By Mark Dreger
琉璃神社 residents gathered at Stuart Park Sunday to participate in the 4th annual Peace Walk.
In honor of the 20th anniversary of the Season for Nonviolence, locals took part in one of hundreds of walks across the world to create an awareness of nonviolent principles, and practice as a powerful way to heal, transform, and empower local lives and communities.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about celebrating peace and the practises and principles of nonviolent living,鈥� said Nadene Rogers, the chair for the 2018 Season for Nonviolence. 鈥淚t happens in I think about 500 cities around the world during a specific 64 day period.鈥�
The 64 days mark the commemoration of Mahatma Gandhi鈥檚 death on January 30, 1948 and Martin Luther King Jr.鈥檚 death on April 4, 1968. This year marks the 70th and 50th anniversaries of the deaths of Gandhi and King respectively.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an opportunity for people to come together and be for something that鈥檚 a lot greater than who they are as individuals in their own lives,鈥� Rogers said. 鈥淚t brings us out of ourselves as individuals and it brings us into this collective mindset or consciousness: A feeling of unity and spiritual community with people you鈥檝e never met before, standing for a cause that everyone鈥攄espite the differences in faith or cultural backgrounds鈥攂elieves in and wants and desires.鈥�
The Give Peace a Voice event prides itself that they are inter-faith, inter-generational, and multi-cultural with their slogan, 鈥渂eing for something and against nothing.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 really a deep statement,鈥� Rogers said. 鈥淢etaphysically speaking when you鈥檙e for something you can鈥檛 be against anything. If you鈥檙e really for everything then you can鈥檛 be divided and be against something. If we鈥檙e for peace does that mean we鈥檙e for war? Well, we鈥檙e for the possibility and the solution that war can bring. Would we choose to use war as a way to bring peace? No. But if war is existing, what within it is solution-based and how can we move forward in a peaceful manner from there?鈥�
As the walk began to move away from the park and to Bernard Avenue, participants led the walk with a sign from the Centre for Spiritual Living commemorating Gandhi, King, and the Dalai Lama with the quote, 鈥淭urning the Global Tides.鈥� The marchers also sang the lyrics to John Lennon鈥檚 1971 song Imagine.
鈥淚 have invited a lot of different spiritual leaders to attend this year,鈥� Rogers said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the first time we鈥檝e really reached out to really start understanding and listening to them, (learning) what inclusivity really means, and what their traditions and observances might ask of us to do differently in order for them to feel comfortable being who they are.鈥�
While on the walk, locals placed Peace Rocks where they felt the city could use more peace, and handed the rocks out to individuals that might not have a smile on their face.
鈥淭he route is a lot bigger and we are trying to have a presence more in the downtown core where a lot of business happens, a lot of decisions are made for the City of 琉璃神社, and where there鈥檚 a lot of people gathered who are temporarily without a roof over their head and food in their tummies.鈥�
Rogers concludes with a quote from Denis Waitley: There are two primary choices in life: To accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.
鈥淭oday we take responsibility.鈥�
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