Music for the (Peacemaking) Journey

Friends,

One of the wonderful things about the recent celebration of the International Day of Peace at Bellevue College (see my previous post) was the music. And it wasn't just that people played some lovely, sentimental peace songs and we all sat passively listening. NO! Such passivity is antithetical to peacemakers' thinking. We tend to be an active bunch, and Tom Rawson and Dave Perasso, who provided musical entertainment on this evening, brought us all together in a variety of songs to put us in a proper frame of mind.

The peacemaking journey is anything but an easy one, and for each of us to stay the course requires a variety of disciplines. It can include one or any combination of meditation, prayer, contemplation, study, community and music. Yes, music. Just as prayer can have a transformative effect on the person who prays, moving one's heart and mind to compassion and action, music can have much the same effect.

(from left to right: Dave Perasso and Tom Rawson)

While some music can stir us up and help us rise up en masse, other music can help us stay grounded in our path of nonviolence. One of the songs we sang was I Believe, by "singer of stories" Linda Allen. It is a song I learned to sing from Linda not too many years ago, and it has stuck in my head ever since. It is, for me, a sort of anthem for peacemakers. As Tom fired up his guitar, the lyrics flowed out of me, and as they did a sense of peace flooded through me. It's the kind of thing we all need from time to time on this journey.

You can read the Lyrics to Linda's song below, and you can hear a sample of it at CD Baby. Linda's Website has some of her other songs available to hear, and you should really check it out (I'm not getting any kickbacks here). Linda is much more than a singer and storyteller, and I think you will discover that as I did.

I can also tell you that Tom Rawson, besides playing a mean banj0 - as Tom says, "I've got a banjo and I'm not afraid to use it." - is one heck of a peacemaker, and uses music and stories to build a world at peace. Tom is based in Seattle, Washington, and if you happen to be around on October 10 you can catch Tom and others performing in a benefit for the Seattle Fellowship of Reconciliation. Click here for information.

May the music raise our spirits and incite us to (in the words of one of the songs we sang) "Rise up and go where we have not gone." And may we "carry on" without ceasing on our peacemaking journey.

Peace,

Leonard

I Believe
©2003 Linda Allen

I believe that peace will come
I believe that peace will come
I believe that peace will come
I believe that peace will come

I believe that hope survives
I believe that hope survives
I believe that hope survives
I believe that hope survives

Instrumental

I believe that love will rise
I believe that love will rise
I believe that love will rise
I believe that love will rise

I believe in humankind
I believe in humankind
I believe in humankind
I believe in humankind (BRIDGE)

I believe that peace will come
I believe that peace will come
I believe that peace will come
I believe that peace will come

Linda Allen's Website: http://www.lindasongs.com/

Tom Rawson's Website: http://www.tomrawson.com/folksinger.html