challenge. the word itself makes me think of obstacles, barriers, mountains, literal or figurative. i perceive challenges as a means to self-actualization through introspection. challenges force you to take a look inwards and realize the possibilities within yourself. are you up to the task? are you too ensconced within the friendly confines of security and your familiar environment? the realization of challenges can make you feel ALIVE or weary. accepting challenges can be thrilling…or defeating.

i look at challenges in a way that they do not defeat me. they make me stronger, and each challenge i endure physically, mentally, socially or spiritually brings out a newer self within me, one that i take time to reacquaint with each layer of my soul that is peeled, much in the same way you turn pages within a book, each page brings a newer concept, a step further along on the path…

“Planetwalker” is the story of a man–john francis–who went through the first quarter of his life like many of us, surrounded in the miasma of the world that we call life. on a day in the early ’70s he learns of a massive oil spill in tomales bay, california. this spill and its impact on the surrounding natural environment brings john to the realization that something must be done. shortly thereafter, he decides to stop using motorized transportation completely and rely on walking.

walking is something that is natural for most of us–something that we likely take for granted everyday, especially in an increasingly fast-paced world rife with demands of all sorts. we do not often take time out of our lives, or our days to just be in the moment, to think, to observe the environment around us, and to just…be.

in “Planetwalker” john tells readers about a pilgrimage he took, all on foot–and in silence. john francis walked from california to oregon and back, then from california…to new jersey. on foot, and in complete silence, championing a personal cause for the environment. he decided to suspend two day-to-day conveniences, motorized vehicles and his speech, instead using mime, gestures, written communication, and sign language to communicate with the world around him. it is a pilgrimage that he embarks on, not using motorized transportation for 22 years, and for 17 of those 22 years, he is silent. he also earns a b.a., m.a. and ph.d all the while in silence. there also is mention of gallaudet, and john’s pilgrimage bringing him to kendall green around the time of the 1988 deaf president now movement.

“Planetwalker” shows us that through silence, we notice more. we observe more. we learn more. about ourselves, about people around us, about the environment we find ourselves within. even more poignant is the fact that john walked for 22 years. he gave himself the time to cover a nation on foot, in silence, taking in his own experiences in his own way, for his own belief.

he sparked a national following through the media, various communities that he reached, spent time with, and moved past on his pilgrimage. after 22 years, the pilgrimage continues on a consistently expanding scale, covering north and south america, the caribbean, with goals to continue until it becomes global.

there is much more within the book that i do not want to deprive prospective readers the pleasure of discovering. the book has made me take a look at myself, my life, my environment, and it has made me think: is there a cause, a belief, a raison d’etre–out there, that would drive me to pursue a similar pilgrimage to john’s?

Planetwalk is also a non-profit organization established in 1982, to increase the awareness of our natural resources, mankind’s commercial exploitation of those natural resources–take a look at the site for more information.

the final version of the book will be published by national geographic and released to the public in april 2008.

challenges–for me, since i am deaf, i already live in a silent world. i wonder, could i take on the challenge of not signing? relying instead on gestures, written communication, to connect with the community around me? that would be a challenge, to say the least.

“Planetwalker” has definitely gotten me to stop and think…it shows me that one man, one person, one being, CAN make a difference in the world, one step at a time.

would you be up to the challenge?