through the simple blessing of "God Bless America." It has been on the lips and in the hearts of many in our nation. Today, however, in these challenging times, we must spread this blessing to the rest of the world.

We need to remember that we share this planet with six billion other people. We must remember that in God's infinite wisdom, God would bless the whole planet with peace before blessing a small percentage of earth's inhabitants with victory.

We must ask ourselves, is America more important than Italy, Brazil, or South Africa? Are the thousands of people starving to death at this moment in Somalia any less deserving of a blessing than Americans?

Empathy is needed for the realization of world peace, and as Americans we are being called on to empathize with The World Health Organization's estimate that 5,479 children die a day from diarrhea. Diarrhea and disease that is caused from contaminated food and unsanitary drinking water. These deaths are preventable and are the lives of these children less important than the lives of ours? Don't they also deserve to receive a Blessing?

We must avert from our separatist (oh my God how could this happen to me/america) thought to wholistic (oh my goodness how could someone feel so oppressed that they would want to harm their brothers and sisters) thought. An 'Us against Them' mentality, whether being used by the Taliban or the people of the United States, is one of the reasons we continue to be at war. For the American people, specifically, this mentality is being perpetuated by the narrowness of our blessing.

We must realize that consciousness begins in language and by shifting the language currently being used from 'God Bless America' to 'God Bless the World,' simultaneously the consciousness of Americans will be expanded and transformed.

Is it not true that if God only Blesses Americans then Americans will spend the rest of their lives fighting those who God hasn't Blessed.

Understanding, that the 6 billion people in the world have thousands, if not millions of different ways to name and define God, altering the current slogan is not in any way meant to ostracize them, rather, it is now, more then ever, that we must each realize God has a myriad of names and faces. It is now, that We must compromise and accept that everyone has there own unique ways of doing things and their own methods of prayer...

Today the world asks your help in lifting the consciousness of the American people. You can do this by promoting a wholistic approach to thinking at your sermons, concerts, talk shows, and web pages. You can create bumper stickers or t-shirts that say, "God Bless the World" on them, and of course, include everyone in your prayers.

In the end, anyone who needs to ask God to bless anything, please understand the nature in which God has created. Any truth would read, God Blessed The World, and since America is part of the World then it is Blessed also.

Now is the time to remember it.


___LOVE ---- LOVE --- LOVE___


***

pp. 105

There is little to no waste in the African villages. Scraps of food are given to the chickens and goats; they may as well be the garbage disposals. This reminds me of when I was in seventh grade. I went to India for three months. I was at my grandparents' home in Bombay. As in Africa, it is customary to eat out of the same plate with your friends and family. There are no dinner tables or chairs; instead you sit on the floor. You also don't use utensils; you always eat with your hands.

I remember watching my grandmother as she slid her fingers over the steel plate, gathering all of the crumbs and skillfully putting them in her mouth. She then picked up the pitcher of water with her left hand and poured some water into the plate. After wiping the plate with her fingers, she drank the water! She drank the water she cleaned the plate with. And it was normal-efficiency, no waste. It was needed, a way of life. Water only ran through the pipes for two hours in the morning and two hours at night, and even then it was in limited supply.