 "Photo: courtesy of Da Cappo Press")
After two years of suffering from multiple sclerosis, Cami Walker received a prescription that changed her life. Walker’s friend, medicine woman Mbali Creazzo, advised her to give something away each day for 29 days. After some reluctance, Walker decided to pursue the idea, and her life hasn’t been the same since.
Creazzo, who holds a doctorate in integrative medicine, had told Walker that she was putting all of her attention on her pain, making her disease worse. Creazzo suggested that Walker start the giving challenge in order to start thinking differently, according to Walker. Walker felt different from day one, she said. She felt an outpouring of joy when she gave her first gift, a call to a friend also living with MS. Later that day, she was offered a job opportunity, had a stranger pay for her breakfast, and even walked six blocks—farther than she had in months.
“It was a very empowering experience. It gave me a sense of hope,” Walker said.
By day 14, she was walking without her cane, and by day 29, Walker said, she was able to take a mile-long hike with her husband.
“I think the biggest shift for me was a shift in my thinking,” Walker said. “Instead of waking up and focusing on the limitations that I have because of my health, I actually wake up focused on what I’m capable of doing.”
Midway through the process, Walker started inviting others to try the project themselves. Her outreach grew quickly through word of mouth. Ten years later, in 2008, she launched a website, which now hosts about 10,000 members. On the site, forums and blogs tell stories of people participating in the “29 gifts’” challenge and subsequently healing.
“It’s a very powerful ritual,” Walker said. Last year, she released a book to further spread the word.
Creazzo wrote on the website, “Giving of any kind, taking an action, begins the process of change, and moves us to remember that we are part of a much greater universe.”
For more info visit: www.29gifts.org and keep up with Lydia's own gift-giving blog at onebrokegiftgiver.wordpress.com
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