Whilst studying Dabrowski and his theory, I stumbled upon Peace Pilgrim and realized that I had completely forgotten about her. Some twenty years ago, I had read about her, and at that time her simple yet very evocative message of unconditional love didn’t quite stick with me. I guess I was too young, or too confused, or both.
For those of you who do not know her, Peace Pilgrim was a woman who started on a pilgrimage across the US (and later Canada) in the fifties, bringing peace and love and compassion wherever she was welcomed. She did so for decades, until her death in 1981.
Dabrowski would surely categorize her as Level IV, possibly Level V within his Theory of Positive Disintegration. Hearing her talk, she seems so at ease within herself, so clear as to what she is doing in this world. Who could not be inspired by her endurance, her simply BEING in an integrated state for such a long time?
In the book about her life (free download available here), she is quoted thus:
You know the power of thought. You’re constantly creating through thought. And you attract to you whatever you fear (…)
I fear nothing and expect good — so good comes!
Well, that does it. Now I not only want to better myself by understanding the being-gifted thing and utilizing it in the outer world – having for so long focused on surviving it whilst roaming around in the inner world – I also want to overcome this effing feeling of uselessness and become a little more like Peace Pilgrim in my ways.
Though I’ll never be religious, I’ll try and be more faithful to love, and accept that the flow is not only there for me to peruse. It is there to go THROUGH me as well.
(Oh boy, have I got my work cut out for me!)