John Paul Lederach invited his audience of 800 gathered in La Paz Thursday evening into the narratives of creative peacemakers who form the focus of his latest book titled “The Moral Imagination:The Art and Soul of Peace Building.” Two of the focal stories Lederach shared with his audience were taken from the contexts of Kenya and Colombia and served as the starting point for the author and renowned expert on peace and conflict transformation to engage his audience in dialogue about creative peace building.
“Markets of Peace,” were the creative vision of four women in Kenya who refused to accept the violent conflict of their context as their future reality. Even after the Association of Women for Peace was formed, the creativity of the women did not halt, but rather was extended to the elderly men of the community in an invitation to join them in their work for peace, leading to the development of the Council of the Elderly for Peace and, subsequently, the joining of the two organizations to form the Council for Peace for Wajir. The council began to address employment issues for young men, creating space to dialogue about the disarmament process.
“I commit myself to die before I kill” were the fearless words of a Colombian young man, one of four hundred campesinos present that day, who were faced with four “choices” given to them by the paramilitary soldiers surrounding them: 1) take up arms with the paramilitaries; 2) take up arms with the guerrillas; 3) leave their land; 4) die. However, the campesinos thought beyond the box of choices given to them, creating their own options: “Today we have begun to think for ourselves.” The young man who spoke so earnestly morally shamed the paramilitary captain by publicly acknowledging his previous involvement with the guerrillas and the violent acts he and his men participated in. The paramilitaries left and in their place was formed an association of campesino workers.
Peace construction in the midst of violent conflict seems not only counterintuitive, but inspires a deep questioning curiosity as to the “how” a creative vision for overcoming violent conflict can surge from, and see beyond, the context of violence even when one is living in that very context.
In response to the “how,” Lederach suggests four crucial aspects to the “artistic process” of peace building: the imagination of an unwavering commitment to dialogue that recognizes the entwinement of the well being of the “other” with one’s own; the imagination to recognize the potential present in complexity and the curiosity necessary to maintain it; the imagination to envision and create realities that do not yet exist; and the imagination to risk taking the unknown road.
Lederach paints the metaphor of a spider web connecting all humankind that extends to include even one's enemies. As such, the well-being of both are woven together and interdependent. However, without the creativity and imagination to see beyond the superficial, the web of interconnectedness remains invisible and polarization from the “other” continues.
The imagination that makes the web visible is the same that “finds in complexity a friend and the possibility for something unexpected” suggests Lederach. The creative peacemaker looks complexity in the face with the enthusiastic curiosity of a child, defying the simplistic side-choosing of polarization, and rather than be frustrated by the web’s complications, revels in the variety of perspectives and possibilities it offers.
Imperceptible possibilities call peacemakers to see beyond the obviously visible in order to envision blueprints for peace building. Lederach points out “…human beings are capable of creating things that do not yet exist.” It is this creative capacity that breathes imaginative vision into the peace building process: the ability to see beyond violent conflict, to see beneath it to its roots, and to envision a path for peace that acknowledges present need and future sustainability.
This path for peace is often an unfamiliar one, requiring, what Lederach identifies as “the imagination of risk.” The imagination of risk calls peace builders to the vulnerable adventure of “opening new spaces,” a journey down unknown roads with outcomes that are often uncertain and beyond one’s control.
Lederach paints the paradoxical picture of peace work as a beckoning “horizon that calls us and orients us, but that we can never reach.” Four brave Kenyan women and four hundred Colombian campesinos followed the call of the horizon and they are a testimony to the creative possibilities inherent in the processes of peace building that surge from a commitment to imaginative dialogue, vision, curiosity, and risk.
“Markets of Peace,” were the creative vision of four women in Kenya who refused to accept the violent conflict of their context as their future reality. Even after the Association of Women for Peace was formed, the creativity of the women did not halt, but rather was extended to the elderly men of the community in an invitation to join them in their work for peace, leading to the development of the Council of the Elderly for Peace and, subsequently, the joining of the two organizations to form the Council for Peace for Wajir. The council began to address employment issues for young men, creating space to dialogue about the disarmament process.
“I commit myself to die before I kill” were the fearless words of a Colombian young man, one of four hundred campesinos present that day, who were faced with four “choices” given to them by the paramilitary soldiers surrounding them: 1) take up arms with the paramilitaries; 2) take up arms with the guerrillas; 3) leave their land; 4) die. However, the campesinos thought beyond the box of choices given to them, creating their own options: “Today we have begun to think for ourselves.” The young man who spoke so earnestly morally shamed the paramilitary captain by publicly acknowledging his previous involvement with the guerrillas and the violent acts he and his men participated in. The paramilitaries left and in their place was formed an association of campesino workers.
Peace construction in the midst of violent conflict seems not only counterintuitive, but inspires a deep questioning curiosity as to the “how” a creative vision for overcoming violent conflict can surge from, and see beyond, the context of violence even when one is living in that very context.
In response to the “how,” Lederach suggests four crucial aspects to the “artistic process” of peace building: the imagination of an unwavering commitment to dialogue that recognizes the entwinement of the well being of the “other” with one’s own; the imagination to recognize the potential present in complexity and the curiosity necessary to maintain it; the imagination to envision and create realities that do not yet exist; and the imagination to risk taking the unknown road.
Lederach paints the metaphor of a spider web connecting all humankind that extends to include even one's enemies. As such, the well-being of both are woven together and interdependent. However, without the creativity and imagination to see beyond the superficial, the web of interconnectedness remains invisible and polarization from the “other” continues.
The imagination that makes the web visible is the same that “finds in complexity a friend and the possibility for something unexpected” suggests Lederach. The creative peacemaker looks complexity in the face with the enthusiastic curiosity of a child, defying the simplistic side-choosing of polarization, and rather than be frustrated by the web’s complications, revels in the variety of perspectives and possibilities it offers.
Imperceptible possibilities call peacemakers to see beyond the obviously visible in order to envision blueprints for peace building. Lederach points out “…human beings are capable of creating things that do not yet exist.” It is this creative capacity that breathes imaginative vision into the peace building process: the ability to see beyond violent conflict, to see beneath it to its roots, and to envision a path for peace that acknowledges present need and future sustainability.
This path for peace is often an unfamiliar one, requiring, what Lederach identifies as “the imagination of risk.” The imagination of risk calls peace builders to the vulnerable adventure of “opening new spaces,” a journey down unknown roads with outcomes that are often uncertain and beyond one’s control.
Lederach paints the paradoxical picture of peace work as a beckoning “horizon that calls us and orients us, but that we can never reach.” Four brave Kenyan women and four hundred Colombian campesinos followed the call of the horizon and they are a testimony to the creative possibilities inherent in the processes of peace building that surge from a commitment to imaginative dialogue, vision, curiosity, and risk.
1 comment:
Laura
It was to good to hear about the seminar that you had with John.
Hopefully this comment comes through
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