COLUMN: Grey Matters – Walking each other home

“We’re all just walking each other home.” Ram Dass

The phrase, “we’re all just walking each other home,” speaks to the deep truth that life is not a solitary journey but one of companionship, support, and mutual care. Originating with spiritual teacher Ram Dass, this idea suggests that, despite our diverse lives, we are united in helping one another navigate the challenges and joys that arise on our path.

Walking with each other can take many forms, both mundane and profound. It happens when we walk home from school with friends, and again when we pick up our kids from school. It happens when we make way for someone exiting a building as we pick up a loved one at the airport. We do it when we pull over for someone stuck in the ditch. Again and again, we can see this universal drive to ‘walk each other home.’ It happens in profound ways such as listening to a friend until they can get to a better place in their thinking. Sometimes, it’s sitting quietly with a loved one during a hard loss or celebrating a milestone. These moments, though they may seem ordinary, are what it means to live well in this world.

Physically walking with others brings profound benefits too. ‘Walk and talks’ helps us feel seen, heard, and valued, fostering a sense of belonging with our friends and even in the communities we walk in. Sharing our journeys often opens our eyes to perspectives and experiences different from our own. When we walk with one another, we build resilience – not just individually, but collectively – making it easier to face life’s storms.

As a chaplain I rely on the Spirit’s wisdom as I walk into each hospital room. One time I felt the spirit nudge me to ask a man how he and his wife had met. She was dying and as he stroked her hand I could see he loved her deeply. ‘We met at the Steinbach Fair 60 years ago” he began, “Her two friends wanted to go on the Ferris wheel, but she didn’t want to be the odd one left out and sit alone. I offered to accompany her. Later, as the evening moved along, she turned to me and said, ‘You still here?!?’. I didn’t want to leave her side. Eventually the fair was closing, and the lights were turning off, but it was starting to rain. I offered to walk her home. It was over a mile away, but I made sure she got home safely. My friends were waiting by the car when I returned and were upset that I had been gone so long, but it was worth it.” After the story was complete, his gaze returned to me. I said, “Look! You are doing it again! You are holding her hand, walking her through the dark until she is safely home!”. His eyes widened, “I never thought about it that way. Here I was feeling so useless, but now I see that we will finish in the same beautiful way we started. Thank you.”

“Walking each other home” is a call to being mindful and present with others. It encourages us to slow down, notice those around us, and offer the simple gift of companionship. In doing so, we create a world that is a bit warmer, kinder, and more connected, echoing the truth that, at the end of it all – life is just walking each other home.