[Palestine - Walking for Peace]
I went to Palestine not knowing what to expect and not particularly believing that peace could be achieved by the simple act of walking as proposed by William Ury (William Ury@ TED) the founder of the Abraham's Path Initiative (www.abrahamspath.org).
I joined API on their exploratory walk of the West Bank of Palestine in late February. My job was to walk the path and document the journey through photographs. API's goal is to facilitate an experience of the other side of the Middle East. They believe that the simple act of walking and experiencing a community and its people first hand will connect people powerfully, and reinstate a belief in a shared humanity.
Our small group of 8 international people walked, ate, and stayed with the locals throughout our trip. We experienced their wonderful hospitality while on our 140 mile walk from Nabulus to Hebron.
As an agnostic I struggled to understand why I was here. What did this land, the heart of the world's 3 major religions and a place of intense modern conflict have to do with my life experience?
5 days into my walk it dawned on me that I was not here to find anything but to let go of what I thought my story was. What was I holding on to so tightly it prevented me from moving forward in my life? The very things in life you think are not negotiable actually are or so I realized as I trudged up the 'Valley of Death' in the hot sun with my soul bared and my ego in shreds.
This is what being on a pilgrimage is I began to understand. This is where peace begins within and without. Here are the pictures that don't do justice to the experience but in the end I came away believing that YES, peace can be achieved simply by walking.
