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<div>A friend sent me this and I thought I would share it --
Kenoli</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>This from my friend and former housemate, and a dear peacemaker
who was<br>
recently honoured by the Dali Lama for his work with children...The
words of</div>
<div>MLK ring deep in my soul...may they reverberate around the
world.</div>
<div><font face="Times" size="+2" color="#000000"><br></font></div>
<div><font face="Times" size="+2" color="#000000">Greetings of Peace
and Love!!<br>
<br>
Dear Friends of Peace,<br>
<br>
Greeting you in the name
of peace. I trust that you are well and that in the aftermath
of this tragedy you are finding peace and solace with friends and
family.<br>
<br>
There are a few times in my life when I have felt
this level of despair. My despair however, has always been
strengthened by a belief in God and a faith that love will always
triumph over hatred. I have spent many hours with many people
in the quest for world peace who have shared with me stories of how
love prevailed over untold horror. I have to believe that even
with this tragedy we can find a way to have love triumph over horror
and destruction. We have infinite capacity to find and share
words that build instead of destroy. I believe this with all my
heart.<br>
<br>
The week beginning Tuesday, September 11 the day
of the tragedy which is also the "International Day of Peace" and
ending on Tuesday, September 18 which is "Hear the Children Day of
Peace" is Culture of Peace Week, as designated by the United
Nations. Our Children are asking for a more peaceful
world. Let us hear them and help to achieve this noble
goal. Please remember to spread daily acts of peace to all who
dwell on this beautiful earth.<br>
<br>
I ask that we all pray for
the souls of those have passed on, that the terror that they felt in
their last minutes be erased as they pass on to the next
journey. Let us also pray for the families left behind who must
be in anguish, such as we cannot imagine. For those who may
still be buried in the rubble, may they find strength to endure and
may their rescue be swift. For all of us I pray for restraint,
patience and the courage to seek peace and not more violence.<br>
<br>
As I search for words to
share about this tragedy, especially when I am convinced that
restraint I am so grateful for my friend Kirk who sent this
e-mail. These are the words of Dr. Martin Luther King who even
as his own violent death loomed on the horizon never relented in his
quest for peace:<br>
<br>
Here are the excerpts:<br>
August of 1967, "Where do we go from here?"<br>
<br>
"And so I say to you today that I will stand by
nonviolence. I am still convinced that it is the most potent
weapon available to the Negro in his struggle for justice in this
country. And the other is that I am concerned about a better
world. I'm concerned about justice. I'm concerned about
brotherhood. I'm concerned about truth. And when one is
concerned about<br>
these, he can never advocate violence. For through violence you
may murder a murderer, but you can't murder murder. Through
violence you may murder a liar, but you can't establish truth.
Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can't murder
hate. Darkness cannot put out darkness. Only light can do
that.<br>
<br>
And I say to you, I have also decided to stick to love. For I
know that love is ultimately the only answer to mankind's
problems. And I'm going to talk about it everywhere I go.
I know it isn't popular to talk about it in some circles today.
I'm not talking about emotional bosh when I talk about love, I'm
talking about a strong, demanding love. And I have seen too
much hate. I've seen too much hate on the faces of sheriffs in the
South. I've seen hate on the faces of too many Klansmen and too
many White Citizens Councilors in the South to want to hate myself,
because every time I see it, I know that<br>
it does something to their faces and their personalities and I say to
myself that hate is too great a burden to bear. I have decided
to love.<br>
<br>
If you are seeking the highest good, I think you can find it through
love. And the beautiful thing is that we are moving against
wrong when we do it, because John was right, God is love. He
who hates does not know God, but he who has</font></div>
<div><font face="Times" size="+2" color="#000000">love has the key
that unlocks the door to the meaning of ultimate reality Š<br>
<br>
Š What I'm saying to you this morning is that communism forgets
that life is individual. Capitalism forgets that life is
social, and the kingdom of brotherhood is found neither in the thesis
of communism nor the antithesis<br>
of capitalism but in a higher synthesis. It is found in a
higher synthesis that combines the truths of both. Now, when I
say question the whole society, it means ultimately coming to see
that the problem of racism, the problem of economic exploitation, and
the problem of war are all tied together. These are the triple
evils that are interrelated.<br>
<br>
Š Difficult and painful as it is, we must walk on in the days ahead
with an audacious faith in the future Š When our days become dreary
with low-hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become
darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a
creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic
mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way
and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us
realize the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward
justice. <br>
<br>
Let us realize that William Cullen Bryant is right: 'Truth
crushed to earth will rise again.' Let us go out realizing that
the Bible is right: 'Be not deceived, God is not mocked.
Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.' This is for
hope for the future, and with this faith we will be able to sing in
some not too distant tomorrow with a cosmic past tense, 'We have<br>
overcome, we have overcome, deep in my heart, I did believe we would
overcome."<br>
<br>
<br>
End of speech excerpts.<br>
<br>
Thirty four years later
Dr. King's words still ring true. From everything I have read and
know about Dr. King, I believe he would give this very same speech
today. I pray that Dr. King's words or at least the
sentiments expressed will reach the White House and the Chambers of
both Houses of Congress before rash decisions are made.<br>
<br>
One prayer I must not
forget, a very important one, easy to overlook. Let us pray for
our Sisters and Brothers of the Muslim faith or Arabic ethnicity all
around the world who are unfairly being verbally threatened and in
some cases physically beaten. May God shine a protective light
on them and turn to love all the hatred that is being directed
towards them.<br>
<br>
I humbly continue with my
dedication to bring the message of PEACE to everyone, particularly
children, and I take this time to thank and honor all of you who are
working for peace in the world today,<br>
<br>
Infinite blessings and May Peace Prevail on Earth,<br>
<br>
Masankho and Johanna</font><br>
<font face="Times" size="+2" color="#000000"></font></div>
<div>-- <br>
Kenoli Oleari, Horizons of Change, http://www.horizonsofchange.com<br>
1801 Fairview Street, Berkeley, CA 94703 Voice
Phone: 510-601-8217, <br>
Fax: 510-595-8369, Email: kenoli@igc.org (or click on:
mailto://kenoli@igc.org)</div>
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