7.03.2013

July 3, 2013


White Dog and The White Dog Army
Wonderful World Wednesday

White Dog cautions me often not to let the headlines detour me from my belief that it is possible for the world to be changed, to morph into to something gentler, kinder, more compassionate, and filled with peace. She reminds me that there are lots of individuals and actions out there taking small steps that DO make a difference. 

When I doubt it is WD who quotes to me the words of the wise wizard, Gandalf, in The Hobbit:  Some “believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.” those are words I cling to and believe with my whole heart.

Tonight we share a small act of a tiny town in Nevada that is a beautiful hopeful message for peace. It makes the White Dog Army and I smile to consider walking in this amazing park. We can imagine the sense of connection and positive energy as one spins the Peace Wheel and unleashes millions of wishes of peace and healing across the world. Makes us wish EVERY town had such a place and Wheel.

By Good News Network Wednesday, July 03, 2013

A decade after Julie Caldwell had the initial inspiration to build a peace park in Elko, Nevada, the community is spinning the park's final installation, a hand-crafted 3000 pound "Universal Peace Wheel," which is filled with thousands of hand-written and printed wishes for peace collected from volunteers and online.

An inviting gazebo houses the cylindrical copper art form adapted from Tibetan Buddhist culture that features 36 colorful peace symbols from around the world on 80 wheel that provide the rotating outer casing.

The embossed casing crafted in Nepal by Gopel Sapota was hand painted by a team of local artists led by Julie Caldwell and installed by Jim McCann. The design process included five artists from four countries (Nepal, Canada, Tibet, USA).

It is the final installation, and the most difficult one to build, for the Elko Peace Park enthusiasts, who have written grants and lobbied for funding on the local, state and federal level, raising a million dollars.
Inside the wheel thousands of handwritten peace statements, wound by hundreds of volunteers around the wheel’s central shaft, called the Tree of Life. The peace statements were collected from local Elko County School students and residents. It is believed that every time a visitor spins the wheel, millions of wishes for peace and healing go out into the world.

The city of Elko, with a population of less than 20,000 in Northeast Nevada, invited the artists and poets, aroused by the idea of peace following the Iraq War, to build the park on an 8-acre parcel of land donated by the Bente family. In 2007, the Tibetan Lama, Zopa Rinpoche, performed a traditional land blessing on the property.

The park now features a medicine wheel, installed by the Te-Mok Shoshone Western Band of Native Americans, a labyrinth, and natural gardens nestled among pathways and bridges along a creek, and includes a pet-friendly trail system, a small amphitheater, picnic areas, shade structures, and bathrooms.
The global community is invited to celebrate International Peace Day at the Elko Peace Park on Saturday, September 14, where three stages of entertainment, art and poetry will, send further wishes for peace out into the world.

The group is on its final fundraising leg, collecting donations to build a permanent sign explaining the significance and meaning of the wheel. To donate, visit: UniversalPeaceWheel.net

4 comments:

Brian's Home Blog said...

That is very cool and I agree, the small things add up quickly. Happy Independence Day everyone!

meowmeowmans said...

Elko Peace Park sounds amazing. How beautiful that something so tiny can grow into something that encompasses the globe!

Happy Fourth of July, dear friends!

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