The Messenger

Peace Pilgrim was a small woman with a large message, delivered in a clear, distinctive voice. Only 5 feet 2 inches tall, she was slim,with white hair and bright blue eyes. She perfectly fit the stereotypical image of the "little old lady in tennis shoes." In her dark blue tunic with white lettering, she would disarm her audiences with her many life stories. Listeners would come away with real challenges to their own life choices. Hearing her prompted their own inner questions: "Wouldn't it be better to uplift each other rather than destroy each other? How am I going to live a meaningful life? What choices have I made in my life already? What do I need to change in my life to make a difference?"

She had a magnetism that was instantly felt. She was a spellbinding, forceful speaker with a consistent message that included a storehouse of powerful stories and inspiring one-liners that were easy for people to hear and remember:

Hate injures the hater, not the hated. Prayer is a concentration of positive thoughts. Problems that help us grow are really opportunities in disguise. In all things be thankful. Never be impatient, all good things take time. Be not concerned that you are offended, but that you do not offend. A calling means what you like to do.

She claimed people needed two things in life for life to be meaningful: something to lift them up spiritually and inspire them to awaken to their higher nature (religion, art, nature); and a calling, a path of service - something to do that will help someone - because, in this world, she said, "you are given as you give."

Her message was a personal one, directed at the individual, and delivered in a simple, understandable way, one on one. She was not political in the traditional sense, though her message, if adopted, would have powerful political results. Her genius was that her message and its manner of delivery changed consciousness, one person at a time, empowering and releasing individual potential. She never accepted followers, and never gave her birth name or married name because she wanted people to remember what was important - her message.

25,000 Miles and She Stopped Counting

For almost three decades, from 1953 to 1981, she crossed the country seven times, including two trips to Hawaii and Alaska, as well as Mexico and Canada. In 1955, when she began her second pilgrimage, she walked at least 100 miles in each state, visiting every state capital. In 1957, she walked 1000 miles in Canada, crossing its 10 provinces and walking at least 100 miles in each province. In 1964, arriving in Washington, DC, she completed 25,000 miles on foot for peace and stopped counting. But she continued walking for another 17 years, going through 29 pairs of children's sneakers, averaging 1,500 miles a pair. (At that rate, she actually walked 43,500 miles). Her fourth pilgrimage began in 1966; her fifth in 1969; her sixth in 1973, and her seventh (and final one) in 1978.

Wherever she went, she gave presentations, speaking of her own personal experiences and insights, in community centers, churches, schools and homes. By the end of her 28 years of wandering, she had been a guest on every major radio and TV station in the country at least twice. Her correspondence with thousands of followers was steady and voluminous because she answered every letter addressed to her (sent care of her sister, Helene Norman Young in Cologne, NJ) for nearly three decades, and sent out her own newsletter, "Peace Pilgrim's Progress."

Usually, Peace Pilgrim averaged about 25 miles a day, moving north in summer and south in winter to avoid the worst weather. She seldom missed more than three or four meals before someone offered to feed her. Shelter was provided most nights (by those who encountered her) but when not provided, she slept in fields, under bridges, in haystacks, drainage pipes and by the roadsides. Her vow of simplicity - down to the level of need - was both spiritual and practical: want and need were the same for her.

Source:  Peace Pilgrim's story was written by Marta Daniels, and is reprinted here by permission of the author. It is adapted from Daniels' extended biography of Mildred Norman Ryder (Peace Pilgrim), first published in short form in Notable American Women, A Biographical Dictionary, Vol. V, Harvard University Press, 2005. The full story ("Peace Pilgrim: Spiritual Teacher, Non Violent Advocate, Peace Prophet") can be found on the Peace Pilgrim web site at: http://www.peacepilgrim.com/htmfiles/mdppbio.htm   Reprint of this story in part or whole must have the permission of the author. Contact the author through the Voices website.