Laugh

Here my friend Etsuko and I point to our names etched into bricks and placed in the Peace Park along the Brisbane River, sponsored by Rotary International. It was in this park that we celebrated after a day-long seminar in which each of us presented on an aspect of our master's research. Another peace fellow and I presented on overlapping themes of youth and peacebuilding; other topics included small arms, refugees, development and climate change, peacekeeping missions and rule of law, news media, and post-conflict reconstruction issues. Introduction and concluding ceremonies provided the context for our connection as peacemakers. About a hundred Rotarians attended the event, as well as several of our MA program colleagues; it was an important 'bridge day' as I like to think of it... breathing practical life into our knowledge-building here by voicing it outside the university realm.

Admittedly, amidst the vibrant and hopeful energy generated that day, I remain with a puzzle of how the resources and time invested in this program can most efficiently and meaningfully link genuinely into the movements to transcend the violent cycles we witness day after day. Ah, that gap between what we say and what we do is a troublesome one...

Nevertheless, one of my most recent poignant revelations is that hope is indeed revolutionary. One of the most crucial roles I can play is to be a person that harbors a firey and unwavering commitment to the possibility for a tomorrow that is a notch different... a step closer to love. Not that hope hasn't been nested in me, but I think it had been quite unconsciously there... when my education professor encouraged me to inject a healthy dose of hope into my research essay, I realized how easily and subtly we can be coaxed to despair.

Along those lines, if you're looking for an interesting read, try Lingis and Dangerous Emotions. Here's an excerpt which adds another vital layer to hope--- to laugh:

"the exploits of brave and determined women and men who prevail against great odds prevent humankind from sinking wretchedly into the resignation that the rich and the powerful assign to the vast majority. But heroes are not the strong who seize the opportunities that history momentarily opens. How many of those in whom we have found hope--Gandhi, Che Guevara, MLK, Malcolm X, Carlos Fonseca, Steve Biko--have failed! The heroes are hunted down by the KGB and the CIA, are assassinated in cathedrals and buldgeoned to death in secret dungeons. it is not because they succeed that they are heroes but because they laugh at death.

In that desolate advance of greeds and despairs, betrayals and complicities that is the history of our species, we hear their laughter. their laughter blesses their comrades and all those who are downtrodden and tortured. Their laughter is heard again, in shantytowns and mountains far from their death, years after their death, in the powerful throats of those who continue to arise among us as heroes

... their cause and their struggle is to think and work for a world where the laughter of those on doorsteps, in dingy bars, on the docks, and in the fields will be heard over the guffaws of the rich and powerful."

--Alphonso Lingis, Dangerous Emotions, 2000. The Regents of the University of California.

May your journey be full and meaningful,

Amanda

Red Center Adventure

Just a few of hundreds of photos my friends and I took over the course of our ten day mid-semester break adventure into the 'red center' of Australia, and subsequent camper van trip up to the north coast of this vast continent. We were blessed with an abundance of magical moments along the way, including breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, wallabees, peacocks, crocodiles, jabirus, dust devil storms, kangaroo tail, intriguing Australian personalities, thermal baths under a full moon, lots of music, yoga, spirit-filled spaces, all surrounded with plenty of laughter... again, a sense of gratefulness pervades and transcends it all. Why me? To have had the abundance of opportunities I've had thus far along the way... I clamour longing for ways to give back a portion of what I have recieved.