Detail from The Vitex Singing Tree of Healing Relationship with Self, Others, Earth and the Divine, designed by Co-Heart 8 of Singing Tree Facilitators for International Day of Peace
Dear Friends of Unity Through Creativity,
Every moment, every place, every relationship where conflict is productive instead of bitter, overwhelming and violent is a moment to rejoice. We are witnessing brutal, high conflict with its excruciating human cost in so many places on our planet. I experience the pain of this cruelty. I feel discouraged and overwhelmed daily, hourly. The International Day of Peace's Symposium in El Paso was a small antidote to the massive impulse around the world, both structured and unstructured, to respond to conflict with violence. The eight-hour Peace Symposium was a day for rejoicing. Months of planning, led by Unity Through Creativity (UTC) with The University of Texas at El Paso's (UTEP) Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Garden and Liberal Arts Department and the Interfaith Alliance of the Southwest, resulted in deep connection and strengthening between 140 people gathered for the sake of Peace. The Symposium was part of over 5,200 events taking place in the United States celebrating the importance of peace that took place from Sept. 21-Oct. 2, according to Pace e Bene.
Many of the keynote and panel discussions will be available on Unity Through Creativity Peace Day 2024 webpage (Scroll to the bottom). Here the head of UTEP's Women's and Gender Studies, Dr. Hilda Ontiveros, shares the importance of feminine wisdom in Peace Building and the words of Afghan scholar activist, Neema Soratgar.
In the program, we state: The Peace Symposium was dedicated to the heartfelt energy of this entire collective to the eradication and healing of war, pain, and suffering anywhere in our world where there is hatred, violence, and trauma to any living beings.
Here is some feedback from the "heartfelt collective":
I loved the diversity of people. I believe unity is different than uniformity and today I saw unity.
Samuel Bonilla, Dragon's Garden
The best thing about the day was meeting a community of people working for a better, more engaged El Paso. I thought the format worked. Lacking resources to actually bring the speakers, and just the main speakers presence on zoom was impactful, followed by very articulate panelists, and ending with the roundtable discussions. Having the art all around! Music and joyful movement! Meditations! Splendid!!
Bettina Escudero, Paso del Norte Mindfulness
I go to lots of #conferences. I can't get enough of them. Love them. This was one of the best I've ever attended. The best description I can share is that it felt like church but without the baggage. The room was so diverse..., the atmosphere was "open", and it presented new or insightful ideas/perspectives which my brain adores.
Monica Jasso, County of El Paso
Below: Ruth Aparacio, Maria Cadillo, Abuela Bea Villegas, Beatriz Vera (co-chair of the Symposium) and Edward Schuldt (VP and Operations Director, UTC)
Around the World
Unity Through Creativity continues its international efforts, building Martin Luther King's Beloved Community, one mural at a time. The Olive Singing Tree of Becoming on Cyprus and The Kyangwali Singing Tree to Heal the Trauma of War in Uganda are currently in progress.
Below you'll see a picture of Cyprus Singing Tree Fellows Evita Vida and Emel Ramiz painting the image which portrays a DNA connection between the north and south of the divided island. Two members of the UTC team, Katia Petersen and Edward Schuldt, will be traveling there in October to participate in Creative Community conversations and the celebration of the completed mural
Members of 10 villages in the Kyangwali refugee settlement, seen below, came together under the facilitation of Emma Kavuma and Kanizius Nsabimana to co-create The Kyangwali Singing Tree to Heal the Trauma of War on traditional bark cloth. Please watch the short video below in order to see the healing joy unleashed by creating together.
All over the planet there are pockets of peace and sanity that are protected, nurtured and growing. Let us rejoice in these pockets of peace. May they cause a far-reaching ripple, like a pebble thrown in still water. May the pockets of peace hold all all children. We paint the infant on the earth in The Vitex Singing Tree for this prayer.
Laurie and the UTC Team
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