Our Peace Run Team started the day in Miami by running to the North Miami Montessori School.
We were welcomed by an enthusiastic group of children and teachers in the shady playground area behind the school.
We usually start with the 'heart' exercise. Feeling and visualizing peace in the area of the heart as it spreads outward to others like a flower blossoming petal by petal.
Dhavala from Scotland then introduces our game of trying to guess what part of the world each runner is from.
We give them many clues and have our huge map of the world to help them find our country or state.
The children here did very well in discovering where we were all from.
After they guessed all of our countries we taught the children one of our peace songs with actions to accompany the lyrics, composed by Sri Chinmoy, Founder of the Peace Run.
This gets the children warmed up and excited for our next activities.
The children also offered us their beautiful and colorful artwork on the theme of peace which decorated the whole playground.
This young artist proudly displays her beautiful artwork. This school is very multicultural, as some of her relatives hail from Ukraine.
The young girl from Venezuela, (left), was happy to speak in Spanish with our team member from Mexico, Santiva, who currently lives in Florida and coordinates many events for the Peace Run in the Orlando area.
Finally, one of the most popular activities is the mini Peace Run around the schoolyard.
Everyone had the opportunity to pass the Peace Torch and offer wishes or prayers for peace.
Lots of smiles as the children patiently wait for their turn to offer their peace wishes with the Peace Torch.
We are grateful to Angelica Lopez, Director of the Montessori School who unfortunately could not be here today. One of the teachers accepted our small gifts on behalf of Mrs. Lopez and the school. We offered a Certificate of Appreciation signed by all of our international running team along with a colorful peace painting by Sri Chinmoy, Founder of the Peace Run.
We are so grateful to the children and teachers here for such an inspiring and colorful event today.
In the afternoon we ran into the Miami Shores Presbyterian Elementary School playground.
Over 50 school children and teachers, including Anita Stevens, Director of the School, were ready for our peaceful and exciting activities on the them of peace.
Lunthita, originally from Haiti but now a resident of Florida, leads the children in an exercise of feeling peace starting in the 'heart'. World peace starts with cultivating personal peace within ourselves and then trying to spread that to others through our peaceful, friendly and helpful actions and interactions.
Guessing where we all are from with this huge world map becomes a wonderful geography lesson.
These children did very well at guessing and finding our countries.
They were also quite good at singing and acting out the words of one of our peace songs as well, the World Harmony Run song, written by Sri Chinmoy, Founder of the Peace Run.
Mrs. Stevens then led the children around the schoolyard for the final two events of running a mini peace run and then offering peace prayers and wishes as the Peace Torch was passed around to everyone.
Passing under the peace bridges on the peace train.
Everyone had a chance to offer their wishes for peace with the torch.
Drishti and Mrs. Stevens help the smaller children as they pass the peace torch.
Marina finds a good friend from her home country.
We are all gratitude to Mrs. Stevens and the children for their inspiring participation in our Peace Run events here. We are also extremely grateful to Drishti(left) and Durjaya(holding the photo), for their tremendous selflessness in arranging all of our events here in Miami. They also took care of all of our needs and food.
Miami's lush green and colorful vegetation welcomed us everywhere we went today.
Our third and last event was a short run to the Miami Shores Recreation Center. Durjaya, our local Peace Run coordinator in Miami, proudly carries the Peace Torch into the recreation center.
As usual after our introductions we offer the children an opportunity to focus on peace within themselves and try to feel it spread.
These children at the recreation center were ready and eager to take part in the actions and activities of our song, the World Harmony Run song, composed by Sri Chinmoy, Founder of the Peace Run.
Next we offered skits which demonstrated peaceful or non peaceful actions. The children judge what is peaceful, helpful behavior or not.
One of the most popular activities was the mini peace run, or peace train, made its way around the big playground and ended in a passing of the Peace Torch as everyone offered their hopes, dreams, wishes or prayers for peace.
Some of the children start gathering for photos as we thanked them for their enthusiastic participation.
We are very grateful to all the children and staff at the recreation center for inviting us there. It was an uplifting way to end the long day sharing peace with hundreds of children and adults as well.
After returning to the home of our dear friends and local coordinators, Drishti and Durjaya, we were able to relax with a wonderful meal provided by them and other friends who came to join us.
Miami was truly an inspiring journey of peace events for us and we are very happy and grateful to all those who supported us here.
