Yesterday I stood at Charles Street and Kenilworth on behalf of PEACE. Women in Black sponsored their sixth annual peace path from Charles Street at the inner harbor to Charles Street and 695.
I stood there for many reasons, but one of the most important reasons for this was on behalf of a friend who perished on 9/11/01 in one of the twin towers, his name was Joe Maggitti. He was a peaceful person, a funny and lighthearted person with a wife and family. I remember him always smiling, always laughing. I stood there on behalf of his family, praying they were keeping on and doing well.
I stood there because I myself am trying to be a peaceful person. I think it all begins with an individual. Until we are peaceful with ourselves and each other, we cannot imagine peace throughout the world. I'm not even certain the concept of peace is something that can exist worldwide, but I'm starting with myself first, then the world. As far as the other peace mongers around, they may have had a whole different reason for standing there for Peace. It could have been for 9/11, it could have been war, it could have been many reasons for which I will never know.
Standing there was an interesting two hours. The lady I stood with, a retired hospice nurse, was spat on just before I got there. Spat on! We got a lot of horn blowing and peace signs and thumbs up. Most everyone driving was supportive of our vigil. It was interesting, though, to see some of the drivers reactions to people standing there quietly holding up their hand made signs with the messages of PEACE. One lady hung her head out the window and called us Jackasses. A few gave us the finger. One lady just shook her head NO regarding my peace sign. I was uncertain what that meant... No to Peace - Yes to Conflict??? Who knows. I would have liked to been able to read their minds. They too have preconceived notions to why each of us stood there wanting peace and I guess it didn't ring true to their beliefs. People smiled and waved, but the most funny thing I witnessed was a driver who was impatient and waving her arms at the van who stopped to hand us fliers (it was Robert Kauffman, the Baltimore City Mayoral candidate -- I could tell by all the bumper stickers on his van). The lady beeped her horn, cursing at him. He was only a second, but this woman was furious. I stood there thinking to myself, this is what I look like when I'm driving home on most days. I have to remember how completely silly it looks to other people. I wonder if she felt silly, especially since we were all standing there with our peace signs. ( Note to self, I really need to work on my peacefulness when driving. )
Anyway, the two hours went by pretty fast. At 6:00 we said our goodbyes got in our cars and went home to our cozy cottages.
I don't know how the other participants felt, but it felt good to stand there and bring the message of PEACE to the forefront of people's awareness, if even for just a second. It all begins with the individual, one peace path at a time.
PEACE OUT
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3 comments:
Hey Kat -- I saw a good quote by Albert Einstein today:
"The world is too dangerous to live in %#151 not because of the people who do evil, but because of the people who sit and let it happen."
Thank you for standing up for peace.
sorry about the typo.
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