There are some people who see a need in the world, and can’t NOT do something about it – and in a BIG WAY! Rachelle Zola is such a person. And while I have the utmost respect for Rachelle and the ways she has chosen to make a difference, I sometimes wonder where she gets this compulsion and courage to change the world that is well beyond what most of us would even consider, never mind do.
I first met Rachelle in Colorado in 2004 at a “Celebration of Life” for a mutual friend. We developed a friendship, hiking many trails in the Rockies.
It came as a surprise when in 2007, Rachelle announced that she was joining the Peace Corp. She moved to Jordan for a year, and was assigned to work with children with developmental disabilities. It was there that she celebrated her 60th birthday amongst the young volunteers.
Several years later, in 2016, she had airline tickets to visit Ecuador when an earthquake hit the country. She still went, falling in love with the young children she visited at an orphanage, and ended up volunteering there for a year.
Whilst many people love walking the Camino de Santiago as a spiritual journey, Rachelle chose to take a solo walking pilgrimage around Shikoku Island, Japan with a 25 lb. backpack, visiting 88 Buddhist monasteries. Despite being alone, she always felt protected, surrounded by love and kindness.
Rachelle Zola follows her inner guidance system. At 75, she is undertaking a mission to call attention to the inequalities and lack of justice for African Americans through storytelling. She had moved to Chicago, IL in 2019, wanting to engage with the Black and Brown communities – and to LISTEN! She kept showing up, and people began sharing their lived experiences. She has made it her mission to let others know what so many experienced and suffered for generations in our country and that continues today.
In 2021 Rachelle went on a hunger strike for 40 days to show her support for reparations for African Americans. She soon learned from the many people with whom she engaged, that she had no idea of the depth of the harm and trauma that Black people experience every day as a result of systemic racism. And now, starting on April 2nd 2024, Rachelle embarked on what may be her biggest challenge – a 754 mile walk from Chicago to Montgomery Alabama, during which she will be performing her one woman show: Late A Love Story. You can follow Rachelle’s journey or find out how you can help, by going to her link www.latealovestory.com
I am grateful for the inspiration of heroines like Rachelle Zola, who do not let fear dictate how they will live. They teach us that “it is never too late” to live a conscious and more purposeful life. They choose to take a leap of faith as they commit to bringing about positive changes in our world in whatever ways they can. It makes us aware that there are people in this world who care so deeply that they can’t rest until they do something about what they see as a need for justice. Rachelle refuses to accept that living in a racist society is the only choice we have and will do whatever she can to change that.
We each have our own life path to walk. What we can choose to do is to support the efforts of those who have compelling visions for positive change, and to live our everyday lives in a way that can help to create a more loving, equitable, kinder world in whatever ways we can.
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