Carolyn Affleck
Ever since I can remember, I've enjoyed walking. I love how absorbed I can become in my surroundings, no matter where - crowded city street, quiet forest trail, lonely highway or exotic garden path. I treasure the sense of connection, renewed creativity and peace of mind that walking brings. Sometimes when I walk, I catch myself grinning, and then wonder if people think I’m a little nutty. But witnessing a smile on a stranger’s face has many a time brightened my disposition. So I keep on smiling, and keep on walking.
I think that travelling in vehicles puts us at a distance from things and people. Cars give us power- literally, and in the psychological sense, that we are not entitled to. It is only a priviledge, not a right, to get from A to B as fast as possible, in a hurtling metal machine that could take a life in seconds, given the wrong set of circumstances. And global warming – that’s nobody’s fault but ours. I have a car, and I use it. And, although I try to plan in advance, and get all my errands done in one day, I sometimes find myself driving several days a week. Rather than berate myself, I keep trying to do better, and I keep on walking.
Our world has a violent history of relying on our outer strength, rather than inner strength, to resolve differences. In our eagerness for short-term gain we are rapidly destroying everything around us. Through walking, whether we walk for adventure, walk to work, walk our dogs, walk for peace, we can reconnect with ourselves, each other, the world around us, and bring healing to all. So let's keep on walking.
Since 2004, Derek Walker Youngs and I have been walking and working together, leading groups of people on the Camino, giving slide show presentations on pilgrimage, and teaching children how to make origami peace birds. Please feel free to contact me about what we can offer you or your organization.
Although we are no longer taking groups, I am eager to share information about the Camino and Shikoku pilgrimages. I am also happy to answer questions about my photography. www.carolynaffleck.com
Happy trails,
Carolyn Affleck