This picture is by Ava, who is aged 11 and lives in Leucadia, California.
Ava said, "This shows peace to me because rainbows are color, and color is peace to me. I also think llamas are pretty peaceful."
Thank you Ava!!!
Photo by our good friend Terri who runs and is also the founder of Redwood Coast Montessori in Arcata, CA., where we are always warmly welcomed. Thank you Terri!
Terri is pictured here centre front in 2018, wearing a Peace Run t-shirt! She ran several miles with us, picking up friends and students along the way to her school. Terri received our Torch-Bearer Award in 2016 in recognition of her dedication to advancing the ideals of education, peace, and a oneness-world-family.
So far our North American Oneness-Home (Run-At-Home) Peace Run 2020 Team has run the distance from New York to San Diego- and more!
We were delighted that the San Diego Unified School District created a Proclamation recognising May 26th as Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Day of Peace!
This was part of the program at the most recent virtual San Diego School Board meeting.
A big thank you to Katherine Aud. of Integrated Youth Services in San Diego for making it happen!
Integrated Youth Service posted this message on their Instagram page.
From Virangini:
This week the Peace Run would have been in San Diego.
Just over a year ago I was there posing with team for a photo at their statue of Sri Chinmoy, founder of the Peace Run. This year I’m taking a selfie at our statue in Rhode Island. From where
to where in a year!
The “Run at home” is giving me the opportunity to go beyond my capacities.
Initially I committed to walk 7 miles a week. I challenged myself to add 1 mile a week and after 6 weeks I’m up to 12 miles. Hopefully by the finish in August this senior citizen be able to walk 3 miles/day, 21 miles a week!
Sri Chinmoy says “self-transcendence is the only thing a human being needs in order to be truly happy“. On the strength of our oneness we have the capacity to create happiness and harmony in our world family. I’m hoping that when we offer our peace to world we can make the world feel that this can be a world of peace, a world of oneness.
2019 Peace Run Team in San Diego with the statue of Peace Run founder, Sri Chinmoy.
Virangini spotted this on her peace walk today.
In 2018, as in every year we pass through San Diego, Jyoti Bihanga Restaurant supplied all of our meals. This photograph shows the team being sumptuously fed after a special award ceremony where several local honorees were given our Torch- Bearer Award.
The waiter happens to be Devendra, who is also the main cook at Jyoti-Bihanga, and also happens to be responsible for the critical role of reaching out to hotels and campgrounds all around America to generously donate a nights accommodation for our team. This is a very big and challenging job, and we could not do the Peace Run without it, so we are all extremely grateful!
Devendra is speaking with the famous American distance runner, Meb Keflezighi, who was one of our special guests who received the Torch-Bearer Award. We were all thrilled to meet Meb and his family.
This girls poem struck us all in San Diego during Peace Run Week in 2019.
In 2019 this sweet boy wanted to know if we would tell the founder of the Peace Run all about what had happened that day- we assured him that Sri Chinmoy would definitely be watching from Heaven and be very proud of all the children- he solemnly agreed!
California running bliss in 2018!
Olivia is in Mexico with her family right now, and she has been running her miles from there. She ran with her beautiful torch, pictured here, and several family members.
Olivia reports, "It was fun for my Mexican family to participate in the peace run! Having me at home it was such an opportunity to get together. We also celebrating my moms 70th birthday in spite of the present situation. We are so grateful to Sri Chinmoy for all the blessings in our familly!"
Olivia with her family in Mexico.
From Santiva,(pictured back middle-left in 2018):
Bienvenidos a Mexico!
I remember when we arrived in Tijuana 2 years ago. I was so thrilled to be back in my country after 5 years.
I was blessed to be a part of the Peace Run when it was founded in 1987. I was a teenager then and had the privilege to run with the team in my country from Mexico City to Mazatlan. I remember the heart and sweetness of the people we encountered during our journey. No matter which city we visited, they received the Peace Run with such joy! I remember arriving in Tula de Allende in the state of Hidalgo. As soon as we arrived in the city, people ran with us all the way to where the ceremony was going to take place. There were hundreds and hundreds of people, as far as you could see with your eyes. We will never forget the excitement we all felt to see such a wonderful thing before our eyes. The energy and enthusiasm was incredible!
Arriving in Tijuana brought me the same joy. Children and teachers were all smiles and eager to receive us. Their sweetness and enthusiasm was contagious. Children radiating softness and beauty from within their hearts. It reminds me of the song, Sri Chinmoy, composed for Mexico in 1981.
Mexico
Mexico, Mexico, Mexico, Mexico!
Softness, boldness your beauty’s core.
Mexico, Mexico, Mexico, Mexico!
Wisdom-freedom, your oneness-lore.
Your past, present, future: all angel-glow!
Your vision-eye, a sleepless river-flow.
Thank you Mexico for your kindness and heart - felt welcome to the Peace Run. Infinite gratitude to you!
Mexican kids in 2018
Mexican peace lovers in 2018
Kids having fun in Mexico in 2018- can you spot the Peace Run kid? ;)
Sanmati, pictured in 2018 in the white t-shirt, is our legendary Mexican Coordinator for events in Tijuana- she always ensures we have the full Mexican Heart and Stomach experience- thank you Sanmati!
