Peace – Definitions From Around The World

I love being creative and being able to share my inspiration with others. Even more, I love being able to create situations that allow others to join in. It is truly wonderful to be able to marvel at other people’s creativity as we pursue similar motivations and desires.

Several months ago, I had a fun idea. I began asking my Facebook friends and my blog readers to create definitions or poems that represent the word PEACE. I’ve shared several stories in the past and since then I’ve continued to receive even more expressions that I will share with you, today…


Facebook is a really neat way to meet people from around the world. It’s also a great way to reconnect with friends from my days as a young student. Lori and I were neighbours from a small farming community and we used to ride the school bus together. We recently reconnected and Lori has told me that she loves the fun and crazy things I do on Facebook. She really enjoyed the many peace-poems that I’ve shared and so she felt inspired to send in her thoughts on the subject. Thanks, Lori!


Zeineb is a student living in Tunisia and she loves the inspirational music of U2. We connected because of a fan page - I think Bono and the boyz are very inspirational, as well! We’ve chatted online and through emails about a number of things and I think that it is great how I’ve learned a little bit about her country as she has learned a bit about Canada.


Valerie and I have not chatted as much and we really don’t know a great deal about each other, but that’s just fine. What’s even finer is the fact that this did not stop Valerie from expressing her thoughts on the subject of PEACE. Thanks!!!


From Canada! From Tunisia! From the U. S. of A.! and from the United Kingdom, people have been offering their insights and ideas to inspire others to realize how special our unique situation is – living on a rock, spinning around a ball of fire, hurtling through the vastness of the universe wondering ‘Why?’.


Being surrounded by all of this inspiration motivates me in many ways. A little while ago it was Joanne’s birthday and so, I had a bit of fun creating this peace-poem especially for her!


When someone sends me their definition or poem about peace, I try really hard to find an image that will fit well with the words. Once this is done, I upload the completed art on Facebook and then I ‘tag’ the person who wrote the words. Because of this many more people are able to see the final art. This is how Don became involved with this project. I had tagged someone who created a poem for me and the image ended up on their wall. Don is this person’s friend and he saw it on their wall. Don sent me a friend request and shortly after he sent in his peace-poem.

Don thinks that this is a really fun way to share inspiration and he became inspired to create many many peace-poems. He even went so far as to find his own unique images and create his own final art. I think Don has created over twenty peace-poems since that time!!! Great effort – truly inspirational!


A few weeks later, Don sent in a very eloquent poem about peace. It was hard for me to find just one image to suit his words and so, I created this three image sequence.


One evening, I was thinking about this whole project and how delighted I was to have ignited so many colourful expressions from so many other inspiring minds. I began thinking about how I learned to write poems in this acrostic fashion. During my adventures in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut – in 2006 – one of my young students introduced me to this style of poetry (ha! even teachers learn). I wrote this poem inspired by my memories from Canada’s truly Great White North!


Mark and I were also high school friends, now reconnected on Facebook. We had a chance to reconnect in person, last summer at another friend’s birthday party. We shared a few laughs and a few beers! I was very happy to see his peace-poem in my inbox.


Nancie and I have been sharing comments and inspiration on Facebook for quite some time. Nancie is a huge fan of The Peacebus and all the artwork that my students’ create. When she heard about this particular project she became very excited to participate and she sent me this wonderful expression.

About a month ago, Nancie wrote me a letter telling me about a project that she was just beginning. She was very inspired by my huge collection of peace-poems and she came up with a great way to share all of these expressions with even more people. She asked me if I could send her the jpeg images of all of these poems so that she could make a quilt. In a few weeks from now, Nancie will be participating in a local Peace-day event in Maryland, USA and she will be raffling off this quilt to raise funds for organizations in her community. WOW! Thought I!!!!! How totally cool and exciting!

But… doesn’t this sound a little familiar? Yes – that’s right – you may remember another story where a different Facebook friend created a quilt using the artworks created by the students who rode The Peacebus, last year. That story - http://bitsandpeaces08.blogspot.com/2011/01/amazing-surprise.html.

I’m always delighted when people participate in the fun ideas that I promote. I’m even more delighted to see my small spark of inspiration evolve into something that I had yet to even dream of! Remarkable!!!!

I’ll be sure to update you with the results of Nancie’s efforts, once her project has been completed.

Until then, be the spark that sets the flame!

Jim

The City of Dawn

Joanne and I had decided that while we were in Mexico our greatest task would be to do as little as possible – and we were very successful in accomplishing that goal! We spent most of our time staying at our resort enjoying the pools, beaches, restaurants and sunshine - with two afternoons visiting a nearby city. We did, however, spend one entire day visiting two very exciting places…

Since our journey to Mexico was possibly a once in a lifetime event, I wanted to do something interesting and artful while we were there. I thought that it would be fun to capture some video footage and create another music video.

