The day I met Dalai Lama

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In 2006 I was unemployed living in Australia where I did not know anyone. One day I decided to do something ridiculous that I dreamed for, when I was a child, to walk across a continent, bringing my invisible friend with me. He was a combination of my deceased father, Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Mother Theresa as they all dream for peace, so I brought their dream with me, name Harvey from the classic film. When the walk started, I had no funding, no sponsorship and no publicity as I decided to do it on faith, and see how far will it carry me. I started walking from Perth on April 2nd 2006, 100 years after Gandhi started his own peace movement in South Africa 1906. Little did I know what would happen on this journey. After a year and 10 days, I was blessed to be covered by newspapers and TV stations then I reached Canberra the same day when the Dalai Lama arrived for a 3 day visit in the capital. A journalist heard what I was doing a few days before who worded her article as 'an Irishman with brain damage walking across Australia carrying and invisible presence of peace placed in an orange wheelchair". That part was true, funny, crazy, eye catching and interesting, but the important moment was when she wrote "who walked 3000 miles to meet the Dalai Lama."No that was not exactly true:-) At the beginning I didn't even know he was coming to Australia is just happened that way. However because she wrote this, I was then asked to be at the press conference where I was lined up with some respected politicians, writers, peacemakers and Australian celebrities. When I was introduced to him as "The Irish advocate for peace" and after some nice pleasant words the Dalai Lama was smiling, looking at the orange wheelchair. Whether he actually knew what I was doing never came to be important, when I received his handshake and humble bow. I have shook hands with many people in my life, doctors, politicians, soldiers and murderers but my parents and brother were the only ones who gave me love in this simple touch. The Dalai Lama has the same touch and that was the moment when I finally understood the importance of living a dream. Completing the walk later in September 2007 was not that important. "it is nothing to do with the miles covered and the climax at the end, it was always about the dream and journey itself. Just like your own life. Each day is important, in my case each step was important"When one dream ends, another appears in my mind, and I am already thinking of another. What is your dream? What ever it is, please follow it as you never know what comes your way. Thank you for your time. Frank About the walk across Australia - click on http://harvey.travellerspoint.com/74/