VICTORIA,B.C. — Before his life changed for the better, James Taylor was out fishing when the weather took a turn for the worse.
“The thunder and the lightning started rolling in,” James recalls.
After he and his family members arrived back on shore, James says he was struck by lightning.
“I had this flash in my eyes and I couldn’t see for a second,” James says. “But in that flash was this pain that I’d never experienced in my life.”
James says he died momentarily, before coming back with a perspective that’s proved enduring.
“How precious life is,” James says.
It also inspired a renewed commitment to use his second chance at life to share the stories and knowledge he’d learned as a child from his elders.
“We have our words and we have our actions,” James says. “And that speaks to who we are.”
Not only did James start working as an Indigenous educator in local schools, he eventually began inviting strangers who were alone over the holidays to his home for dinner.
“There was so much love and so much acceptance,” James smiles. “And I know our world needs that right now.”
So James decided to it was time to walk across the country again. Although he had previously done it to raise awareness about the murdered and missing, and residential school survivors, this would be different.
“We need to do something positive,” James says. “And bring positivity.”
So, with a backpack that includes clothes to encourage kindness, and traditional instruments to encourage healing, James is preparing to walk from Mile Zero in Victoria to Parliament Hill in Ottawa — to visit old friends and make new ones — with the goal of building community and spreading love.
“And put in the good words we don’t hear like, ‘We are deserving of good things,’ ‘We are loved,’ all that stuff we need to hear more,” James says while waving an eagle feather used for ceremonies. “Even if we heard it a thousand times as a child, we need to hear it a thousand time more.”
James’ journey is more than 4,000 kilometres, according to a map app on his phone.
Although James expects his “Walk for Love” to take about four months to complete, he can’t quantify how challenging it will sometimes be for him, or how inspiring he hopes it will be all the time for others.
“Do something bigger that yourself,” James smiles. “Not everyone’s going to walk across the country, but get out of your comfort zone to bring yourself a smile.”
And in whatever way you can, strive to be a positive bolt of lightning in your own life.
“If I can do it,” James smiles. “You can do it.”
