The Grand Canyon

Gateway to the Fourth Dimension

Sometimes people ask us: “What has been the highlight on the run?” To be frank, this is one of the most difficult questions. Every day is a surprise. Either because of the unparalleled natural beauty or thanks to the people, who bring the colors of kindness, friendship and joy.

Our day at the Grand Canyon is surely another highlight on our journey.

June 1st, our second day off – the day which we had been eagerly waiting for since our first day off in St Louis. So we took off with great excitement to the Grand Canyon. After the long pilgrimage (driving 115 miles) we arrived to the most amazing part of this planet which transcended our bravest expectations. It was a most beautiful sight which makes you silent, humble and grateful. No words or pictures can depict the real wonder of the Canyon. The experience of the three dimensions together: height, depth and vastness create the feeling of Infinity. Being there is a meditation in itself. If you really want to absorb the sight you have to open your consciousness. Then this feeling of Infinity washes out all your worries and limitations and inundates the spectators with deep peace. You might feel like you could fly, but maybe it would not be the best idea to really try. But we did go hiking. Who could resist the beckoning mountain-gorges? At every corner of the zig-zag path you discover a new feature of the Canyon (or a tired dehydrated hiker coming up).

The limited mind cannot take the vastness, eventually it has to surrender to the heart.

As I am writing this, we are now somewhere close to the Nevada border – sorry, I never know exactly where we are, I am always a little behind, but still when I close my eyes I can see the Grand Canyon. I hope I will be able to bring it to my mind whenever I feel depressed in the future, because only the memory of this existing Infinity on Earth makes my problems shrink and disappear.

In the Grand Canyon’s Bosom

Eagles in the sky,

The sad starts to smile,

The unbeliever believes

The suffering heart heals,

The restless finds his peace

In Immortality’s breeze.

The proud learns humility,

The tiny becomes the Infinity,

The brave has courage to try,

The happy takes off to fly.

The wise arrives home,

No more need to roam.

Linda (Hungary)

We would like to thank Mia Angelica for her sweet and generous hospitality and her wonderfully creative and spiritual music, especially on the harp. Mia really makes our days off here in this awe-inspiring setting a lot more enjoyable and precious.

Great Friends New and Old - Sedona

I was originally planning on going to the Grand Canyon and running all the way to the Colorado River (as you do on your day off from running 9-10 miles a day). However our RV had other ideas and we had to get her serviced so Natabara and I stayed in Sedona to drop her off and pick her up.

Natabara and I hooked up with Shambhu (our first and foremost Executive Director) and Mia Margaret who took us over to see a great friend, Oman Ken. Oman and Mia have been part of our torch relay family since we had the good fortune to meet them in Sedona way back in 1993, when they performed a concert for us.

Seated in Oman’s idyllic garden we were treated to a wonderful concert with Oman on an exotic selection of flutes and Shambhu on guitar. It was a beautiful concert sharing the spirit of the run through music.

Later that day on a trip to the supermarket I was in our RV (back from the mechanic and functioning perfectly) when my phone rang and it was Steve Swaim who had met the women’s team in Flagstaff a couple of days ago.

I invited Steve to dinner and he was asking me where I was staying in Sedona. I replied the team was staying at Mia’s place but I was currently in the supermarket parking lot and the next thing you know he rolls up and says hi!

Steve, who works for Sunterra Resorts and serves on the advisory board for Big Brothers and Big Sisters, then proceeded to insist he take us out for a meal to one of Sedona’s finest restaurants, Cucina Rustica. So all the team members who didn’t go to the Grand Canyon were treated to a wonderful meal with Steve. We retired to Mia’s place to share our stories, video and photos of the Run. Mia very kindly hosted the team for the night giving us a roof over our heads. Thank you.

Stories like these are repeated daily and the run enables us to make friends so easily, sharing common hopes and dreams with people whom we otherwise might never get to meet.

Nice to meet you Steve and let’s stay in touch.

Mia and Oman – Great to see you again.

Shambhu – See you soon.

Salil Wilson

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