On Saturday, January 27th I delivered the keynote activity at the annual conference for the organization, Peace of Mind. It was a real joy and privilege to spend a morning with all the attendees – amazing educators bringing peace education, mindfulness, and social justice work into their classrooms.
Peace of Mind, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, equips children in PreK-8 with mindfulness tools to manage big emotions, build healthy relationships, and solve conflicts peacefully. Peace of Mind is more than just mindfulness to help kids to calm down, the goal of many school-based programs. Our goal is to equip children with the tools to manage their own well-being, to build respectful, compassionate relationships with others, and to stand up for what they believe is right. Integrating mindfulness, social emotional skills, conflict resolution skills and social justice helps kids develop the agency and courage to believe in themselves and work to make positive change in their communities. Over time, the program facilitates systemic change through the development of a common language and skill-set promoting student well-being and more equitable school communities.We are passionate about supporting the educators who teach Peace of Mind to elementary and middle school students.
The story behind my involvement with Peace of Mind is a total kismet experience. Back in 2011, I was teaching a Peace and Conflict Resolution Education class at American University for DC Public School teachers. One of those teachers was Jackie Snowden, who immediately upon meeting her I knew was a dedicated, experienced educator and a force for peace. After taking the class, she took what she learned and began incorporating it into her school with some of her colleagues. It was one of those teacher colleagues of hers that went on to found Peace of Mind, and Jackie was one of the founding Board members. So, almost 13 years after the fact, I got an email from Jackie reaching back out to me and inviting me to engage with this outstanding peace organization she had since helped build.
Sometimes your life has a way of coming back around and touching itself once again. This was one of those moments. It was special! Thank you, Jackie!
Lastly, I was lucky to have my family there attending as well. It gave both my girls a cool window into some of the peace work and peace educator communities I’ve been connecting with and supporting over the years. Right before I was called up to facilitate the keynote activity, my youngest daughter, Zoey (7 yo) gave me a hand written note that said, “You got this, Dad!” That have me a lot courage, heart power, and joy as I prepared to walk up on stage.
Below is a breakdown of the activity I facilitated.
Hand out paper and pens
Welcome and appreciation for this moment
- Introduce Kaiya, Zoey, and Alyson
Words associated with peace
- Peace is a big concept that means many different things to many different people.
- What are some words that you associate with peace?
Activity setup | Let It Snow
- Make five sections on your paper
- Write your name in the corner of the top section
- Write in your neatest handwriting
- Celebrate and explore our experiences with peace, individually and collectively, by channeling and tuning into all of our senses.
Sound of Peace
- Title the first section: Sound of Peace
- What is a sound that brings you peace? Write that into the first section at the top of your page.
- It can be one word or a short sentence (heartbeat, my child singing to herself in the bath, a white noise machine, Beyonce’s homecoming album, etc.)
- Write something that you are comfortable sharing with others in the room
- Crumple it up into a ball
- Let’s make it snow – toss your ball up in the air in the direction of another table so that it lands on or near other participants
Sound of Peace Discovery
- Find a piece of paper near to you and pick it up
- Help others find a piece of paper if they don’t have one
- Open up your ball and read it to yourself
- Raise your hand if you discovered a sound of peace that is the same or similar to the one you wrote?
- Raise your hand if you discovered a sound of peace that is different from what you wrote but is also a peace sound for you?
- Raise your hand if you discovered a sound of peace that you have never associated with peace until now?
Smell of Peace
- Write your name in the next section down
- Title that section: Smell of Peace
- What is a scent or smell that brings you peace? Write that in the section
- It can be one word or a short sentence (freshly brewed coffee, my dog’s fur, salty ocean water, etc.)
- Write something that you are comfortable sharing with others in the room
- Crumple it up into a ball
- Let’s make it snow – toss your ball up in the air in the direction of another table so that it lands on or near other participants
Smell of Peace Discovery
- Find a piece of paper near to you and pick it up
- Help others find a piece of paper if they don’t have one
- Open up your ball and read it to yourself
- Raise your hand if you discovered a smell of peace that is the same or similar to the one you wrote?
- Raise your hand if you discovered a smell of peace that is different from what you wrote but is also a peace scent for you?
- Who discovered a smell of peace that is a smell you have never associated with peace until now?
Taste of Peace
- Write your name in the next section down
- Title that section: Taste of Peace
- What is a taste that brings you peace? Write that in the section
- It can be one word or a short sentence (dark chocolate, an apple picked right from the tree, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, etc.)
- Write something that you are comfortable sharing with others in the room
- Crumple it up into ball
- Let’s make it snow – toss your ball up in the air in the direction of another table so that it lands on or near other participants
Taste of Peace Discovery
- Find a piece of paper near to you and pick it up
- Help others find a piece of paper if they don’t have one
- Open up your ball and read it to yourself
- Raise your hand if you discovered a smell of peace that is the same or similar to the one you wrote?
- Raise your hand if you discovered a smell of peace that is different from what you wrote but is also a peace scent for you?
- Raise your hand if you discovered a smell of peace that is a smell you have never associated with peace until now?
Touch of Peace
- Write your name in the next section down
- Title that section: Touch of Peace
- What is a touch that brings you peace? Write that in the section
- It can be one word or a short sentence (the bark of a tree, grass on my bare feet, a warm towel wrapped around my body, your favorite brush running through your hair, etc.)
- Write something that you are comfortable sharing with others in the room
- Crumple it up into ball
- Let’s make it snow – toss your ball up in the air in the direction of another table so that it lands on or near other participants
Touch of Peace Discovery
- Find a piece of paper near to you and pick it up
- Help others find a piece of paper if they don’t have one
- Open up your ball and read it to yourself
- Raise your hand if you discovered a touch of peace that is the same or similar to the one you wrote.
- Raise your hand if you discovered a touch of peace that is different from what you wrote but that would also consider a peace touch.
- Raise your hand if you discovered a touch of peace that is a touch you have never associated with peace until now.
Image of Peace
- Turn to the person next to you and share the four senses of peace (from four different people) on your sheet of paper
- Together come up with and describe an image or scene that incorporates or represents some or all these sensorial experiences of peace.
Image of Peace Sharing
- Raise your hand if you and your partner got to a point in this activity where you feel pretty good about what you were able to come up with and would be willing to describe your image or scene with everyone.
Meaning Making
- What parts of this activity spoke to you in some way? You learned something. It sparked something. It made you feel some kind of way.
- Turn to a partner and share OR just take a few comments from the crowd.
We have the capacity to experience peace (however we define that for ourselves) in so many ways. We just have to pause, discover, and appreciate what those moments are.
We have the capacity to help others find and discover peace, as well. When others are looking for peace, help them find it.
We all experience peace in different ways, and we have the capacity to imagine what peace can look like across all those differences.
I close with the words of the legendary hip-hop artist, poet, and scholar KRS One. In his song, 2nd Quarter he writes:
What does the rich versus poor really mean?
Psychologically it means you’ve got to pick your team.
When someone says the rich get richer
Visualize wealth and put yourself in the picture.
I amend those lyrics for our purposes here today.
What does war versus peace really mean?
Psychologically it means you’ve got to pick your team
When someone says that peace is our mission
Imagine peace and put yourself in the vision.
Thank you for inviting me to be with you today.
Thank you for being on the frontlines of the most critical work we face as humans – creating a world that is more just, livable, and loving.
Peace!
Daryn R. Cambridge 