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Monday, August 18, 2008
Building Bridges for Peace
Every year for the past 15 years, Building Bridges for Peace holds a two week retreat here in the mountains of Colorado. The participants are Palestinian, Israeli, and American teens. They leave changed after building bridges between their apparent differences.
Building Bridges for Peace is part of Seeking Common Ground, whose motto is "Empowering individuals to create peaceful communities through communication, integration, and leadership development."
Yesterday was the 15th annual Building Bridges for Peace brunch, and I missed it once again. I seem to find out about it each year right after it occurs. I have now put it on my calendar for next year. This is the kind of work that I think will bring about peace on earth.
Building Bridges for Peace is part of Seeking Common Ground, whose motto is "Empowering individuals to create peaceful communities through communication, integration, and leadership development."
Yesterday was the 15th annual Building Bridges for Peace brunch, and I missed it once again. I seem to find out about it each year right after it occurs. I have now put it on my calendar for next year. This is the kind of work that I think will bring about peace on earth.
"We want the others to look at us and make them feel some of our pain and to teach them things they don't know about," Ayoub [a Palestinian teen] said. "They don't know some of the horrible things happening to us. I'm feeling proud to be a girl who tried to make my enemy change their ideas about us."
"I can't make a big change," the Israeli said. "I can only change myself, and then, maybe, some people close to me."
Labels: peace
posted by Carol at 8:13 AM
11 comments
Monday, May 12, 2008
True Songs of Peace
I have written before about Cameron and Kristina and their Musical Missions for Peace. They have traveled numerous times throughout the Middle East, Cameron playing his oud and Kristina letting her beautiful voice put smiles on every face within earshot. When they're back home in the U.S., they cross the country giving presentations about their experiences in the Middle East. They do this "...so that Americans can see more clearly who the Arabic-speaking people really are...Cameron and Kristina are in Jordan right now, singing with Iraqi refugees. Kristina's thoughts on American loneliness/Arab community gave me a different perspective on that little voice inside my head that calls me to go hide faraway in solitude every few months.
...and so that Arabs can see that there are Americans who love their music and culture and who do not believe that war is the answer..."
Cameron Writes:
We spent last night surrounded by 30 Iraqi refugees singing the "old music" for us: this gathering had been organized to honor our return. Our host works diligently with his violin to magnetize us all into the unified field of the music...Kristina Writes:
...As I look at the faces around me, all men and women who are now exiled from their homeland, I can see the different mixes of hardships and suffering. And I see the childlike joy with which the music emerges from their souls.
We have begun dialogue with the owner of a music shop regarding our Musical Mission of Peace designed to offer support to Iraqi refugees here in Jordan by financially encouraging their children's musical education.
We will soon make a loop through Syria where an even larger number of Iraqi refugees are currently in residence. It is said that at least two million Iraqis have fled to Jordan and Syria to escape the disorder and violence in their homeland. But neither Jordan nor Syria has the infrastructure to offer employment to so many. That is why we are here. We will do what we can, in our own musical way, to provide a pipeline of financial support from sympathetic Americans.
May 9, 08 Day one
As I walked down the street today in Amman, Jordan, tears came to my eyes. I felt like I had come home. This feels like home to me not because the sights are familiar or particularly beautiful. The buildings are mostly grey concrete colors. The streets are dirty. Many people smoke and I dislike the smell of tobacco inside the shops. It's just that there is something else in the air that feels more powerful than the smoke.
So how do I explain to you what it is?
Maybe security is a part of it. If I should fall down everyone around me would come to my rescue. If I should get lost someone would personally guide me back to my hotel. No one is trying to steal my purse. Every shopkeeper and almost every other person I meet on the street is saying a sincere "Welcome" or "Hi."
Maybe it is that there is less fear. I have very little fear here. My heart is so open, because every other heart it meets is so open to me.
I guess another word might be "relief." I don't have to be an island. Women in the lobby of the hotel, whom I have never met before, motion for me to sit down next to them. I am welcomed. I don't have to be alone. Relief to know you're surrounded by loving beings.
Isn't that what home is?
I've heard that there is no word in Arabic for "alone", the closest word means "lonely".
I wonder why I, an American, need "retreat time" or "personal space" or "time to collect my thoughts" or "time to regroup" or just time to shut out the world and rest? For an Arab, time alone is just "lonely." Do we Americans tend to stress each other out? Why do we need a break from each other? Here they just like to sit close to each other and feel the connection. The air is filled with the currents of acceptance, less judgment, more connection. Like Fayez the hotel owner here says, "Arabs are your friend immediately." You don't have to "earn their trust." It's just so much easier this way.
