Remembering Our Friends

Before leaving our hotel in Kayenta, some of us were fortunate enough to be greeted by Phil Zahne and Donna and Dana Leno, three wonderful people from the Navajo Tribe in Kayenta who made yesterday a very special day for us from beginning to end. Again their hearts of kindness and oneness came forward as they came early to have breakfast with us and to see us off as we travel westward. We will definitely carry their blessings and love with us until the end of the trip and beyond.

It was a windy and somewhat dusty day today as we ran down through Tuba City with the Painted Desert to offer its beauty and splendor. I am sure many people think of the desert as empty and endless sand dunes with no life in sight and heat too unbearable to run in. But in this part of Arizona, the desert is a wonderful palette of colors and geographical wonders as well as many kinds of native plants to color the landscape with life and energy. Being at a very high elevation, this desert is also many times cooler than the lower deserts. We also had an accompanying breeze to cool us down although it was usually in our face and at times made it difficult to run smoothly.

We had no ceremonies today as people were quite busy with their extended holiday weekend for Memorial Day. As the Navajo Medicine Man told us yesterday, remembering those who offered themselves in the service of their country is an honorable thing to do. Many may not agree with the reasons for which people enter the armed services, but the self-offering sacrifice of those that serve should be remembered on this day.

For us, giving our time to foster and inspire harmony among all peoples is also a very important offering. Anyone who offers their time and effort for a noble cause such as this should be remembered and thanked. We have so many people to thank for helping us cover 4,000 miles into our 11,000 mile journey to promote and inspire harmony and friendship. We have named as many as we can so far and most likely have forgotten quite a few. But as we progress along this path, we know that it is not our efforts alone that have gotten us here. The silent supporters of our journey are just as deserving as those that may make it into the spotlight. We believe that the rewards come naturally from within, so that lack of outer credit does not reflect lack of appreciation or lack of gratitude. Even those who are reading these daily accounts and accredits deserve our deepest gratitude and joy. We cannot say enough when it comes to the importance of the silent support and hidden sacrifices that make huge efforts such as this World Harmony Run possible.

Mary and Dada Mohan also met us at our hotel this morning and cheerfully offered to run with us again after Dada Mohan ran yesterday evening with one of the men’s teams. We are very grateful to them for their enthusiasm and efforts to join us twice and for the little snacks and food they offered us. Today we also would like to thank Adria of the Pasto Italian Restaurant in Flagstaff and Atul Chopra of the Indian Paradise Restaurant who fed us with such delicious food this evening. We want to thank Steve Swaim of Sunterra Resorts for his generosity and kindness when he met the women’s team as they dined at Indian Paradise. His generous and spontaneous contribution came straight from the heart which has definitely touched our hearts immensely. We are also very grateful to Anne Heinz-Ryan, General Manager of the Days Inn 66 of Flagstaff for the wonderful accommodations offered to us.

We are truly blessed to have new friends everyday who offer their support and kindness to us even though they may have been strangers until now. Friendship and harmony can come from a very deep and sincere place in the heart and it certainly touches our hearts and gives us the hope and strength to carry on. On this day of remembering those who have offered themselves in the line of duty, we also are remembering those who have offered themselves in the line of beauty and light, harmony and friendship, love and joy.

Gratefully to all our friends, new and old,

Arpan and Team Harmony

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