DAY 172 – Whisper for Peace

“At life’s end,
I would hope to have been
a whisper for peace.”

KY - July 2002

DAY 50 – Each Day

 

Hello Readers of my Book,

A number of weeks back I missed a day of posting. It may be anal of me, but my original plan for this book was to post daily for 365 days until my 60^th birthday, so this is a catch-up post.

each day

each day the world depends on me ...

not because I am a decider,

but because I am a shaper,

expressing obviously, each day, as millions,

my vision of, my belief in, and my work for

peace on earth

KY – 11/23/10

DAY 46 – “The End of War” by Captain Paul K. Chappell

The powerful quote, “we become what we see” has been attributed to both the Chinese, and to William Blake. Regardless of its origin, it is ripe with insight that can free us to create peace on earth.

Humans have existed only in a world of war. To what degree have we become, have we come to believe in, the wars that we continually see?

Powerful quote, though it may be, “we become what we see” is a generalization only, and not true for all. It refers to the alchemy which transforms and secures most of us as carbon copies of the past. It does not address the less common “seeing” of imagination, without which, mankind’s primary shelter would still be a cave.

Iraq War veteran, Captain Paul K. Chappell “sees” with clarity the world in which we war; but is neither seduced nor blinded by that reality. His vision, his imagination of our future without war is what he has become. Our warring past and present, he knows, and understands, but sees beyond, to our potential for peace.

As Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, has said, "Captain Paul K. Chappell has given us a crucial look at war and peace from the unique perspective of a soldier, and his new ideas show us why world peace is both necessary and possible in the 21st century. The End of War [Chappell’s new book] can help people everywhere understand why war must end, and how together we can end it."

Whether you believe we can, or believe we can’t, come join Citizens for Peaceful Resolutions (CPR) as Captain Chappell tells us why and how to end war.

WHAT: Annual CPR Season of Peace meeting: Author Paul Chappell discusses his ideas for shaping a peace movement, based on his books "Will War Ever End? A Soldier's Vision of Peace for the 21st Century" and "The End of War: How Waging Peace Can Save Humanity."

WHEN: Sunday, Dec. 5 at 3:00 p.m.

WHERE: Foster Library’s Topping Room, 651 E. Main St., Ventura, CA 93001 USA

BACKGROUND: Paul Chappell is the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation's Peace Leadership Director. He is a 2002 graduate of West Point and an Iraq War veteran. Learn more at http://www.paulkchappell.com

DAY 9 – The Dalai Lama Forgot My Birthday

That’s correct. Not a card, e-mail nor text message.

Please don’t think that I was racing out to the mailbox in the days leading up to my October 5 birthday,  hurriedly scanning the contents for a Dharamsala return address. I was just hoping.

A week and one day later, following reflection, my enlightened self sees His Holiness’ oversight as a blessing.

-- end funny part
-- begin serious part

OK, so the Dalai Lama doesn’t know me. But even if he did, personal acknowledgment would be so far down my birthday wish list that I would expect to die before getting to it.

What is high on my birthday list, and my list of everyday hopes, is peace on earth. Everyday and in every way His Holiness is living and working for peace. I experience him and his work as a personal gift and as a gift to us all. His life is an acknowledgment not just of our birthdays, but of our lives.

Note:
-- seriousness continued
One of my personal and professional dreams is to be of service as a doctor of chiropractic to the Dalai Lama. I am the founder of an unincorporated nonprofit called Healing Those Who Heal The World, through which I treat, at no charge, folks that work for a better world. I have had the good fortune to be of service to many such individuals, including two well-known couples; Congressman Dennis Kucinich and his wife, Elizabeth Kucinich, and Daniel Ellsberg and his wife Patricia Ellsberg.

DAY 5 - A Day Late

So, this, October 10, is day 6 of my year-long book project, and here I am a day late. You might be surprised. You might be wondering, “Wow, is this guy serious about this book? Just started, and he is off the mark!” Well, I am not surprised; but I’ve been living with me for the last 59 years.

As we, my wife Joanne and I, snuggled into bed last night, pooped, as usual, she asked, “Did you post your book entry for today?” Well, I hadn’t. I consistently bite off a bit more than I can chew. This last week included the usuals of trying to keep up with self-care (sleep, yoga, healthy food), and my full-time chiropractic practice, and also included a CPR  (Citizens for Peaceful Resolutions – http://c-p-r.net) general meeting on homelessness, a CPR board meeting, and hours of preparation for the Earth Charter Summit and Awards in Ventura (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/EarthCharter).  Yesterday, DAY 5, started with final prep for the Earth Charter event, moved quickly to treating patients in the office, transitioned to a participation in the Earth Charter event, followed by clean-up and heading home at 7 PM.

The reason that it is OK for me to be behind is because I feel good about what I chose that behinds me. There will always be important, if not critical needs in the world that I will consider in my life’s triage.

So, here is my DAY 5 posting:

In the months leading up to the launch of this book, I began to create an outline of topics that I will address during the year. Below you will find the current outline. At this moment I have approximately 25 subheadings; each of those with multiple subjects to explore. Be assured, this outline will morph in the process.

 I do not expect to address these topics in any order. I plan to go with my flow. It is my intent to address government on a number of occasions in these next weeks leading up to our national election in the US on Tuesday, November 2nd.

OUTLINE
-Family
            Mine
            Parenting
            Marriage
-Nonviolent Communication (NVC - http://cnvc.org)
-Peace
-Love
-Health
            Doctoring
            Patienting
            Food
            Human Anatomy & Physiology
            The Gut
            Chiropractic
            Public Health
            Music Singing and Dance
-Culture & Common Beliefs
-Government
-Me

See you later today with DAY 6!

DAY 3 – The Earth Charter

About age 50 my awareness of, and my attention to the world around me began to increase. I found myself thinking more about human suffering, world peace, and global ecology. These changes have led me to spend more time in the last 10 years working for the common good than I did in the previous 49 years combined.

In 2002 I became a member of Citizens for Peaceful Resolutions (CPR - http://c-p-r.net), a Ventura, California-based non-profit, and nine months later joined its executive board. Each October we, CPR, host a celebration and award ceremony based on The Earth Charter (http://earthcharterus.org).

The Earth Charter is a declaration of fundamental ethical principles for building a just, sustainable and peaceful global society in the 21st century. It seeks to inspire in all people a new sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the well-being of the whole human family, the greater community of life, and future generations. It is a vision of hope and a call to action. The Earth Charter is a product of a decade-long, worldwide, cross cultural dialogue on common goals and shared values.

The Earth Charter is a framework that helps me more fully appreciate that we are all members of one big human family on this earth, and reminds me that we will all sink or swim together.

If you live in the Ventura area, please consider joining us this Saturday the 9th of October from 3-5 PM at the Ventura College cafeteria as we consciously celebrate and work toward a peaceful global society, and honor activists in our community who work in support of the values of The Earth Charter. For additional information: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=156127717741541&index=1