A nice summer day at the beach is hard to beat, except an autumn one. Here I am cuddled up in a warm blanket on the sand watching the sunset begin over the lake. The sound of the waves, vivid colors in the sky, cool crisp air to breathe.
Hurray for autumn!
“Buddha love sky” sitting cross-legged on the inviting sands of Lake Geneva – yep, that’s me. I’ve finally made it to this glorious beach.
Beforehand, I picked up a book to read from the library just a few steps away.
A beautiful beach + a library next door = paradise.
It’s not a long book. I’ll finish it before the sun sets. Many powerful books get right to the point. I’m all set and ready for the “pow.”
The book I picked consists of crayon drawings from the children of Sarajevo and the former Yugoslavia. Poetry is sprinkled around the colorful images. It was published by UNICEF in 1993. A time of war.
The colors become darker and darker as I move through the book.
The innocent crayon strokes are detailed in ugly ways of war no child should have to see. Within each jagged outline is a cry for help imploring the reader to honor the preciousness of childhood.
They live a war that makes no sense. They beg me, the reader, to consider them. Every drawing bleeds and pleads to take some action to stop the cruel war.
My senses sharpen to the warm soothing blanket around me. If only I could share this blanket with even one of these children. There’s no war raging on this sandy beach. This blanket, this beach, surely would be a comfort.
But I’m a stranger with a blanket in another country, of a different language, a foreign lifestyle, a separate family of origin, thousands of miles away.
And 30 years between us from when these drawings and cries for help were made.
Yet there are children currently in Ukraine, Ethiopia, Yemen, Haiti, Palestine, Nigeria, Myanmar, Syria and oh so many more places on this earth facing similar unimaginable childhood horrors. This very minute. Right NOW.
Crayons can help get the word out. And I’ll do what I can.
Thank you to UNICEF for putting this book together. Even though it’s taken me 30 years to find it, it continues to speak volumes for our children today. Thank you to the Lake Geneva Public Library and the Lake Geneva Public Beach for giving me this opportunity to dream of peace.
And for waking me up to getting connected.
“I Dream of Peace” starts and ends with drawings of what peace could look like. It’s as beautiful as a Lake Geneva sunset. The children have such incredible imaginations. This is how I started reading on this sandy beach – in peace.
Now comes the courage to Walk it. Breathe it. Live it. Share it.
Create it.
It’ll involve homework. I’m ready.
“Therefore, my friend, welcome to my place. We will share the sea and the beauty of a summer evening. We will enjoy the singing of the birds and do our homework together.” – Nemanja, 11, from Sutomore
I dream of peace.
UNICEF continues today in its mission to help children around the globe.
More information for ways to help and become more involved are at Unicef.org.
Joan Budilovsky can be reached at editorial@kcchronicle.com or her website, Yoyoga.com.