Creating Peace One Person at a Time
Ever
so often a book passes my desk that I call a “keeper.”
I have read many books that I read and then stored
away for or lent to others (which is tantamount
to giving the person the book).
With
Peace by Wendy Anderson
Halperin,
the situation is different. It is a book that
I will read often and it can take a long time
to read if one soaks up the message and the beautiful
illustrations. As the reader reads the book, he
should look closely at the illustrations and the
sparse text. Don't let the sparse text fool you—it
carries a wallop.
As
the intro to the book on the inside covers says,
“This poetic and soothing book ponders
the eternal question asked in the Tao Te Ching:
How can we bring peace to the world? Author
and illustrator Wendy Anderson Halperin has some
suggestions that just might work. The author asks
us to use our senses to feel peace: seeing, touching,
smelling, tasting and hearing.
The
author starts the journey for peace with: For
peace in the the world there must be peace in
the nations. For peace in the nations there must
be peace in the cities and continues to: There
must be peace in our heart. Really where peace
lies. Then the authors reverses the journey
with: When there is peace in our hearts, there
will be peace in the nations and we will have
peace in the world.
The
book ends with a lovely Apache blessing: “Walk
gently through the world and know its beauty all
the days of your life.”
Read
the book and heed the suggestions and we can start
world peace one person at a time. Book should
be read by parents to youngsters and youngsters
to parents. Don't forget to spend an ample amount
of time on the illustrations.
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