Blessings from Desmond Tutu

I’m feeling truly blessed.

And so excited! My beloved daughters Bonnie and Tammy have chosen to be with me on the Isle of Iona for the start of my walk next Thursday (July 7) and everybody has been so kind and supportive.

I know that family and friends back home in South Africa will be with me each step of the way, while here at the Findhorn community and ecovillage in northern Scotland there has been an ocean of enthusiastic encouragement and much practical advice.

The focalisers of my work departments in Park Garden and Communications, Rona Ribeiro and Eva Ward, have intuitively understood my needs while friends like John Willoner, who has climbed all of Britain’s 284 highest Munro peaks; Jonathan Caddy, whose appetite for gruelling walks is legendary; and 79-year-old compatriot Auriol de Smidt have been generous with their time, advice and maps.

But the delicious chocolate icing on the cake for this chocoholic has been the wonderful message of support from Desmond Tutu, the diminutive cleric who went on to become Archbishop Emeritus, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, head of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Committee and a feisty but kindly father figure to a nation.

“Walk gently on Mother Earth. She is the only one we have.”

He adds: “Thank you Geoff for reminding us to be reverent and caring for the environment. God go with you.”

Thank you, thank you, and thank you. And thanks to each of the many who have offered encouragement and share my dream of making a difference in whatever way we can.

Walking on the beach this morning on a sublimely calm and sunny summer’s day I felt exhilarated, inspired and incredibly grateful to be alive. I’m surrounded by beauty and blessed to have the support of so many precious beings – friends, family and people like Father Desmond Tutu.

When I think of him, and it is many years since last we met, I feel the warmth of a loving and larger-than-life personality who is at peace with himself, finding much joy in life and laughing often and easily. He personifies the qualities I aspire to of love, joy, peace and truth, saying what he believes no matter how uncomfortable it might sometimes be for those who have strayed from their paths.

I’ve noticed that many great beings, among them Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama, seem to share that same lightness and great zest for life, always seeing the best in any situation.

They see the big picture and appreciate that things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out.

I’ve no doubt that their example will be a valuable source of strength in the days, weeks, months and years ahead. (Click on People who’ve inspired me)