Derek Walker Youngs
Why Do I Walk For Peace?
Maybe it's because I was born during an air raid....
Maybe it's because as a teenager I experienced the violence of living on the wrong side of the tracks....
Maybe it's because of the Great Peace March, when I walked with 500 people across the USA....
Maybe it's because of my grandchildren and a deep concern for their future....
Maybe it's because of the quest for a deeper understanding of Spirit/God in my life....
Maybe it's simply the journey of life....
I was born in Redcar, a small fishing village on the east coast of England, in the year 1940. It was here that I first came into this world, and what a dramatic entry. My mother, bless her courage, delivered me herself, without any support, bombs falling all the while. My friends have said, "My God you were being bombed from the moment you took your first breath. No wonder you have chosen to walk for Peace."
My first official steps for peace were taken in 1986, during the Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament. This extraordinary nine-month walk across the United States was a huge accomplishment, not because of how far we walked, but of who we became along the way. We learned to be peace in action. This paved the way for the rest of my life, and I haven't stopped walking, nor making peace, since.
I have always loved to walk. I love feeling the rhythm of my body as I move through my surroundings, melting with the trees, the mountains and the lakes. How exhilarating to feel connected to everything around me. I had a dream to walk to Japan. If it had been a goal, I could have hopped the first airplane over there. But as it was a dream, this meant I had a lifetime to get there and the whole world to walk through. I have walked in close to twenty-five countries, and eventually did make it to Japan. But the journey is not over.
Although I believe we are all of Spirit, it's important how we live on this physical earth. I continue to take risks by being vulnerable. I am learning to accept the light and the shadow parts of myself. I choose to live a life of trust. When I feel lonely, afraid, jealous, confused, or needing approval, I speak to Spirit or God if you like, asking for help and for guidance. And Spirit answers, not through a burning bush or waters parting or even a huge Monty Python finger coming out of the sky. I hear Spirit through the teachings of children, elders, the poor, the rich, animals and nature. This is the process of learning how to be human.