Our one-day adventure was taking us to the ancient city Tulum. I was really hoping that it would be possible to climb up on one of the ruins to film the rising sun.

I found out that this would not be possible. Instead, Jo’ and I woke up very early and simply watched the morning sunrise from the beach at our resort.

After another wonderful breakfast, we hopped aboard a tour bus and were on our way.

These speed bumps from hell – LOL – are called ‘tope’. They are found on either end of any community existing along the only major highway through this region. Vehicles turn on their 4-way blinkers and come to a dead stop before easing over these solid metal bumps. Great for traffic speed control in urban areas.

Although the architectural designs for residential living are quite different from those found in Canada, one aspect is the same – Urban Sprawl!

Along the highway I saw many billboards advertising luxury homes in condo style developments. I hate subdivision sprawl in Canada and I was saddened to see this style of development here. When will our urban planners realize that communities built upon the NEED for automobiles are destined to increase our destructive relationship with our Earth?

Beside the roadside billboard a roadway is cut into the jungle so that huge machines can clear away the non-profitable trees and swamplands in order to build happy homes with streets named after the kinds of trees that used to populate the area for thousands of years! Hmmmm… where have I heard that story before?

Our busride took us over one bridge. From here it became very clear just how flat this region of Mexico is. The entire area is wild jungle, stretching out and out… but not for long if urban developers have their way.

I asked our tour guide why the trees in these jungles are so short. I never saw a tree trunk larger than a foot and a half in diameter and for a while I was thinking that this region may have already been clear-cut and that I was looking at young trees that had been recently planted. The guide told me that these jungles were indeed very old and the reason why the trees were so short is because there is very little topsoil and very little rain. This region experiences great amounts of rain during certain times of the year but most of it washes into the ocean, again, because of the lack of topsoil.

The busride was just over an hour long and then suddenly we found ourselves taking a step back in time.

Our tour guide told us many stories and as I listened I found my imagination wandering, wondering what life must have been like for the people of this region and time. We learned that the proper name for this city was Zama – meaning The City of Dawn. Justly named for an area on the most easterly part of this country, bordered by a great ocean.

When the Spanish came to this area they pointed to the great wall which surrounded the inner city and asked what it was called. The Spanish were referring to the city but the Mayans thought they were referring to the wall which is named Tulum. This word stuck and now this city is called Tulum.

We learned about the social order of the Mayans. The nobles, elitists and religious leaders lived within the wall. The tradesmen and workers lived outside the wall. Their homes were made of trees, fronds and clays and so after this area was abandoned the Earth quickly reclaimed its own, leaving only the sacred buildings which were constructed using more durable materials.

The Mayans lived in reverence of the beauty and power of Nature. We learned about how they gathered most of their food while domesticating a few species, which were farmed. They had to adapt to the many different elemental seasons of this region, as did these termites. During the rainy season much of the land becomes flooded. That is why these termites build their nests in tree branches.

It was interesting to learn that bubble gum came from the Mayans. Our guide pointed out the trees which the Mayans would ‘tap’ – like how we tap maple trees for syrup – to get a chewy snack. The Spanish invaders added a little sugar and flavour, and bubble gum was invented.

We learned that this was one of the last places to be reached by the Spanish. Just off of the coast there is a great and long reef which follows the coastline. The large European ships could not get to shore so they had to dock many miles away and hoof it on foot to these cities. This gave the Mayans the time they needed to abandon their cities so they wouldn’t become slaves. It is estimated that over one million Mayans still live throughout Mexico.

The reefs that saved them from brutal attacks did have small valleys in them. The Mayans knew where they were and this allowed them to travel from village to village or city in smaller boats for trading.

The Mayans were great mathematicians – following the standards of time as laid down by universal occurrences. They constructed temples that would have small holes cut into them. During the summer equinox the morning sun would shine through these holes and onto other religious structures.

Other buildings had different holes and at different times of the year the sun would shine through these to tell the Mayans that it was time to plant or harvest a certain crop.

Of course, someone (and it wasn’t me) had to ask about the Mayan calendar ending on the winter equinox in 2012. We learned that the Mayan calendar, just like ours, has a beginning and an end. When our calendar ends on December 31, we simply begin our cycle again for the new year. The Mayan calendar is the same, however, their cycles last for over 5 000 years.

