A letter

We received this letter recently in response to a question we posed to various friends. We asked them how we could improve the work of Access to Ideas and make it more effective. This letter in response, written by Peter Hagerty of Peace Fleece, is published with his permission. Peace Fleece was a pioneer in establishing normal, humane relations between the peoples of our countries at the height of the Cold War. We hope you find his thoughts and ideas as valuable as we did.

Our last trip to Russia in September affirmed my belief that the little victories are what matter. Gorbachev and Reagan were dragged to the summit table by thousands of citizen diplomats who, each in their own way, shared a book, shared a stitch, shared a cup of tea with their imagined enemy and they, not the politicians, collectively averted nuclear war. Each one of those Russians and Americans reached their own tipping point. For some that meant simply sitting down next to a foreigner on a park bench and beginning some form of rudimentary conversation. For others it meant flying half way around the world. But it was these small steps that made the ultimate difference between global life and death.

I mention this because of your statement about "needing to find ways to increase our appreciation of one another". Maybe I am reading this incorrectly but if you are saying, "If we could just do more, reach more people each day" then I respectfully suggest that you reaffirm the powerful work you are doing today and not be wooed by the siren song, "If there were just more hours in the day, more people believing what I believe". My father would admonish these songs with, "Do what you do, do it well, and the rest will take care of itself."

I have had recent conversations with my son about where both he and I are going in our lives. My son Silas is a new believer in the power of being "present" with people. I have learned a lot from both my children over the past few years. Silas decided sometime last year to stop drinking alcohol because it made him less present with the people around him. And he feels that the greatest gift you can give someone is your total presence. So last March I stopped drinking—a bold move for a 100% Irishman. What I have learned over the last few months is that I allow a myriad of distracting voices to occupy my conscience. There is the voice that "I have not done enough today, that I deserve to be heard, that I do not have enough time, that if I were in charge things would be better." And these voices get in the way of my being present with the person I am with at any given moment. I allow these voices to compromise the quality of our exchange. My challenge now is to understand these voices, to manage them in such a way as they give me strength so I can be more present in the moment.

I also recently read a book by a man who has traveled the world interviewing folks who have devoted their lives to prayer. From the Tibetan steppes to the Sinai, each prayer person had the same reply when asked what they prayed for. "I do not pray for anything" they said. "My prayer is a vision of a Chinese soldier and a Tibetan lama laughing over a cup of tea laced with yak butter; of an Israeli and Palestinian father playing soccer together with their daughters on a beach in the Gaza. I do not use the images of war or violence in my vision because to do that would be to give it life. So it is not present in my conscience. I deny it life."

So here is my suggestion because I have been invited to do so in the last paragraph of your letter and I am honored to have been asked. I would not focus on or use the negative words or visions of "propaganda" and the negative role of the news because first of all most people that are visiting your website already know this. Most feel powerless to change this reality. Offer them things that they can actually do to effect positive change. There is also an implication that they—the propaganda and news moguls—are the enemy. If there is an enemy, then it is within us, it is our inability to act joyously in the face of darkness and overcome it with our own light.

Celebrate goodness over adversity by telling your story over and over, with your beautiful photos and text. Don't be distracted by the voices that say by reaching a larger audience you will be more effective. You and Nikolai, and the folks at Brewster Academy with whom you work, and all those from Access to Ideas are on the right path. Continue to believe in the "resilience of the human spirit" and the rest will take care of itself.

Reading this over I am conscious of an arrogant overtone that comes through, as if I know what I am talking about—that I am walking the walk, etc. Of course that is not the case. Although I, too, am struck with despair at least once a day, my recovery time is growing shorter. In any case —

Love to you all,

Peter