Day 3
START: Ingleburn train station
FINISH: Picton exit on M5
We traveled through Ingleburn and Campbelltown and then onto M5 for the rest of the trip.
Media coverage:
EXPERIENCE:
Today we walked for about 35 km, averaging around 4 km per hour. We were also joined by an 8-year old practitioner who walked with us for at least two days.
Even though I was very tired, I practiced the exercises before sleeping last night and woke feeling very light and awake.
But there's no doubt about it, today my feet hurt and my legs ached. I was light inside, but my body was heavy. As we walked on the highway, I hung my head and plodded, walking in an awkward position to try and avoid discomfort. I decided to leave the practitioners I was talking with and walk with the practitioner holding a small stereo playing Master's lectures. As I listened, I had to concentrate hard because I could barely understand any of it (although I knew my true spirit could). Suddenly, I was able to walk evenly and straight. I raised my head and walked as if I'd just started the day. My feet still hurt but I understood. I remembered that I was not walking for myself and I would walk forever if I needed to.
The highway was long with a narrow path and we needed a few extra breaks in the afternoon that slowed our time so much that we walked in the dark for almost an hour and didn't make the planned distance by 1 km.
In the late afternoon, I saw our long shadows following us on the highway grass. It made me think of all the practitioners inside and outside of China walking with us. We ate at McDonalds in the morning. We all have reasonably 'sporty' shoes, clothes and a warm place to sleep at night. We have the comfort of a toilet in the campervan following us as well as biscuits and water during breaks. This walk is not long, it is not hard. I hope all people of the world can work together to free all Falun Dafa practitioners in China, clear the name of Falun Gong and expose the evil deeds of Jiang Zemin in whatever opportunities they are given.
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Day 4
START: Picton exit M5
END: Mittagong
We had about 36 practitioners walking today, including children. We walked for about 9hrs and total of 35km to make up for the 1 km that we didn't do yesterday.
Peta Seaton, MP for Mittagong, met us on the road and gave us encouragement and support and even had a few photos taken with us.
Many more practitioners joined us today. Yesterday we had around 30 as well.
I have been accompanied by some of the children for most of the walk, and while I felt that this was a test on my patience at times, I think it may have been on theirs as well as I was often just trying to focus on taking each step at a time. Most of them only feel tired here and there and can still jump and run around even when they say that their feet are sore. I appreciate listening to their experiences within Dafa and their understandings as it is obviously how simply they can think with much fewer notions and attachments.
There are many experiences that we had on the walk today, and many more that we will have for the next 6 days. I already feel that the last few days have gone so fast and only feel as if one has passed!
Today I feel I have improved a lot. At night, we stayed at a practitioners residence in Mittagong with enough room to accommodate all of us for study and sharing. The study was very moving to hear everyone's experiences and understandings while being on the walked and reaffirmed how valuable it is to share our experiences. I was very grateful for the opportunity to improve by listening and I realised a number of attachments that I still had, some that I thought I had got rid of before.
Many cars and trucks beeped and waved in support as they drove by. They may know that we are walking to Canberra, but do they know why? I hope that for those who get a glimpse Dafa, maybe for the first time, as they speed by at 110km/hr, they will come across it again in the near future.
Every step I am reminded of the vastness of the cosmos and with each attachment and notion that is lost, I can see the world more simply and catch a bigger glimpse of the wondrous truth of Dafa that resonates within every particle.