So, here we are. Wow! Nepal.
It took almost a week to fully arrive, but now I am definitely here. The first few days in Kathmandu were shocking and a bit disorienting. All of a sudden I am in the 6
th poorest country on the planet and walking around dirty streets of struggle. It certainly took a minute to acclimate.
But now I am feeling great and very much excited to be here, having our first Peace Exchange workshop day complete. Today we spend the day at a local public school here in Chitwan where we held two beautiful sessions with about 160 teenagers. One teacher comments early in the workshop how the students never get anything of the sort in an extra curricular activity….a sad state of affairs. For most of the worlds children there are no art classes, let alone art supplies.
The power of creativity is certainly a subject I am passionate about and will expand on this topic further, very soon. It is certainly a pleasure to be able to engage these kids in a conversation on peace and share an art making experience with them, if only for a few hours.
The excitement in the room is palpable. The volume rises as students enter the room and quickly shifts to quiet as we establish some order and introduce ourselves. Dropping into peace discussion an take time, with shy kids who are not used to speaking in class. This is another interesting topic in today’s world of systemized education. Being talked to rather than being encouraged to talk and share. I felt some deeply moving moments today as students expressed their understanding of peace: one from a global and nationalistic perspective and the need for non-violence within and between nations, and another on the importance of inner peace touching on the notion that peace begins in our heart. This concept is one that I like to get to in every workshop. Emphasizing that peace does start in our heart and blossoms from the depths of the individual and from there out into the world.
With attentive eyes, hearts captured, words flowing effortlessly….inner smile flourishing….I’d hug them all if I could……we move into art making.
You can see photos from this workshop and more on our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Create-Peace-Project/136027053098523
It took almost a week to fully arrive, but now I am definitely here. The first few days in Kathmandu were shocking and a bit disorienting. All of a sudden I am in the 6th poorest country on the planet and walking around dirty streets of struggle. It certainly took a minute to acclimate.
But now I am feeling great and very much excited to be here, having our first Peace Exchange workshop day complete. Today we spend the day at a local public school here in Chitwan where we held two beautiful sessions with about 160 teenagers. One teacher comments early in the workshop how the students never get anything of the sort in an extra curricular activity….a sad state of affairs. For most of the worlds children there are no art classes, let alone art supplies.
The power of creativity is certainly a subject I am passionate about and will expand on this topic further, very soon. It is certainly a pleasure to be able to engage these kids in a conversation on peace and share an art making experience with them, if only for a few hours.
The excitement in the room is palpable. The volume rises as students enter the room and quickly shifts to quiet as we establish some order and introduce ourselves. Dropping into peace discussion an take time, with shy kids who are not used to speaking in class. This is another interesting topic in today’s world of systemized education. Being talked to rather than being encouraged to talk and share. I felt some deeply moving moments today as students expressed their understanding of peace: one from a global and nationalistic perspective and the need for non-violence within and between nations, and another on the importance of inner peace touching on the notion that peace begins in our heart. This concept is one that I like to get to in every workshop. Emphasizing that peace does start in our heart and blossoms from the depths of the individual and from there out into the world.
With attentive eyes, hearts captured, words flowing effortlessly….inner smile flourishing….I’d hug them all if I could……we move into art making.
You can see photos from this workshop and more on our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Create-Peace-Project/136027053098523
a natural beauty scene