Our guide used a stick to explain this by drawing in the sand. He drew one circle and began dividing it, explaining how it relates to the stars – just like our zodiac. The Mayans used this to mark the years – very much like our calendar. Then he drew another circle, touching the first one and explained how this one was divided differently – in nine parts – to honour the timing of the birthing process. Then he added two other circles, one on each end of his drawing. These circles represent Venus and Mars and based on their solar alignment with the Earth, another cycle of their calendar is represented.

So… instead of living in fear that the Mayan calendar is ending we should be living with great expectation to witness a massive solar occurrence that will not happen again for over another 5 000 years! It’s impossible to know for sure, but the alignment of three planets is sure to have many interesting consequences (maybe the ocean tides will rise an extra ¼ inch on some of our coastlines – I don’t know), but I’m sure that we will not witness what many fantasy dreamers are living in fear (or possibly celebration) of.

Our second destination of the day was the coastal inlet of Xel-Ha.

There were many activities to keep people of all ages amused. Joanne and I spent over four hours snorkeling in the warm and fish filled waters.

Many of the T-shirts found in the shops were promoting ‘green’ philosophies, expressing our needs to tread lightly on the Earth so that we can preserve our environments for future generations. Since Xel-Ha is a water resort – of sorts – I laughed when I saw T-shirts with dolphins and fish with sayings like, “BLUE is the new green”.

We had to use special ‘enviro’ sunscreens at Xel-Ha, to protect the water and fish. It costs about the same as normal sunscreen and this made me wonder why it hasn’t become a standard for all sunscreen manufacturers around the world.

Joanne and I both agreed that our adventures on this day were the height of our entire vacation. We had an absolute blast!!!

By the time we got back to our resort the sun had set and our bellies were complaining. It wasn’t long after another great dinner when we found ourselves sitting by the pool with very heavy eyes.

We continued enjoying ourselves for the next several days and then it was time to come home. Home to the cold…

… and snow that is Canada!

Ahhhhh! It was great while it lasted!!!

Jim

Stepping Back to Move Forward

It might have been as far back as last October when I mentioned that I still had a small handful of Peacebus art to share with you – my readers. These remaining artworks were created by just one of my students. I was so impressed by Andrea’s creative ability that I wanted to showcase her art while I commented on each of her peaces. Her attention to detail and the tools that she used reminded me of … well… me! I had many conversations with this student where I would talk to her about some of the design concepts that she had used and I would show her some of my art and point out that we both had used the same ideas when designing.

I will be using Andrea’s peace art to add a splash of colour to this story, but I won’t be commenting on her works. I have a different story to tell, today, and I think that it is most fitting that I’m sharing some Peacebus art, at the same time…

I started driving school bus in the spring of 2009. My 13 year long ‘career’ as an artist had come to an end and at this point in my life I simply needed a job to pay the rent. For many years, I had worked with children in a classroom setting (part time, here and there, whenever I could) and I was looking out my window wondering what kind of steady paying job I could find where I could continue to be around children. At that moment a school bus drove right past my apartment. I smiled. I had glimpsed at my future.

I had no thoughts in my head about creating what would soon be called The Peacebus, but over the next months that is exactly what happened. I came to view my ‘failure’ as an art teacher as a blessing, for now I was working with more children than ever before, creating more artwork than ever before and influencing - in positive ways - more people than ever before. For the first time in my life I felt like I had found ‘me’ and I was happy.

The job didn’t pay that much, just enough to keep a person honest, but it was more than I had made for many years. I didn’t know how long I would continue with this position, but for now I didn’t really care. When it was time to move on it would be time to move on. Somewhere deep inside my heart I knew that I had something important to accomplish and I simply let The Peacebus take me for the most wonderful ride.

Last August, nearing the end of the month, Joanne and I were talking about some of the things we needed to save up for – our first ever vacation (see last blog and tune in for my next blog as I finish that story), home renovations, etc. I spent a while trying to figure out how I could find another part-time job to increase my monthly income. I couldn’t think of anything that would fit with my present schedule. I started wondering if this was to be the end of The Peacebus cuz maybe I’d have to find another full time job that offered more hours.

I decided to give a few other transportation companies a call. Voyageur had me in the very next day, for an interview and two days later I had been hired and two days after that my training had begun. I didn’t have time to blink let alone think about how quickly this change was taking place.

Over the next several months I dug into the new job. There were many things that I enjoyed about the work that I did – I found honour with being able to help so many people with mobility disabilities. The mini-buses were fun to drive and I had fun sharing silly jokes over the CB radio from time to time. The dispatchers quickly learned that whenever an extra hand was needed to complete an extra task that I could always be counted on. Like ever job I’ve ever had, I strove for excellence and worked very diligently.

