Pedaling for Peace

On April 15, 2012 I started riding my bicycle cross-country from Jacksonville, Florida in voluntary support of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF) and the work of author and Peace Leadership Director for the NAPF, Paul K. Chappell. By July 4th, I had covered over 1300 miles to just west of Luling, Texas where a major mechanical failure brought this first stage of my cross-country journey to an end. After storing my bicycle and trailer with my aunt and uncle in Weatherford, Texas, I flew from Dallas to Santa Barbara, California to attend the NAPF First Annual Peace Leadership Summer Workshop. I then lived and worked in Santa Barbara for several more months before I returned to Jacksonville and sold off the rest of my possessions that I could to help fund a continuation of my journey. Starting June 8, 2013 and ending August 9, 2013, I rode from Weatherford, through 400 miles of the central Texas hill country, including Austin, Texas, back to Luling. It was at this point that a friend of mine invited me to work for a brief period in Pennsylvania before flying me back to Santa Barbara where I continued volunteering for the NAPF as well as for the Santa Barbara Bike Coalition. As of August 9th, 2014 I began"Stage III" of my cross-country adventure, this time heading south from Santa Barbara to San Diego and then east to El Paso, TX. It was there that illness, winter weather, and diminishing resources brought that leg of my journey to an end. After staying with another friend in Columbus, GA for several months, I moved "back home" to Kentucky to stay with my dad for a while and build a better "resource base" for future endeavors including review and further tracking and primitive survival skills training at Tom Brown, Jr's Tracker School , and a possible longer tour of the east coast, northern tier, and north west coast back down to Santa Barbara, CA.


Saturday, July 9, 2011

Re: Staying "On Schedule"

Just a brief post here to mention that as I have been resting, recuperating, and finishing the work of organizing what I will be taking with me on the road, it has poured down rain almost every day (except today, which is not over yet). And when I say poured, I mean, torrential, bucket loads.

If I had been "on schedule" as I had initially "thought" or planned myself, I would have been riding in all of that, or camping in it, and I'm sure it would have made for a much more difficult start to my journey.

However, for now at least, I am dry and secure, as is all of my electronic gear, food and clothing. Furthermore, "Mother Nature" has made very clear my need to be more certain about weather protection for myself and my gear, which is where all of my sewing skills are going to once again be called into action.

Now that I am not on a work schedule, or a move-out schedule, or any other particular "deadline" as far as my travel plans are concerned, I am going to trust that I will know when I am ready, and when it is actually time for me to go. I think one of the real spiritual lessons for me now is to be even more guided by "Universal Impulses" rather than just my mentally thought out plans.

For some of you that may seem impractical, and you may even grow impatient with my "wandering"... but, this is my journey and part of the whole point is to be able to engage it Freely, Spontaneously, and Happily.

There is so much in our culture now that does not allow for that, and I think it is a great loss for each of us as human and spiritual beings.

3 comments:

  1. "A healed mind does not plan" from ACIM. I love that quote and that concept. I also try and follow impuses, and 'listen' rather than try and think out things. Biggest interference with it is fear, so it has to be addressed vigorously. Good on you Lori for walking the talk x

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  2. Thanks, Turin. I am still having to figure out how to add pics via my iPad. I have purchased a couple of apps but they have not worked properly. So...need to call the Apple Store on that.

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