Finding light in difficult times

''The arts offer peace builders unique tools for transforming intractable interpersonal, intercommunal, national, and global conflicts – tools that are not currently prevalent or available within the peace building field.” - Michael Shank, George Mason University

“When power leads man towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses. For art establishes the basic human truth which must serve as the touchstone for our judgement.”-President John F. Kennedy

Culture and the Arts can be an important part of creating dialogue, sustaining peace, giving people a voice and allowing them to flourish. The Arts offer powerful tools to create the inner shifts in awareness which render people more able to 'embrace' the other. They can play an important part in creating and sustaining community cohesion and a culture of flourishing.

In February, we completed our Tree of Life tour, using music and the Arts to bring people together in the face of the conflict in Israel/Palestine. Here is a quotation from one of our events:

“The evening included hauntingly beautiful singing, accompanied by violins, and stories from the group “Arts at the Intersection” and their special guest Hanna Yaffe, the Jewish storyteller and singer from Jerusalem.” – Tree of Life event description by Jim Corrigall in Unitarian magazine (our hauntingly beautiful music was performed by Isabel and Madeline de Berrie)

In our experience, we find that using Arts, especially in time of difficulty, can help people towards a recognition of a truth that is sometimes lost in times of conflict. It can point us towards the deeper aspects of our common humanity. Rodef Shalom Eliyahu McLean tells a story about a meeting in the Holy Land between Imams and Rabbis. They reached a sticking point where there was a breakdown in discussions. Then, someone started to sing a song which was precious to both sides and the atmosphere changed and softened, pointing people to something which they deeply shared, and this enabled the discussions to restart. Truth cannot be grasped by thoughts alone or words alone, and the arts can lead us into our hearts, where there is often a deeper knowing.

During our tour, which faced difficult issues around the conflict in the Middle East, many people expressed that they felt nurtured by the events, and therefore able to re-engage, whereas previously feelings of disillusionment and a feeling of despair had caused disengagement. This was in part due to the unifying message brought by Sheikh Ghassan Manasra and the use of music, storytelling, and creative arts. 

Artists are in a powerful position to bring people together and inspire them to positive action. They can provide a lens through which we can look at, understand and engage with the world. Culture and the Arts are fundamental to human wellbeing. Both for the individual and communities as a whole: “Art is not a particular object but rather the creative process–the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others.” (Britannica Online.) 

I would like to close by asking if there are images, prayers, poems, etc. which are inspirational or enlightening for you. You may like to make a collection of them to nurture yourself, especially in times of fatigue and difficulty. If you would like to share them, please feel free to send them to Spirit of Peace so that they can be shared more widely, if appropriate, to inspire others. Sharing in this way enables us all to help to foster peace.

Please see below further quotations from the Tree of Life Tour, illustrating the aspect of human creative activity and arts, which enables us to flourish.

‘I loved watching you draw your tree – it was lovely, watching it come to life out of the charcoal’

‘I haven’t drawn anything for years and wasn’t convinced I could do it, but really enjoyed the process, thank you’

‘It was lovely to be able to pick up pencils and pastels and spend a few minutes being creative”

‘How nice to have a creative activity!’

‘I loved the idea of writing a message on the leaf to put on the tree’

‘The programme was wonderful, really interesting, and I really enjoyed the interactive creative element’

Shalom, salaam, peace,

Heather-Jane 

“When the murmur of the ocean is stilled and the tides move stealthily along the shore, I held my breath against the night and watched the stars etch their brightness on the face of the darkened canopy of the heavens. I had the sense that all things, the sand, the sea, the stars, the night, and I were one lung through which all of life breathed. Not only was I aware of a vast rhythm enveloping all, but I was a part of it and it was a part of me.” Howard Thurman 

Artwork on the right by kind permission of David Arathoon https://www.davidarathoonstudio.com  

Recently, I was reading about the journey of a climber in the Himalayas. I was very struck with a comment he made. He spent some time contemplating at one of the camps in the foothills, just staring at the mountain range. After a time, he had a sense that he was breathing one breath with the mountains. This is not a rare experience, many people who take the time to stop and stare report a similar sense of breathing with the one breath of the universe, of the whole. In religious terms, the mystic Hildegard von Bingen is known for her understanding “Prayer is nothing but inhaling and exhaling the one breath of the universe”.  

In recent decades, the world has been subject to a process of globalisation. The world seems smaller than ever before, with travel having become easier (pre-pandemic!) and the internet bringing people together in ways which were not possible even a few years ago. At the same time and especially during the pandemic there is a growing understanding that we cannot separate ourselves from the rest of the world. We are realising that our actions have consequences way beyond our own lives and communities. Living with a consciousness of this and working for the common good is becoming a greater imperative because we are part of the whole and our actions matter.  

The scale of problems the world is facing can seem overwhelming but we can take heart from the following words of an African proverb “If you think you are too small to make a difference, you have never been in bed with a mosquito.” The idea that we cannot influence the whole is not true as the quote below from American historian, philosopher and political writer Howard Zin demonstrates. I would like to finish by quoting his hopeful message:  

“We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can quietly become a power no government can suppress, a power that can transform the world.” Howard Zin 

These are the words that have been echoing in my mind and heart in recent weeks. Everywhere we turn we are confronted with growing polarisation amongst people and in politics as well as the enormous destructive effects of climate change. How can we remain hopeful and take positive actions in the light of the many catastrophes and conflicts? 