For more information, visit MusicalMissions
Labels: cameron and kristina, loneliness, peace
posted by Carol at 7:57 PM
4 comments
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Lessons From A Pea
I couldn't stand it anymore. Three weeks later and the peas that were to pop up in five to ten days still have not shown up. If they weren't planning on sprouting, then I needed to know so that I could plant another batch.
So I dug down into the soil. There they were. Doing what they were supposed to be doing. In their own time. Just like they're supposed to do. Little roots and shoots that just aren't quite big enough to burst through the ground above their heads.
You would think that, with so many opportunities to learn it, all humans on this earth would be masters at patience!
On Tuesday, it will be three weeks since my shoulder surgery. Thinking that I am now a normal person, with a not so normal arm yet, I went to see the owls yesterday, then stood for 1/2 hour with Women in Black, and later rode the recumbent bike at the gym for 22 minutes. By 9:00 last night, I was falling asleep in the chair. I have never fallen asleep upright. I need to be horizontal in order to sleep. But I was POOPED!
It took less than an hour for them to cut my shoulder, but three weeks later, I'm still working to regain the motion and strength that I had going into the operating room.
We have been destroying Iraq for over five years and killing off species of wildlife for even longer. If and when we ever stop, how long will it take to heal all of that?
It seems that a peace seed, a pea seed, an arm repair, or any other thing planted won't just pop up as soon as we sow our intention. It takes a lot of nurturing (maybe some physical therapy and exercise) and TIME.
So this is what the wise pea said to me today when I pulled the dirt away from her, exposing her to sunlight before she was ready. Besides, Leave me the hell alone! I've got business to do!, she told me to support and nurture her and to be patient and notice the beauty in the process.
So I dug down into the soil. There they were. Doing what they were supposed to be doing. In their own time. Just like they're supposed to do. Little roots and shoots that just aren't quite big enough to burst through the ground above their heads.
You would think that, with so many opportunities to learn it, all humans on this earth would be masters at patience!
On Tuesday, it will be three weeks since my shoulder surgery. Thinking that I am now a normal person, with a not so normal arm yet, I went to see the owls yesterday, then stood for 1/2 hour with Women in Black, and later rode the recumbent bike at the gym for 22 minutes. By 9:00 last night, I was falling asleep in the chair. I have never fallen asleep upright. I need to be horizontal in order to sleep. But I was POOPED!
It took less than an hour for them to cut my shoulder, but three weeks later, I'm still working to regain the motion and strength that I had going into the operating room.
We have been destroying Iraq for over five years and killing off species of wildlife for even longer. If and when we ever stop, how long will it take to heal all of that?
It seems that a peace seed, a pea seed, an arm repair, or any other thing planted won't just pop up as soon as we sow our intention. It takes a lot of nurturing (maybe some physical therapy and exercise) and TIME.
So this is what the wise pea said to me today when I pulled the dirt away from her, exposing her to sunlight before she was ready. Besides, Leave me the hell alone! I've got business to do!, she told me to support and nurture her and to be patient and notice the beauty in the process.
Labels: garden, peace, shoulders, talking peas
posted by Carol at 12:12 PM
7 comments
Monday, April 07, 2008
A Stroke of Insight
"Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened -- as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding -- she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another."
This video is a little over 18 minutes long. I found it to be POWERFUL and worth every minute. If, when clicking on the video below, you find that you have time to clean the house, run to the store and fix dinner before the video begins, you can save time by clicking here.
Labels: Jill Bolte Taylor, peace, right hemisphere
posted by Carol at 5:44 PM
8 comments
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
I Felt Like A Human Being
As an artist I come to sing, but as a citizen, I will always speak for peace, and no one can silence me in this. - Paul Robeson
Like any other people, like fathers, mothers, sons and daughters in every land, when the issue of peace or war has been put squarely to the American people, they have registered for peace. - Paul Robeson
In Russia I felt for the first time like a full human being. No color prejudice like in Mississippi, no color prejudice like in Washington. It was the first time I felt like a human being. - Paul Robeson
Labels: Botanic Gardens, Paul Robeson, peace, photography
posted by Carol at 3:09 PM
5 comments
Thursday, December 20, 2007
How We Build a Culture of Peace
Great video (as usual) from Chun Pan.
