Why do we let others, from a prism of ignorance, create our image of a people? Why don’t we get to know that people, their culture, customs, and decide for ourselves instead of looking to someone else, someone “smarter” to serve up a toxic meal of hatred? Why hate someone? What for? I’m trying to understand that principle of hatred, destruction, killing and war. It’ll never be acceptable to me, or understandable. I often wonder how you can hate someone just because they don’t belong to some category you call “your own”.
I would define the training as waking up your own awareness, responsibility towards individuals, towards society and the whole world. Subtle threads run through it that allow the participants to get to know themselves. Their own emotions. Their mistakes and prejudices. To question and correct distorted images created over the years on the wrong canvas, with the wrong paints.
Even ten years later, the training leaves a strong impression of awakened awareness and understanding of others. An impression that broke through the prejudice of war. An impression that we are all people – and we all want the same thing. To build peace.
Getting to know different people, their stories, will remain with me throughout my life.