Each time I connect with the enormity of what is going on I have a sense of grief, but from this grief arises a new sense of urgency to make whatever small contribution I can towards a world where all can flourish. 

The circumstances of our world can seem overwhelming and this overwhelm can cause people to deny or close their minds to the bigger picture. My sense is that we need to shift into a consciousness of 'living for the whole'. What do I mean by this? Well, many things and in future newsletters I hope to share more about this. Here, I would like to share two inspiring stories and also some wisdom which comes from the international organisation, Rotary, which in some way represent living for the whole.

The two stories illustrate that no matter how hampered we might feel by our own personal life situation there is something we can contribute to the good of the whole. 

The first story was one I heard from Gloucester Fair Shares at one of our community meetings at the Friendship Cafe, Gloucester https://thefriendshipcafe.com. A lady who was house bound wanted to contribute to her community but was not sure how. What eventually transpired was that she offered to take in parcels for her local community - receiving parcels is of course problematic for people who are out all day. This helped her community and also herself as she made friendships with the people who came to collect their parcels. Her selfless act in wanting to work for the good of others resulted in mutual good. 

The second inspiration is a good friend of mine who has a real heart for the world, for nature and for good of all. She too is 'differently abled' but she uses whatever she is able to do to work for the whole. She does this by regularly posting on Facebook incredibly informative posts about climate events and other situations around the world, often things which do not hit the headlines. 

Another aspect of living for the whole can be seen in some wisdom from Rotary International. They have something called the four way test, which I think is a good rule of thumb for discerning how we as individuals can live for the whole. 

The Four-Way Test is a nonpartisan and nonsectarian ethical guide for Rotarians to use for their personal and professional relationships. The test has been translated into more than 100 languages, and Rotarians recite it at club meetings:

Of the things we think, say or do

1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

These four simple questions might help each of us if we are inspired by the idea of living not just for ourselves, our friends and families but living for the whole, as the Dalai Lama suggests: 

“I believe that to meet the challenge of our times, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility. We must all learn to work not just for our own self, family, or nation, but for the benefit of all humankind. Universal responsibility is the key to human survival. It is the best foundation for world peace, the equitable use of natural resources, and through concern for future generations, the proper care of the environment.” 
—The Dalai Lama 

With best wishes,

Heather-Jane Ozanne

Hope springs eternal in the human breast. - Alexander Pope

Hope is the faith that, together we can make things better. - Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

Much has been written about the power of hope and opinion seems to be divided on its’ usefulness and value. Some see hope as something negative – leading to apathy and inertia.

Others point to ‘false hope’ attributing to it the means of making life bearable, other see in it quite the opposite, the devastating effect when a false hope is revealed as precisely that –false.

More often I believe hope is seen as something positive, it can keep us going and strengthen resolve when times are tough or uncertainty abounds. It can be a motivating and revivifying force.

Episcopal Priest and author, Cynthia Bourgeault points out that sometimes optimism can ensue from hope, ‘In our usual way of looking at things, hope is tied to outcome. We would normally think of it as an optimistic feeling – or at least a willingness to go on – because we sense that things will get better in the future’. However as we shall see below, hope and optimism have different qualities.

However, hope like love, is a quality that is multifaceted and not always easy to put into words.  I would like to consider here a few aspects of hope that I find particularly helpful and are perhaps not so commonly recognised. One aspect is described in the following quotation: Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out. -Václav Havel, Disturbing the Peace (1986)

Here we see hope as something which is not connected to outcome but to something which seems right at an inner level. It brings with it a sense that we must be a certain way, or do a certain thing because it has intrinsic value in itself – regardless of the outcome.  It is a quality of being, even a way of life, going beyond positive thinking into positive living.

Today I hear many people expressing a sense of hopelessness about the many huge challenges facing our world, from climate challenges and loss of biodiversity to polarisation and growing inequality.

Havel provides a counter to this despair: even a purely moral act that has no hope of any immediate and visible political effect can gradually and indirectly, over time, gain in political significance.

This is a crucial factor in what I think of as “participatory hope”.  This kind of hope is a quality of the heart. The deep heart which sees all things, connects all things, holds all things together in compassionate love. Hope can be both a call and the fuel for action.

“Hope’s home is at the innermost point in us, and in all things. It is a quality of aliveness. It does not come at the end, as the feeling that results from a happy outcome. Rather, it lies at the beginning, as an impulse of truth that shines forth. When our innermost being is attuned to this impulse it will send us forth in hope, regardless of the physical circumstances of our lives.” - Cynthia Bourgeault

In the words of peace activist, Fr John Dear, ‘to be hopeful, do hopeful things’.
There is a growing emphasis on the daily practice of expressing gratitude and how it can lead to a more fulfilled life, from religious teachings to the evidence- based insights from the field of Positive Psychology. A helpful practice might be to regularly reflect on what hopeful actions one can take no matter what the situation and then going out and doing them!