Be the Cause

Category: Inspirational

Peace Is Every Step

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“Every day we do things, we are things that have to do with peace. If we are aware of our life, our way of looking at things, we will know how to make peace right in the moment, we are alive.” Thich Nhat Hanh

A few thousand people have gathered sitting silently, with our eyes closed, sitting on a grassy hill top while listening to a petite nun, modestly dressed in a chestnut brown robe with matching headscarf, leading us in a guided meditation. This morning starts with the clear chime of a bell. This is no ordinary walk — rather it is a silent, unhurried, meditative walk for peace.

Finishing the guided mediation the entire group gathers quietly and waits to begin the actual walk. We are led by a small framed Vietnamese monk, whose smooth skin and ease of movement belie his age of eighty years old. He is Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk, a prolific writer and a peace activist and we are in MacArthur Park, in Los Angeles, to participate in this event aptly entitled, Peace is Every Step.

So we begin with small, stilted steps. I start to wonder if I am going to have the patience to move at a pace that is set by someone other than myself. I tend to walk fast, with long strides, trying to arrive quickly wherever I am headed. At first, to me, the pace seems almost lethargic, and definitely slothlike. But I try to remain patient, and about twenty, or so, minutes in, as we finally start to leave the gathering point and spread out, I begin to breathe more easily. We slowly wind our way around the perimeter of the park, thousands of us, and I begin to accept this somewhat awkward pace, realizing arriving at the finish in record time should not be my goal. I begin to feel something seep into me, a sense of ease.

Tha^y, meaning teacher, which Thich Nhat Hanh is affectionately referred to, asked us to say the following as we walked, I have arrived, I am home. As I repeat these words, while placing each foot carefully on the ground, I start to feel, really feel, the earth under my feet, each of my breathes is growing deeper with each deliberate footstep. This calm and acceptance makes me realize this is both an Lose Weight Exercise in restraint and of awareness, meant to bring each of us out of our thoughts into the present moment. It dawns on me that it really does not matter how long it takes to get from start to finish. I am becoming more aware of the journey in between. Instead of quickly moving, noticing very little around me, I am starting to instead observe — the bustling neighborhood and the many people striding its sidewalks, the colorful buildings of this predominantly Latino neighborhood with music blaring from storefronts and upstairs windows, the uplifting signs along the route attached to the trees, and the serpentine chain of silent walkers — actually being present for moments at a time in the here and now.

So what does walking slowly and silently have to do with peace and service…? Everything. During the walk I passed a brightly colored, yellow sign written in beautiful, scrolling, calligraphy that stated “Breathing in I calm my body, breathing out I smile”. I felt the tremendous amount of powerful energy generated by this entire group of walkers. Energy that was immeasurable, but discernable none the less. This short journey made me ponder that one can only give what one already possesses. In order to contribute to a peaceful world, to be compassionate and genuinely giving, peace and compassion has to reside in our own hearts first — in the words of Gandhi, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

As I continued along the route I spotted another sign stating “There is beauty above me and below me. There is beauty behind me and in front of me” – peace, beauty, compassion are not things out of reach, outside myself, they are all around me and within each of us, in the people in front and behind us, in the tall trees, and the towering seamless sky and the gentle earth supporting each footfall — we just have to slow down and breathe, find our peaceful space within — and be here, now.

Watch a beautiful video of the Peace Is Every Step Walk in Los Angeles

Youth Delegates from Around the World Spark Human Rights Initiative at David Starr Jordan High School in Watts, South Los Angeles

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YOUTH DELEGATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD SPARK HUMAN RIGHTS INITIATIVE AT DAVID STARR JORDAN HIGH SCHOOL IN WATTS, SOUTH LOS ANGELES

Los Angeles – David Starr Jordan High School hosted the 2nd Annual
celebration of Youth for Human Rights Day with an international youth summit in which Jordan students sat alongside youth delegates from around the world, including Australia, Turkey, Canada, Vietnam, Italy, Switzerland,
South Africa, Ethiopia, a total of 18 countries in all. Microphones stood
poised to catch commentary of 40 plus youth who tackled pressing human
rights issues both locally and around the world. The event was organized by
Youth for Human Rights International (www.youthforhumanrights.org) with support from the Human Rights Dept. of the Church of Scientology.

Mayor James Hahn was first to declare Youth for Human Rights Day
International on the 1st of October, 2004, on the south lawn of City Hall,
where more than 600 elementary students from 13 schools participated in an
interscholastic summit. On the 3rd of October 2005, Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa acknowledged the Day and the International Youth Summit held at David Starr Jordan Senior High in the Watts district of Los Angeles. A
state Resolution was passed by Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally (D-52) honoring the school and recognition was extended by Councilwoman Janice Hahn (Council District 15). Dell Huff, Education Deputy of County Supervisor Yvonne Burke (District 2), presented a certificate to acknowledge the school, Youth for Human Rights International and the Human Rights Department of the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles for the roles they played.

International Executive Director of Youth for Human Rights, Tim Bowles, a
practicing attorney in Pasadena, reminded those gathered that the UN
Declaration of Human Rights establishes that freedom from material poverty
is a basic human right, then added, “There is a more dangerous and
debilitating poverty — a poverty of inspiration, born of apathy — and you
must cut through the apathy and hopelessness of your fellows to create a
movement of human rights awareness and action. . . . You are the future.
It is up to you to create that future,” Bowles told the youth.”

The Summit was moderated by Gino Montesinos, a Harvard Drama School grad and successful film actor. He described a childhood in Harlem, New York, dominated by petty crime and purposefulness and posed the idea that had he known his human rights, his early life would have been very different, and he would not have taken the detours that he took before finally pursuing his own dream of being an actor. From such frame of reference, Montesinos
challenged the delegates and the students to find ways to spread the
knowledge of the principles covered in the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

Al Johnson, Counselor at Jordan High who worked closely with event
organizers to produce the Summit said, “Events such as the one held at
Jordan High School are extremely rare. Today our leadership students
interacted with student delegates from around the world. Initially they
talked amongst themselves and soon it was as if they knew each other very
well. They exchanged emails, shared a great lunch and most importantly,
they were able to discuss issues that included freedoms, student involvement
in making change, their own improvement and that of others. Finally, when
the delegates left our campus, many of our students were sad but now they
know that they have the task at hand to continue to involve others in the
work of making the principles outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights become a reality.” By conference end, three projects were initiated
for international implementation by delegates and students. These include a
network coordination project, a religious commonalities project, a project
to teach children using a YHRI human rights education package and a
translation project to reach youth who speak in local dialects.

YHRI President, Mary Shuttleworth, stated that Youth for Human Rights
International is there to back up youth in their efforts, and provide them
with tools to carry out their cause. The first tool created to overcome
ignorance of human rights worldwide and stop human rights violations is a
booklet, “What are Human Rights,”which enables youth to understand that they have human rights and what they are. The award-winning music video, UNITED, has resulted in an international movement for human rights, and has now inspired a film festival to give youth a forum to address human rights
issues through the medium of film.

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