Hermosa Beach, CA. A PATH FOR PEACE was a bit of a wild and crazy idea that came to fruition on Saturday, April 19, 2008, as a unique and fun, and incredibly powerful, community arts event to build peace--a heart-based sand mound labyrinth walk and peace celebration in support of the Campaign for a U.S. Department of Peace.

It was a beautiful day of peace--the energy was contagious! Many people who participated, skeptics included, have shared how moved they were by the loving, inclusive consciousness that rose spontaneously in hearts and minds, and by the apparent openness and receptivity to H.R. 808 and the grassroots Campaign for a U.S. Department of Peace.

A Path for Peace was a big success, generating much goodwill in the community; new awareness of the Campaign; a host of new supporters and volunteers, including community leaders, and musicians touting the Department of Peace on tour; new affiliations with organizations which would benefit from the Department of Peace; our newest Student Peace Alliance affiliate--San Pedro High School, one of several high schools represented by student volunteers; a moment on the homepage of Brave New Films, and more.

The event was the creation and celebration of hundreds of people from the South Bay and greater Los Angeles area, people of diverse ages, backgrounds and political affiliation, drawn to the beach in a collective endeavor to build and walk 'a path for peace'--a 50' x 50' heart-shaped sand mound labyrinth--and to hear about legislation that holds peace as an organizing principle in our society. It was an outgrowth of the collaboration of CA-36 Congressional District Team Lead, Jo Ann Gaines, and two other ardent supporters of H.R. 808--Sakada, a poet and GeniusWork coach, and Annemarie Rawlinson, an artist and labyrinth builder.

Early morning surfers near the Hermosa Pier were witness to a handful of peacebuilders laying out the large heart-shaped path in the sand--a labyrinth designed by Annemarie for the event. The heart-inspired 'path for peace' starts at the bottom, at the root or cause, then leads to the center, to the heart of the heart, and provides a simple/practical way out (the top)--a perfect way to represent the Campaign, the Department of Peace, and the active principles of peace.

By mid-morning, the small gathering had blossomed into a major group endeavor to build the heart into an incredible sand mound labyrinth. It was to be no small task, requiring a small "army" of peace-minded people. There was digging, lots of digging. The 50' x 50' sand mound labyrinth had to be just so--the path a foot deep and a foot wide, the resulting mounds next to them a foot high and a foot wide. Gallons upon gallons of ocean water were gathered into buckets and trudged back up the beach to our Path for Peace, transferred to watering pails and then poured onto the pathway to keep the sand as malleable as possible.

Fortunately, the weather cooperated beautifully, as the wind behaved, the sun was not so hot as to be draining, and the builders were finished in time for the 1:00 pm Welcome Ceremony. The speakers and performers evoked a perfect balance of urgency and humor, and when the crowd began to walk the 'path for peace', reverently entering the labyrinth one by one, the visual and spiritual impact was stunning, poignantly illustrating that each person can indeed make a difference.

More than a dozen singers, poets and musicians shared their talents, performing meditative pieces alongside the labyrinth throughout the next two hours. As the walk proceeded, many participants stood in the center of the heart, moved by the energy abounding that day, some gazing out at the Pacific Ocean. A pod of dolphins appeared -- perhaps attracted to the beat of the group of percussionists, or perhaps to the good vibrations of a world ready for peace.

Please visit www.apathforpeace.blogspot.com for more about the event, photos and video links, credits to the City of Hermosa Beach and all the amazing speakers, celebration performers, volunteers, and the many others who are A PATH FOR PEACE! Our special guest speakers on behalf of the Campaign were California Co-state Coordinator, Tory Haslinger, and SPA former National High School Coordinator, Nicole Nabulsi. Author and special guest, Lisa Teasley, shared the following poem at the Welcome Ceremony:

Peace

the quiet that begins when
looking in the mirror much
longer than it takes to brush
your teeth is a stillness
at once daring and humbling
a depth as quickening and light
as a hummingbird pausing mid-air
in nectar recognition-and so why
not honor the magic of a more
soulful existence why not hold
dear the peace, the calm
serenity living so safely within
and still, why not then
demonstrate it with out?

--Lisa Teasley

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