I have been muted this week by the shock and tragedy of the events that occurred at the Boston Marathon on Monday. It takes a lot for me to ever be muted, especially when violence and terrorism is front and center of the event, but this one did. I can't quite put my finger on why the words in my head could not come spilling out on to the page: anger, sadness, what to do, how to move forward, the weight of our need to make change, all those thoughts whirling around in my brain; bouncing in to each other and making me dizzy.
I began to speak about how important community is in my last blog, the premier important ingredient to begin the change to a Culture of Peace from a culture of violence. This morning I listened to Face the Nation, I heard Tom Brokaw mention clearly that our nation has developed into a Culture of Violence which is pervasive in every strata of our society. I always admired his clear vision of the status of our country's affairs and have agreed with him most of the time, so I take his statement as a call to action for our society. Change is what we need to do and the quicker the better to save our souls and our way of life.
After completing this week of introspection, I have focused my action to begin the process of expanding my organizations work through media and entertainment. I have made a promise to myself and a pledge to help our society begin the healing by helping to create a community in every possible way that is humanly available. First is my promise, "I intend to let go of despair or nostalgia and I choose to make peace with loss or express mourning in order to move forward. I release the rut of regret and the fear of tomorrow to make way for forgiveness, pleasure, beauty, and hope. I am empowered by my conscience and my gift is forgiveness."
Then pledge that I will turn all my energy on the task to bring our Peacemaker Corps Workshops to life with the creation of video discs covering each of our training modules. These short movies will be specifically created for teachers, mentors, first-responders and professional conflict resolution trainers. Our workshops are a step by step guide to developing community within the school class room, sports field, workplace and home. By first learning the important of community and then with our step by step process understanding how important the support of a group is to an individual's well-being and finally learning how to grow your community and sustain it.
In the aftermath of the bombing in Boston we all saw over and over again how people of every shape and color rushed to help their fellow neighbor even when there was no indication that the danger was over. Forgetting their own safety these ordinary Americans jumped into the rescue mode without a thought and ran to help their fellow man. Let's keep those images in our heads and when someone is silently suffering, take a moment with a kind word or a smile. That is the first step to expanding your community and moving us closer to a Culture of Peace.
If you want to learn more about The Peacemaker Corps Association please go to our web site and keep coming back to read my blog about Peace Building through a Culture of Peace.
Carole