From Stacey:
It has been wonderful to be a part of the North American Peace Run, I have had dreams of running around this Continent on the Peace Run for many years now, but with work and other commitments it has never worked out to take 3+ months off. I still hold the dream that one day my feet will run around North America, until then I lace my shoes in what is now a cold winters day in Canberra and let my imagination run wild as I run virtually on the Peace Run.
During this time I have really noticed how important peace is, be that in the community, within ourselves and throughout the world. And each of us contributes to this peace, through a smile, a kind word, respect for peoples concerns any small acts of kindness, is helping us create a peaceful oneness world.
I am still working full time in a cafe in Canberra – we have very few Covid19 cases and the city is in a position not to have been completely locked down. As our customers and general public walked past our shopfront – as we were serving food from our door. Nearly each and every person asked how we were going and they REALLY wanted to know. The concern and oneness felt within this community is beautiful. It shows to me we are a human race, not a social medal race or an internet race, with each of us drawing strength and peace from our interactions with people – be that from afar at the moment, but it is there and it is growing stronger each and every day, reminding us we are one world, one race, one family one home.
A scene from Stacy's run today.
From Sveta:
I live in the city of Izhevsk, Russia. I was very lucky that we could run during the isolation. Near my house there is a street that is popularly called "5 Minutes of America." because there is a section on this street where a speed of 80 km per hour is permitted. Throughout the city no higher than 60 km per hour. This speed is associated in people with America, with its dynamism. Only today I realized that every day I ran along this street!
Sveta continues...Today I was supported by Sravana. Many thanks to her. We took pictures at the Eternal Flame. This is a very significant place for every resident of our city. In many cities of the post-Soviet space there is an Eternal Flame in memory of people who fell in a bloody struggle against fascism. Each family gave for the sake of this freedom the most valuable that they had- the lives of their loved ones and relatives. It is not possible to convey in words the pain from loss and suffering that is alive in people's memory, even now, 75 years later. And the Eternal Flame in every city as a symbol of gratitude to our ancestors, which serves as an example of self-giving and courage. In addition, the flame resembles the flame within each of us. This is the flame of striving for a more harmonious world. This is hope and aspiration, which gives an impulse to positive action.
From Harashita:
Here in Japan, universities started a new academic year a few weeks ago, with online teaching. I teach English at a few universities in the area, and have started two peace related projects with my students (whom I have yet to meet in person!).
The first one, Peace Run Project, is with 120 students at Kansai University, Osaka. As a start, last week, the students watched the Peace Run’s promotion video on the global homepage and answered a few comprehension questions. One of the questions was: What did you like the most about the video? Here are some of the answers I received:
“I liked people’s smiles in the video. They made me happy. I felt that everyone wished for ‘world peace’”.
“I like the performance of the students in Zambia. Its words are very strong. I like Sri’s speech too for the same reason.”
“One of my favorite points in the video is that many countries in the world seem to be connected because the videos taken in different countries are streaming continuously.”
“I felt the organization respects different cultures.”
“I liked children’s smiles and magnificent landscapes.”
“I’m so amazed because I watched the world become one through the event.”
This week, they are watching two more videos-Kyoto Peace Run 2018, and Start of European Peace Run this year, and answering a few more comprehension questions. (You can see me in action on Zoom in the screenshots).
The second project is Peace Poetry Reading, with 40 students at Kyoto Seika University, Kyoto. With these art students, I electronically send assignments twice each week, and they send their work back. As an opening activity each time, I give them two aphorism cards by Peace Run Founder Sri Chinmoy, ask them to choose one and translate into Japanese. These short poems are full of positive, empowering messages, which I hope will help my students nurture peace in their everyday lives.
From Katya running in Moscow, Russia
From Nastya:
It’s really special to run the Peace Run because I love it so much and it’s so important for the world to feel peace and oneness . While running I carry memories of beautiful North America and its great people in my heart. I’m running in Ukraine in the nature, all the people I meet are so nice and smiling a lot, two ladies even got inspired to run themselves more often.
Nastya said, "Meditation after running, even turtles feel peace;)"
Varunavi took this picture while running during the sunrise in Geneva today!
From Vasanti, Germany:
Since Monday I am also on the international European team for one week - so that is interesting! My first miles of the day now are dedicated to Europe / Ukraine. When this is done, I go for a second run (or run a few extra miles) dedicated to the US Peace Run. My weekend "US" runs were longer, in solitary nature, where you can feel and see the immense regenerative power of nature, and I try to imagein the vastness and beauty of the US route. Invariably when I run I am in multiple universes at the same time - at home physically, on the virtual route in spirit, but then so many beautiful memories from earlier Peace Run experiences start coming up - Singarpore, Nagasaki, East Africa, Turkey, Rome, Vietnam, London, New York etc. - and time and space become fluid and merge together, friends around the world are joining me inwardly, and this joyful vast ONENESS-HOME experience opens like a flower in your heart. The nicest thing is to feel you are manifesting a positive force with every breath and every little step, adding not only to the positive forces everyone else on the team is spreading, but strengthening all the other positive forces trying to manifest and work in the world as well!
...continued from Vasanti:
