My Dream of Peace

I ask that my dream comes true. Others who read this make the changes to bring about a world fit for children.

MY DREAM OF PEACE

I dreamed I was teaching peace to children and it changed my life. The world I dream of is a place where children are raised in secure families and encouraged to reach for their highest potential. Where they never hear the words ‘you can’t’ or ‘no’ or ‘not good enough’ instead they are guided to choose, to think through decisions and to be aware of the needs of others. When they are challenged with problems rather than going into defense or seeking to harm the other, they sit quietly and imagine if they were in the other’s shoes, how would they feel and how they would like to be treated. Then they go into their own thoughts and question their own judgements to arrive at a place of peace and understanding.

I see children treated as equals by adults where rather than being an interruption to adults needs, they are a welcome inclusion, their thoughts and ideas met with curiosity, patience and equality. Rather than being seen as a child, they are seen as a person developing their awareness of an amazing world full of possibilities. I see a society designed around the needs and aspirations of children to develop into functional and healthy adults who don’t need to go through a painful life learning harmony but are grounded in an understanding of what they do to others they do to themselves. I see such wasted potential as people become caught up in conflicts that could be overcome through understanding and a desire for harmony. I see a world where all take full responsibility for their actions and do not wait for problems to disappear but take ownership for their part. This ownership is the nature of our stewardship of the planet and impacts the future we create.

This is my dream and it is one I believe is possible, when others share my dream. This is my inspiration and through my own actions I give real hope to the world.

REAL HOPES

My REAL HOPES peace program is an acronym for: Responsibility, Empathy, Awareness, Love, Honesty, Oneness, Peace, Enjoyment and Service. I teach universal values, anti-bullying and nonviolence. In my work with children I have been deeply inspired by them, and it is through them that I find the courage to persevere.

When I asked children about peace I recall one child describing it as a rainbow, that all people were different colours and when we come together we become white light or ‘one’. When I spoke to kids about anti-bullying as a clown, one became so excited she started a campaign in the playground to encourage others to say ‘no to bullying’. Another turned up with a sign and a clown wig saying ‘love’ on his sign. Another left me a message on the white board saying ‘you are the best clown I’ve ever seen and you are the funny person and you will be for the whole of life’. Others sent me cards to thank me for bringing REAL HOPE to their school. I also used to brainstorm for critical thinking with children and asked them about violence and violent video games. Many thought it was cool to kill the enemy but they thought it was not good for little kids (even though they were grade 5). I also did some activities where I draw an outline of a person one was called a ‘bully’ the other a person ‘bullied’. The children were to write or draw within the outline. The image they created of the bully was tough and aggressive, they had many piercings, rough language that was aggressive, demeaning and dominant. The victim had bullet holes, blood, and sayings that they were weak and afraid. I was aware of the type of influences children were being exposed to and the archetypes they believed in as strong or weak. There was an overall perception, particularly from boys that violence was strong and peace was weak.

When I showed the children the nuclear explosion at Bikini Islands and then I showed them a picture of the earth, a living system. The children were very engaged. I tried to explain to them we have choices in life, we can either allow fear to dictate behaviour that hurts other people and in its far extreme can lead to war or we can choose to see the world as one living system of interrelationships. I defined these extremes as love or fear. The bullying comes from fear or powerlessness, a person seeking power by taking another’s power. I also played a game with them designed from the Jane Elliott series of ‘Blue Eyed/Brown Eyed’ (posted Our True Nature blog). This was set up in the 1960’s after the assassination of Martin Luther King. She noted how the white people spoke to African Americans as ‘your people’. She also noted that in the Warsaw Ghetto Jews were chosen for the gas chamber on the basis of eye colour. She designed a program which she taught to grade 3’s to segregate the class on eye colour. Her method was controversial and children became aggressive to children they thought were less than them or ‘the other’, she then reversed the information and the reverse happened. She later taught this to adults to reveal prejudice embedded and covered through polite words, but the exclusion was there. In my work I divided the class by eye colour but said that only blue eyed children can be clowns. I asked the teacher to hold half the class silent and had the children observe whilst I played Chinese whispers with the blue eyed kids. When we debriefed afterwards, the children who were brown eyed said they knew it was a game but felt angry that they were excluded and isolated, they wanted to join in. The other children ‘the in crowd’, said they loved being special and part of the group to play with the clown. They felt special because the others were excluded and they were picked by the clown. I then explained to the children that when we exclude or isolate people on the basis of some characteristic e.g. gender, race, disability, intellect, opinion, lifestyle, attractiveness etc. we are causing that feeling of anger and hurt. I then asked them how do we bring people into the whole group, what can we do to ensure everyone belongs. Kids said invite them into a game, talk to them, don’t let them sit alone, be a friend etc.

The work I did with REAL HOPE is leading edge, it has not been done before. I realized when I attended another university this year to look into environmental issues, the universal values I am teaching is what is required to help our society find its sense of common ground and inner strength, to be able to see differently, so there is no them and us, hence we solve problems together. I left the course when I realized I am on the right track. I had the same thing in mind when I wrote the Children’s Parliament, to teach problem solving, creative thinking, conflict resolution and leadership so children would take responsibility and work out how to solve issues collectively. The melting of the I.C.E. could be turned around through Inspiration, Challenge and Empowerment. I called this expanding possibilities for positive change. It is a matter of focus, participation and choosing the world we want to create.

I have had the privilege of traveling the world and interacting with a wide diversity of children and people. I will share some special moments.

Russia

In Russia I traveled with Dr. Patch Adams. There were 40 clowns from across the world in this troupe. At the time we were there in 2002 apparently 600,000 children were orphaned in Russia.
The trip to Russia entailed visiting nursing homes, orphanages, hospitals, subways and on the streets. There were 40 clowns from across the world in this troupe. Patch talked to us about clowning and that it was wise not to give things out but to share loving kindness. He said the purpose of the trip was to experience a small tribe dedicated to giving love. He was offering us an experience of loving others and ourselves.

During our visits to orphanages we were informed that the Mafia infiltrated these places and would take children for prostitution. They were vulnerable given no parents.

Patch is a deeply kind person and I still remember him being with a little girl who was deaf and dumb. He pulled out all his tricks and made her smile. He often picked out a particularly lonely child. I remember seeing him look at a Polaroid photo of her on the bus with tears in his eyes. He felt such love for the orphans.
I remember an orphanage where a little girl grabbed me by the hand, I was her clown for the time we were there. We hugged the children, played with them and joked. The kids were so excited as the only love they received was from each other.

Our presence was to bring real genuine love to them, so at least they experience it once in their lives. Patch saw the importance of being a loving example to children. What struck me about him was if you wrote to him, he always wrote back, even though he received 2,000 contacts a week, always he responded. He even rang me once to tell me he didn’t have time to endorse a project, he chose to ring not send a note. Very upfront and visible. He taught me about the greatness in genuine connection.

He termed it the ‘love revolution’ where it was not power over others by a few. I can hear Patch’s voice when I write this. I remember his lecture in St Petersburg to us clowns about the Love Revolution. He stated that all people were leaders, all were great, but most gave it up by 40. He was offering us an experience of loving others and ourselves. Love really is so simple but it is truly amazing so much effort must be put into reminding people of the power of love and how deeply natural and empowering it is. As clowns, what we do is, as Patch calls ‘ordinary’ and it is seen as extraordinary in a world that is not loving as a natural reflection of our human family. So many are so closed off for fear of others. We may love our own family or loved ones but it doesn’t extend out past our self created circles of interest or known contacts. We live in a world of repressed needs and it is evident in the way we relate or choose not to.

The trip from Moscow to Saint Petersburg was truly amazing and the most fun I’ve had without drinking, although I must confess I did have a few vodka’s. The vodka helped take the chill off the wind, it was bland but warm. It was almost magical walking at night in Saint Petersburg in the snow and looking up at what seemed like storybook palaces (Russian Orthodox churches) and feeling I was in a fantasy land. Saint Petersburg was the most beautiful city I had seen – statues of horses, canal systems, ornate, grandiose buildings and children pulling sledges. They call it the Paris of Russia. I remember doing a little skit as Steve Urwin jumping over this black stump. They all laughed. We were on a natural high.

What happened to me in Russia was personally transformative, as I saw that as clowns we were able to reach across cultural, language and social lines with our humanity.

As clowns we were greeted with laughter and love. If only everyone could experience life as a clown, then we would see we don’t need weapons of mass destruction, we just need weapons of mass distraction. It was there I realized that clowning is peace making in the most simple and authentic way. I found the Russian people to be very kind but there lives were very hard. We met Maria who had written to Patch out of a Russian/English dictionary. She was a local artist and was working with the children in orphanages. Patch was helping her work. The children in the orphanages were institutionalized and some were exploited for prostitution. We witnessed some trauma whilst moving around. At the time we were there in 2002 apparently 600,000 children were orphaned in Russia. So within our joyful island was a sea of sadness. We hoped that a few red noses, whoopee cushions and music brought some colour into their world even if for a moment. This experience was what set the future for my life.

Asia

I was in a slum in Cambodia and conducting a workshop with a Sri Lankan Doctor. I showed the kids what clowns have in their bags, we played and laughed together and then took the children into the heart of the slum to meet their parents. We threw fluffy balls into the crowd and were greeted with wide smiles amazed that a western clown would come to their slum. They had no running water and it was dirty and disease ridden. That is why we went, I felt called to go, even though the smell turned me off. As a clown I smelt nothing, saw nothing unacceptable as I was in a mindset of unconditional love. All that interested me was the smiles on the children’s and parents faces. To revalue them, to show them how beautiful they are, through us.

In the end of my time there we had to get in the vehicle and go to the airport to travel to the North of Cambodia. The interpreter was stunned at the impact we made and kept saying ‘it was like a movie’, shaking his head in disbelief of what he witnessed. I was stunned that I made a difference, as I often see myself as average as a clown. Then I noticed two children had been chasing us for quite a while. I noticed one dropped off but felt to put my hand out the window and we touched fingers. I realized the child was chasing this dream, that I had impacted so much on this child. I grabbed for a puppet and then handed it to the child out the window. The child stopped just staring at the puppet, the dream became real for him in that moment. For me I saw connection as the reality of peace. To truly connect with people not just be a smiling, nodding face but to actually really connect. To dare to care. I told this later to the senior Rotarians gathered back in Bangkok. I cried as I spoke as I saw it was not about sympathy, it was about equality. That is what the little boy taught me in a Cambodian slum.

I also was given the chance to clown in a 50,000 refugee camp on the border of Thailand/Burma. The people had never seen a clown but seemed to know what it meant. The kids were quick to catch on and we had hundreds surround myself and my clown buddy from the US. I also had the chance to clown in a HIV clinic in the south of Thailand. One significant moment there was when I walked outside on the landing juggling, to find no reaction. I wondered why, it turned out the people were blind. So I started to squeak my nose. I spent a lot of time with a small child lying between parents on the ground. I had her hold onto the end of my whistle and together I blew and she pulled it (sliding whistle). She was blind so the sound was like a thousand paintings for her. She started to clap her hands happily as she had never heard the sound before. I walked away deeply happy in a place where people are dying.

On my world trip, I was walking past a Red Cross orphanage in Bangkok, I asked if they would like a clown for free. They agreed and the next day I again was in their office. I was asked if I wanted to adopt, I said ‘no I am here to clown today’, turns out many Australian’s are adopting Thai kids who have been abandoned. Anyway I went into a white room with nurses wearing the old fashioned red cross hats. I just went through my bag and clowned with the kids. They were a bit scared at first, only tiny tots they were between just born and 4 years old. So there is this colourful clown, they needed time to get use to me. I warmed them up with jugging, puppets, bubbles, balloons, ribbons and my squeezy nose, squeezing in moments to get their attention. In the end they were very happy and involved. I felt so happy to bring them a joy and to show them you can trust people and we are here to be happy.

India

My first stop in India was New Delhi. I was totally confronted by what appeared as a slum, I caught an old taxi and traveled through a very old and disheveled part of New Delhi. I remember sitting in the back of the taxi thinking ‘try and imagine this as your home, if you want to live in Melbourne you would be there’. So with those thoughts I accepted the crazy driving and tooting of the taxi driver, handed my life over to a higher power and just observed the many men on the streets, the crumbling roads, the little shops and dirt everywhere. It seemed very third world to me. I was to find out later there were many sides to India and some very modern, some extremely poor, such are the extremes of life in the country of over 1 billion people moving into a capitalist paradigm. I just happened to stay with people interested in universal peace. They had a meditation space. Ironically they were situated in a Defence compound in New Delhi. The grandfather and I connected as we were both into peace. His son-in-law and daughter were a very progressive Indian couple. I encouraged Navreet to clown with me. I went to a shopping centre with him and gave him some tips on clowning. His family members came as well to watch. So supportive of each other. The security were perplexed and tried to get me to leave, but my host’s family were all lawyers and they explained I was a peace clown and I was allowed to continue, I was not breaking any laws nor asking for money, just spreading peace. A hard notion for people to understand as everyone is seeking money. People were smiling and surprised, wondering why we were there. They were very happy to see us clowning and many interacted with great joy. It came across very positively, an anomaly in a place of commerce.

Egypt

My travels took me to Egypt. I stayed with an Egyptian woman and navigated my way through Cairo with a piece of paper in Arabic. This I could show to find my way to Giza and back home. I found myself escorted by a young Bedouin man who took me for tea and told me of his life. He then took me to the pyramids where a camel man tried to charge me 200 pounds for a camel ride. I told him I am not a tourist I am here because I felt to see the pyramids. I felt the tears well up again, I know this is a spiritual feeling, I am meant to be here. He sees this feeling in my eyes and he drops his price. This is certainly a miracle as the camel owners usually put it up. I told him I don’t need a camel ride I am near the pyramids that is enough. His second price was fair and my feeling was to go. I was taken on one camel with a horse in front and around the pyramids. I felt myself in the baron desert as Cairo was hidden behind the sand dunes. I felt myself go back in time to the peace of the desert and this enormous monoliths standing silently before me. They were of a shape that is unusual, geometric shapes in precise formation. I sense more information from these pyramids. The poem I wrote Encryption of a New Earth came to mind. In the desert I felt such peace and allowed myself to be carried by life. The camel man wanted me to come to his house for dinner, but my feeling as a woman alone and the fact they like to accumulate wives, felt perhaps not. I was flattered he felt the connection though.

I had the opportunity to clown at a children’s exhibition in Cairo. It was 40 degree heat and I was sweating and very active. The children were just thrilled to see me there. I had an Egyptian woman with me who also chose to be a clown. It was great to bring this to them, as few had seen clowns. I jumped into the middle and danced and pulled out my juggling balls which glowed in the dark. There was great excitement as I clowned around and pulled people up with me. I took the children out as a peace train and I was warned not to go on the street as the police would stop us, I found that curious. The children were very excited and it was lovely and cool by now outside, would have been fantastic to take them further.

During this time in Egypt I had a strong feeling to go to Alexandria to visit the Institute of Peace. I understood it was funded by the University of Peace in Costa Rica. So I went overnight to meet with people. I went there and met the skeleton staff, the others had gone to a peace conference in Jordan. However, I was to find out Suzanne Mubarak was the patron. Later I received an email and was invited to come back on the International Day of Peace to speak about peace as a World Peace Clown.

Whilst waiting on the platform in Alexandria. I decided to do an experiment. I pulled out my juggling balls (dressed normally) and juggled. Imagine a western blonde woman juggling. It took everyone by surprise. Boys were very interested and I started to throw the balls to them. Then the men gathered around me in a circle and I pulled out my clubs. They called out where are you from. I said ‘Australia’. They said nice country.

United Kingdom & Ireland

I traveled on the UK and spent time in London. I remember being with a friend, my first day out in London. My friend I was with had to go to an interview. However, we arranged to meet after and went to a coffee shop. We got there and I started to talk with the café guy. I asked him where he was from but he was reticent to tell me. So I said I don’t mind where you are from I am a universal being. To my amazement a woman standing next to me pipes up and says ‘I am a universal being’. I gave her a broad smile and invited her to sit with us. Turns out she always wanted to be a clown. So I invited her to clown on the London Underground the next day and I would do her makeup. She turned up the next day at the appointed time. I did her up and then we went outside to practice. As we walked down the street this guy on a push bike comes past and I stick out my thumb (hitching). He stops and they speak in Hindi (both Indian backgrounds). Turns out he always wanted to be a clown. So I can’t say no, I have to take him. So we take him back to the house, make him take a shower (phew) and then he comes out. The three of us with my friend Jo hit the streets. She becomes my camera person and photo person. So we can record the event.

