The Longest Walk, the ultimate prayer

Friday

Today was the grand finale of the Longest Walk in Washington D.C. Perhaps in a fitting poetic tribute to the Longest Walk, life offered me the opportunity to accompany one of the Paiute elders to the emergency room of the George Washington University Hospital. We spent the day there. While we missed the walk beyond the White House, I was at peace with what happened. It was the opportunity to pass the day in the spirit of service, the chance to offer a real prayer. That is what the Longest Walk was, a prayer walk across America.

At the conclusion, came the time to take action, to pray in the spirit of service, to be with someone who was sick and a long way from home.

On this journey, the walkers were asked to write a manifesto. I froze, remembering volumes of information in the audio files of the web radio show, and tried to condense it.

Then my manifesto came to me:

Unless we, as the walk moving across America, manifest love and unity within, we can not effect the change we want to see in the world.

--Brenda Norrell

Photo: Navajo march from the White House to the Captiol on the Longest Walk. Photo copyright Brenda Norrell