Dennis Kucinich - Elizabeth Campaign Part 3
(I didn't know there was a Part 1 & 2, so I'm off to look for them)
(I didn't know there was a Part 1 & 2, so I'm off to look for them)
Labels: Chun Pan, Elizabeth Kucinich, peace
posted by Carol at 10:35 AM
0 comments
Monday, October 22, 2007
How Does Peace Come About?
My editor is very busy today. I keep trying to write, but some inner moderator keeps nixing everything I put down.
So, since none of my previous attempts was what needed to be said, what do I REALLY want to say?
First of all, editor, you're fired. What is going to come out is going to come out and we will just have to live with it.
Here's the truth (well, my truth, anyway):
There will be rallies held all over the country this coming Saturday. The people in Denver want this one to be really big. Not only have we been occupying Iraq for 5+ years now, a certain someone keeps threatening Iran.
But I'm not going to the rally.
I am tired. I am tired of banging my head against a wall. I have participated in countless rallies over the years. Meanwhile, the occupation continues and threats are being made about another war.
And I am not getting more peaceful by going to rallies and marches.
I am sickened by the media and the pathetic reporting of these events. I have absolutely no belief that the people in D.C. care whether 100 or 100,000 people march in the streets.
I'm not trying to convince anyone that they should not attend the events in their area. It is good that people do these things if they are called to do them.
A slow, steady river will, over much time, create an inspiring canyon. Maybe consistently standing for an end to the war will eventually cause a change. Maybe not. I don't know.
Do we sometimes get stuck in a habit of trying to create a canyon through working to wear down granite when, if we just moved a little to the left, the sandstone there would happily melt into graceful formations?
I think that we must always keep questions alive.
I am grateful to all who have given of their time and talents for the events that will bring people together this weekend. May your efforts create good for the world.
To find out about a rally near you, visit United for Peace and Justice.
So, since none of my previous attempts was what needed to be said, what do I REALLY want to say?
First of all, editor, you're fired. What is going to come out is going to come out and we will just have to live with it.
Here's the truth (well, my truth, anyway):
There will be rallies held all over the country this coming Saturday. The people in Denver want this one to be really big. Not only have we been occupying Iraq for 5+ years now, a certain someone keeps threatening Iran.
But I'm not going to the rally.
I am tired. I am tired of banging my head against a wall. I have participated in countless rallies over the years. Meanwhile, the occupation continues and threats are being made about another war.
And I am not getting more peaceful by going to rallies and marches.
I am sickened by the media and the pathetic reporting of these events. I have absolutely no belief that the people in D.C. care whether 100 or 100,000 people march in the streets.
I'm not trying to convince anyone that they should not attend the events in their area. It is good that people do these things if they are called to do them.
A slow, steady river will, over much time, create an inspiring canyon. Maybe consistently standing for an end to the war will eventually cause a change. Maybe not. I don't know.
Do we sometimes get stuck in a habit of trying to create a canyon through working to wear down granite when, if we just moved a little to the left, the sandstone there would happily melt into graceful formations?
I think that we must always keep questions alive.
I am grateful to all who have given of their time and talents for the events that will bring people together this weekend. May your efforts create good for the world.
To find out about a rally near you, visit United for Peace and Justice.
"I believe all suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their happiness or satisfaction. Yet true happiness comes from a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood. We need to cultivate a universal responsibility for one another and the planet we share. Although I have found my own Buddhist religion helpful in generating love and com passion, even for those we consider our enemies, I am convinced that everyone can develop a good heart and a sense of universal responsibility with or without religion."
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama at his Nobel Prize acceptance speechLabels: peace, rallies, United for Peace and Justice
posted by Carol at 10:43 AM
2 comments
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Q: How can I best bring about peace in the world?
A: So, you're looking for peace? You'd like to see your surroundings in peace? Are you in peace? Because, before giving peace to your surroundings, you must be in peace yourself. First, face your lack of peace. See that you are constantly at war with yourself, you are violent and aggressive with yourself. As long as you think you're an independent entity, there's war, and it's useless to try to end conflict on a social level. If you are not in harmony with yourself, you remain an accomplice to society.
This question of war and peace is very important. When you come to the life experience of global being, there is real freedom and absolute security. As long as you have not integrated this freedom you cannot help bring social or political freedom. Freedom can never come through a system.
- Jean Klein, Who Am I?