It was amazing to see the serious faces on the Underground, I zeroed in on a few children and generally juggled and blew bubbles. It is interesting to watch the social boundaries and the inability for people to relax and allow clowns to entertain them. They are afraid we will ask for money, for me my payment is smiles and just bringing the colour. It was a wonderful day and I even met another activist who was an Irishman. He invited me to meet with him when I go to Dublin. He knew a guy I had interviewed on radio called Ciaron O’Reilly, he was involved in actions to disarm planes destined for Iraq. They call it monkey wrenching in the Peace Literature.

My world trip took me to Ireland. Irish eyes were not smiling there as they had been hit by the financial crisis. I clowned with a Quaker on the streets of Dublin. He was nervous at first but he was gentle and kind to the people. I juggled and interacted, again I could feel the sorrow. I did speak to a homeless guy who had been on the street for 6 years, he had 6 children but didn’t see them in years. He had been in business but it collapsed as did his hope for life. I told him he was a success as he had survived 6 years. I offered to write his story and send it to a paper. I asked him to send it to me. Sadly he didn’t, but I wrote his story anyway and sent his courage to a paper.

USA

I traveled to Chicago and found an art student amongst a class of students at a private art school. I invited him to clown with me on the streets. He agreed. He did confess it was hard work but when you give love non stop to people it can be tiring. People don’t always respond and they can be unpredictable, but I find in general there is much love in the world and I just flow through it. We taught people how to juggle I gave away my expanding ball to a homeless guy for his son. We hugged on the street, it was truly beautiful.

Peru

In Cusco I had the chance to clown with a local travel agent. He wanted to explore happiness, so I told him to come with me. We organized a gig at a local hospital. I then was to clown by myself afterwards with children from a special care unit at a hospital down the road. We had a great time going around the wards and spreading love and joy. I then went to see the children with disabilities. I typically make up my routine. I show the kids all my props and juggle. I work hard at interacting with all children. Even those who appear to not be responding I spend time giving love to them and assume they can hear and see me. I can pick up the smallest of response, so typically I know when I reach them. I so loved being with these children which I felt were all angels. One of the kids was very animated and she was shouting out very excited. She came up and danced with me in the middle of the room and hugged me. She was the one who didn’t want me to go. She had the most spectacular laugh full and hearty, a person not inhibited or indeed limited. The children all got their wheel chairs and surrounded me, they were trying to chase the clown. They were grabbing me and trying to stop me from leaving, they were full of smiles and joy. It was a beautiful experience and one I will never forget. The Director of this unit enquired if I was staying and said she would love me to help promote disability. I told her about it being promoted in Australia as not a disability but people that are just like us.

Costa Rica

I ended up in the mountains in Montevarde, Costa Rica. It was in Costa Rica that I learned they had no army and put there funds into social programs and forests. They did sell off a lot of the forests but many believed it protected them. I found myself visiting a Quaker school in the mountains, I was very much at the mercy of life, I didn’t have anywhere to stay and was on a tight budget. I just said to myself, if I am meant to stay here someone will invite me. I ended up chatting to an American woman and she asked me to stay. I stayed a week and found another school called Creativa, I went and taught the kids peace education, on the International Day of Peace. The Egyptian invite was revoked at the last minute, but I couldn’t think of a better place to teach peace than Costa Rica. I loved the World Citizen flag, I saw that as the future, perhaps the environmental issues will bring us together enough to see that we have to work to solve problems in the best interests of humanity.