I was very sad to see The Peacebus come to an end. Ohhhh the plans I had for the coming year had me very excited and suddenly – like the ebbing tide – I watched as my dreams began to fade into the distance.

I had to overcome the feelings of loss that had filled my heart and after a couple of months I thought that I had won this inner battle. I kept thinking about evolution and how this process involves continuing from one of life’s stepping stones on to the next. I explained my situation in metaphors comparing this new change to the turning of chapters in one’s book of existence. These thoughts helped in many instances and soon it was winter and a new year was just beginning.

In the first week of January, I received an email from a Facebook friend who told me the story of her completed quilt that she had created using artworks by the students of The Peacebus.. A must read story - http://bitsandpeaces08.blogspot.com/2011/01/amazing-surprise.html. A deep river of memory flowed through my mind and I began to see how so many people (around the world) had experienced so much joy because of The Peacebus. My inner battle to find peace and worthiness in my life kick-started again with even more resolve. My mind twisted over these feelings for some time.

I woke up in the early hours of the day, quite restless and feeling very isolated in my mind. I made a cup of tea to help warm me up. I glanced at the clock on the stove and the time was 3:21am. 321 was my old employee number at Murphy Bus Lines. I cringed. I almost cried. About half an hour later, Koly and I found ourselves in a nearby park. I spent time trying to distract myself by throwing snowballs that Koly loves to chase and eat. The sky was very dark because of all the cloud cover and I closed my eyes and prayed for clarity to direct my thoughts. I looked up at the clouds and just for the briefest of moments the sky cracked open and a full moon stared straight down at me. And then it was gone.

In that flash I saw a thousand smiling children’s faces and I felt a whisper creep along the length of my spine telling me that my work as The Peacebus driver was not yet finished. But how?

On our walk home I stumbled and tripped on some ice. I found myself on my knees, covered in snow… and the most simplest of answers. I would work for Murphy’s during the week and on Saturdays and holidays I would work for Voyageur. Koly came over to me and licked my face and I told him that I had been so blind for not being able to see what was right under my nose, the whole time!

A decision was made. It was time for me to take one small step back into my past so that I could continue – with a smile – into my future.

Over the next few days I had two telephone calls to make. Yes! Murphy’s would take me back. Yes! Voyageur was glad to keep me on part time so that I could find happiness surrounding myself with smiling children. Everything was falling into place. It was two weeks before Joanne and I traveled to Mexico and this was enough time to organize my new work schedules. When I returned from my vacation a new chapter in my life would begin. My first day back as The Peacebus driver was fittingly to be the day of Peace and Love – Valentine’s Day!

Jim

Our First Vacation

Joanne and I have been together for over 17 years and we’ve never gone on a vacation. Oh yes – over these many years we’ve had many wonderful adventures – 2 or 3 day road trips, weekend camping, etc. For 5 years we traveled across Canada – but that was moving from one community to another where we rented apartments and worked in the places we traveled to.

Our adventure to the Riviera Maya region of Mexico was the first time we’ve flown anywhere together to stay at an all inclusive resort. We worked really hard at saving enough money to do this – at this point in our lives – cuz we may not get another chance for another 20 years or so.

We had a most amazing time and are very grateful for this once in a lifetime experience. Let me share some of our photos and stories with you now…

This photo was taken from our ground floor balcony at the Blue Bay Resort, just 40 minutes south of Cancun. Our room was in the farthest away building – from anything – and this was great cuz we had to walk past all the other buildings at the resort to get anywhere. The people staying at the beach front properties missed out on a lot of people watching!

To get to this pool – the second fresh water one and the largest – we had to walk past ‘our pool’ dubbed “the quiet pool”, past an outdoor restaurant – where I’d always grab something yummy to take for our walk, past the open sports bar, spa, shops and other resort buildings.

You can see the many lounge chairs that are actually sitting on a ledge in the pool. You can lay back to enjoy the sun and a cold drink while your feet dangle over the side of your chair in the refreshing water.

We arrived at the resort just after 11:00am and found our room. I cracked open a beer and sat on our patio for a few minutes to relax from the many hours of traveling. A minute later I was refreshed and wondering where Joanne was. She was unpacking. I said that this just wouldn’t do, “Unpack later… beach now!”

There were many employees at the resort, with so much to do. They all looked like they enjoyed their jobs – and all the extra tips we gave them!!! Everyday, we found a different towel creature on our bed – they were all great! This was Jo’s favourite…

… and this silly creature was mine!