Labels: Jean Klein, peace, photography
posted by Carol at 4:58 PM
0 comments
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Enigami Peace
It was only a hundred gazillion degrees outside for our Women in Black vigil today. Umbrellas are really helpful in the hot Colorado sun. I used to think umbrellas were for sissies - rain or shine. Just call me Sissy.
A car stopped in the turn lane in front of us, and a young woman got out and handed one of our vigilers a handful of Imagine Peace window stickers.
I can't photograph it from the front until I wash my car windows and apply it. :-)
But enigami-ing peace is a very beautiful thing to do!
Labels: peace, Women in Black
posted by Carol at 4:02 PM
0 comments
Monday, June 25, 2007
Why Can't We Live Together?
No more war, no more war, no more war...
Just a little peace.
No more war, no more war.
All we want is some peace in this world.
Everybody wants to live together.
Why can't we be together?
We saw Steve Winwood in concert last night, outdoors at the Botanic Gardens with perfect weather, a cloud show at one point, and then a breeze that urged the trees to sway to music that was as sweet as honey from heaven.
WOW!
Labels: peace, Steve Winwood
posted by Carol at 9:23 PM
0 comments
Saturday, May 12, 2007
A Sense of Purpose Bigger Than Pain
From the article What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding? on Common Dreams today:
The May issue of Glamour magazine includes an interview with Mariane Pearl, the widow of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. A movie based on her book "A Mighty Heart" will hit theaters in June. In the interview, she's called "a clear voice of tolerance and dialogue" for how well she handled herself after Daniel was murdered by Islamic extremists in Pakistan in 2002. Mariane Pearl responds: "Well, that kind of self-control . . .hasn't been easy for me. I always go back to one moment: In Karachi, when Captain [the Pakistani officer who was leading the investigation into Danny's kidnapping] came to the house and told me what happened, my reaction was that I grabbed an AK-47 from one of the guards. In that single moment, I knew how easy it would be to kill someone. If they had brought a person who was guilty [of Danny's murder] to the house, I would have shot him. But then I would have destroyed everything Danny believed in, and everything we did as a couple - and I couldn't do that. Putting that gun down was my biggest act of courage."
Where, she is asked, does that strength come from?
Mariane replies: "Partly from Buddhism. I've been practicing since I was 17. And, you know, after Danny's death, all the years of chanting kicked in, and I knew instinctively that anger and revenge wouldn't take me anywhere. It doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, though. I miss Danny. The pain is real, but the sense of purpose is bigger than the pain."
The May issue of Glamour magazine includes an interview with Mariane Pearl, the widow of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. A movie based on her book "A Mighty Heart" will hit theaters in June. In the interview, she's called "a clear voice of tolerance and dialogue" for how well she handled herself after Daniel was murdered by Islamic extremists in Pakistan in 2002. Mariane Pearl responds: "Well, that kind of self-control . . .hasn't been easy for me. I always go back to one moment: In Karachi, when Captain [the Pakistani officer who was leading the investigation into Danny's kidnapping] came to the house and told me what happened, my reaction was that I grabbed an AK-47 from one of the guards. In that single moment, I knew how easy it would be to kill someone. If they had brought a person who was guilty [of Danny's murder] to the house, I would have shot him. But then I would have destroyed everything Danny believed in, and everything we did as a couple - and I couldn't do that. Putting that gun down was my biggest act of courage."
Where, she is asked, does that strength come from?
Mariane replies: "Partly from Buddhism. I've been practicing since I was 17. And, you know, after Danny's death, all the years of chanting kicked in, and I knew instinctively that anger and revenge wouldn't take me anywhere. It doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, though. I miss Danny. The pain is real, but the sense of purpose is bigger than the pain."
posted by Carol at 9:11 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Postcard For World Peace
"Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances." - Gandhi
I just found a blog called Postcard for World Peace.
One-hundred and fourteen people have sent in postcards from 44 countries.
Now I want to find a postcard to send them.
One-hundred and fourteen people have sent in postcards from 44 countries.
Now I want to find a postcard to send them.
posted by Carol at 7:22 AM
2 comments
Monday, May 15, 2006
Watching My Mind
funny how i find
love
when I watch a person give
peace
when the sound of water washes my soul
courage
when I do something I thought I couldn't
yet I can forget all of that in a moment
hope
can fade away leaving darkness and
despair
when reading the current news
sadness
at humanity's blindness
it's all a choice
thoughts are only thoughts
not truths
feelings change with the winds
only faster
watch the mind's circus and
let go
posted by Carol at 10:47 PM
0 comments