Bolivia

I traveled to Bolivia and met with a local Quaker there. He kindly organized for me to go 4 hours out of La Paz to a school. I taught the kids some clowning skills whilst talking to them about being a World Peace Clown. The next day I went back to La Paz and stayed with my friend Ruben’s partner Rebecca. I stayed with a traditional Bolivian family. They worked very hard and the husband had been quite ill. He was very good at building machines with few resources, yet very resourceful in talent. Ruben organized for me to attend a Quaker Gathering and give another talk to youth. I also did a laughter workshop with them, they really loved it and it was a great photo opportunity. Ruben invited me to a traditional Bolivian wedding. I made a decision to clown at the wedding and the married couple were thrilled. I did a juggling demonstration and showed them my clown props. I also gave a clown blessing by blowing bubbles over the couple. The kids loved it and they followed me everywhere. I got dressed back into normal gear and of course everyone knew I was the clown, being a caucasian gave me away. I had hundreds of friends and felt very welcome. It was a unique experience and treasured as I was part of their wedding which I felt was a great honour. It was great to give love in this way. I felt I connected with the people. The following few days Ruben took me to a school to give a talk on peace. As I was waiting outside to be beaconed in, a little girl around 5 years old took a shine to me or rather the clown. I made faces and laughed with the kids. They were very excited. I was invited into the room. Then I see a little 5 year old braving this huge room with bigger kids from 7 to 17. She came up next to me and held my hand. Then when I placed my gear on the stage, the little girl sat there and played whilst I was in front of the kids. I was introduced by the Principal. I told the kids I was traveling the world as a peace clown and went into the audience, in some instances I sat on knees or lay down across a few students. In other cases I jumped on the wooden seats and literally stepped over kids to get from one row of seats to the next. I juggled my clubs up and down the aisle. I invited children to come up and tell us what they felt peace was. We recorded this and asked questions about what is happiness? I found the kids enthusiastic and positive. I gave lots of hugs and had photo opportunities and felt the magical connection with others, as I lived the peace I taught.

New Zealand

The last leg of my world trip was to New Zealand. It was unmistakable that I was in familiar territory as New Zealanders are very similar to Australians. I felt very happy there as my former husband and I traveled there quite a lot as he was a kiwi. I did stay with a host this time who was not so helpful and had some negative prejudices, however, I practiced peace. I realized I have to find unconditional love in myself, I have to be able to feel the compassion, I do not know the story of others, how can I sit in judgement. I can create my own boundaries of what I feel is acceptable in respect of myself, but ultimately people are responsible for their lives. The lady that was with this host was the total opposite, incredibly kind and considerate. A very humble person. She had been a nurse and was working in a nursing home, helping the elderly. She organized for me to clown there. I also decided to clown at an Environmental Exhibition called ‘earth from above’ in the heart of the city. The exhibition connected the environment to peace and I was interested. It showed photos from a hot air balloon showing the diversity of environment across the planet some were natural phenomenon others environmental ills. So I asked the organizers if I could come as a clown. They agreed. As soon as I appeared the kids all came around and wanted photos. Then I went into the exhibition and asked people about sustainability and created some humour around it. Many people I talked to had no idea what to do about the planet. People either couldn’t think of anything, or articulate their voice, I was surprised. Even the children were struggling with what to do for the future. I felt more needs to be discussed. After that I walked to a giant world map on the ground and I again chatted with the kids and played as a clown with them. I jumped on a skateboard and tic tacked around, the boys were surprised. Then I had to leave, the host’s partner came and collected me and took me to the nursing home.

At the nursing home I spoke of my world trip and danced with some old folk. I also juggled for them and interacted with staff. I was making it up as usual and tuning into the people. It was interesting to come from a public space to the elderly. Some were non responsive as they were fairly old and with dementia. However, I never mind as always it is an opportunity to give love and spread joy. For me every moment filled with this expression is peace being acted out.

Eventually, if many practice peace in their daily lives the world shifts to a new consciousness. My feeling is to live this new consciousness of love and truth. You cannot change others, you can only change yourself. If this inspires others to consider a happier life, then that is well and good. My intention is for myself to live the life I know is true to myself and the happiness I feel is unspeakable.

On my trip I realized I would continue writing my blog, as I felt inspired to keep communicating. I saw the natural world as intimately part of peace and peace is intimately part of the natural world. We cannot create sustainability until we find harmony within and live within the natural order. Hence, the name for my blog ‘Peace is Our True Nature; came to life from this desire to connect more deeply with what is the truth of our nature. For me happiness, joy, unconditional love is my true nature as when I clown I feel a fulfillment I can’t describe. I feel completely happy and I have no thoughts as my heart is open and I am living fully in the moment. I have no fear only love to give, I see the blessing of my life and I am deeply grateful. I feel a strong desire to share my life with others, so that they too can feel what I feel. I fall in love with life everyday. It is real love I feel and it is total fulfillment. I don’t need a lover, a house, a job or the mod cons. I realized I am the source of love.

That is what clowning around the world taught me, to step out with courage, to expect love from the world, to see them as my family and simply give without expectation. For me, this is what it means to ‘be the change I wish the world to see’.

When you change, the world does. World peace is a given. When you give you receive.

I send you peace and love.