We spent our days doing many activities, like eating breakfast, having a morning swim in the pool, relaxing with drinks on the beach, then a light lunch, more swimming and lots of doing nothing. Never a dull moment!

In the evenings we would hang out by the sports bar to be entertained by the many different performances. Before the evening shows would begin, strange characters would appear – like these dudes from ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ and people could have their pictures taken with them.

The poparatzi were everywhere and on one night Jo’ and I also got into a few photos! I just love the body painting and ancient Mayan costumes that these dudes where wearing. Jo’s kiss was really nice, too!

As you can see, the poparatzi probably had the best jobs at the resort!

This is a Mexican Raccoon. And they are not shy in the least!

They would walk right through a sitting area or dining area always looking from some free food. I wonder if they realize how easy they’ve got it.

These birds were always around, too! Twice I saw a bird flying away from the pool areas with long crispy strips of bacon in their beaks. Score!

They had a very pretty song. Whenever they’d sing I’d see their feathers ruffle up and their bodies fill with air just before their high tones cut into the surrounding soft breezes.

This was a bird I saw almost every morning, as we walked to the beach. It reminds me of the North American Blue Haron, except that it’s much smaller and white.

We had a lot of fun, sharing the camera. I tried my best to capture a few images to portray the Nature of the surrounding landscapes.

This is a moth that habituates in the area.

I love the shapes and textures of the designs of its wings.

When we were preparing for this leisurely break from our regular lives, we decided that we did not want to fill each day with sight-seeing activities. We wanted to go for a couple of interesting adventures, but our main goal was to enjoy the sun, warm breezes, great food, cold beers and the occasional shot of Tequila.

The resort had quite a number of activities happening around the large pool and on the beach, so we spent a lot of time watching other people, but on a few occasions I got a bit ‘ansy’ and found I had to do something.

This was the first time that I’ve done something like this and I had a super great time! A jet-ski brought me to the boat and then the dudes on the boat where like, “Stand up, step into this, sit down, strap this around, move here, sit on this,” and then in a flash I was being lifted into the air. The surprised expression on my face had the guys in the boat laughing.

When in the air, I could see very far. The ocean stretched out for miles and when I looked the other way I could see the land did the same thing. This region of Mexico is very, very flat. The colours of the ocean waters were many different shades of blues, greens and turquoise – very inspiring! I could see the ocean floor with outcroppings of rocks, as well as small valleys of coral. I spotted one huge fish, lazily swimming along and a rather large school of smaller fish.

On two separate afternoons, Joanne and I visited the nearby tourist town Playa (beach) Del Carmen. The outskirts of this small city were a little run down, but the main shopping areas were well upkept.

As we walked along the famous 5^th Avenue, our noses were continuously assaulted with many fine aromas from all the restaurants.

It was so nice to go from bare, sleeping trees and roads covered in snow to outdoor markets surrounded by green and blossoming trees!

This is the latest addition to my Peace T-shirt collection. The peace-heart design is surrounded with a few lyrics from some Beatles songs. I wonder if they’ll get some royalties from this sale.

This is the inside of the store where I bought that T-shirt. As you can see, there is a huge tree growing right in the middle of the store. Walls and ceilings had to be built around this tree.

This photo is of a different store and it shows how the trees grow up into overhead balcony areas, adding lots of green to the streetscape. Very cool indeed!!

We visited the famous Tequila bar, where I met my newest girlfriend! She was the quiet type and didn’t say too much.

A little further down the street, I met this little character. I was told that this was the second smallest monkey in the world.

The beaches here were the cleanest in the region and many people were enjoying the warm salt waters. I was lucky to get this photo before people walked in front of me.

There was about 20 feet of beach along the water’s edge and then the sand towered upwards about 5 feet to level off again for several hundred more feet. Then the landscape filled with small hotels, restaurants and more shops. The 5 foot sand cliff was often designed with staring eyes or heart shapes created by children.

I was surprised to see that only a few seagulls were in the area. With all the food nearby I thought there would be a huge population. I saw more of these birds enjoying this area than seagulls.

I spent so long trying to get a photo of a pelican flying, but I could never get my camera out in time, before they flew too far away. I guess I’ll just have to settle for a tamer image of these birds as they bobbed up and down on the waves.

I’m sneaking this iguana photo into this story just to give you a peak at my next blog where I’ll tell of our adventures to an ancient Mayan ruin and our underwater journey with snorkels and flippers!

But, right now, I’m feeling a little tired – it’s been a long day! The moon is just rising and I can hear the mermaid calling to Joanne, and me from our bedroom, saying, “Time to go to sleep and dream of ants and honey.”

Hmmmm…. what does she mean by that?

Jim