Mattie J.T. Stepanek Foundation 402 King Farm Blvd. #125, Rockville, MD 20850 www.MattieOnline.com – [email protected] “Peace is possible… choose peace.” January 2019 Excerpt from letter from Judy Lucas, who has just completed a 10-year peace project: Dear Family, Friends and Contributors to 1,000 Pieces of Peace, Here is our finished ten-year peace project. It comes in two attachments: Pieces of Peace (500 pp.) and Biographies (300 pp.) Instead of publishing it in a book – which I can't because of copyright issues – I am sharing it with you along with my prayers for a peaceful 2019. Started in 2009 as a fundraiser for peace organizations, this is offered FREE to people who want to be inspired daily with a peace message and by a peace maker. If you are compelled to make a donation that will go directly to the work of peace around the world, here is some information. Please simply add "1,000 Pieces of Peace" somewhere. Please feel free to share these pieces of peace with whomever you choose. They are meant to go into the world with love, hope and faith. Contact me please. Peacefully yours, Judy Fisk Lucas 148 Wild Oak St., Ojai, CA 93023 One of the two suggested peace organization recipients Judy suggests is Mattie’s Foundation. Information by and about Mattie appears twice in her collection – July 17 (in honor of his birthday) and June 22 (in honor of his death anniversary). We are grateful for this acknowledgment, and for support that ripples out from this project – which will help us continue moving forthward with our peace mission. Mattie J.T. Stepanek Foundation 402 King Farm Boulevard #125 Rockville, MD 20850 http://www.MattieOnline.com/ NOTE: The day-by-day “1,000 Pieces of Peace” and the biography of Peace Makers / Contributors appears on the pages below this letter… enjoy, embrace, and empower the world with peace! The Mattie J.T. Stepanek Foundation, Inc. (Federal Tax ID No. 20-2743852) is an American not-for-profit charity approved by the IRS under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and incorporated in the State of Maryland. MD Charitable Solicitation number 17267. Cover art by Billy Lucas www.thecaroltowncompany.com DEDICATION This anthology, 1,000 Pieces of Peace, is dedicated with love to a peacemaker and member of our family, Peter Fleurat, who lost his life and home in the Montecito, California mudslide this week on January 9, 2018. Peter Fleurat in his Montecito garden at the college graduation party he and his lifetime partner, Lalo Barajas, hosted for their niece, Michelle Fleurat. Photo by Judy Lucas, July 2002 January 15, 2019 Dear Family and Friends, The idea for this collection of peace quotes, songs, poems, stories, people and projects was born after my clowning trip to Russia with Patch Adams, M.D. over a decade ago. His dedication to peace and justice prompted me to search for them everywhere. Contributions have come from preschoolers, students, published authors (including the late Mattie Stepanek and Maya Angelou), my late mother, Bettie Fisk, the internet and news. Even cereal boxes and bumper stickers. All the pieces are organized by the author's birthday or other special event. Each month is considered a chapter. (Chapter 1 = January) In a separate document are brief biographies and updated links. People from all times and places have sought peace. Lee Bennett Hopkins, highly revered children's poet, anthologist and friend, warned me that getting permission to print all these pieces would be impossible. He was right of course. I did my best. My intent is not to formally publish 1,000 Pieces of Peace but to simply put it out there to my friends, family and contributors of quotes, poems, etc......... taking the leap. All attempts were made to gain permissions, to be accurate and complete. This is not a perfect product but done with a great deal of love. Let's create peace with ourselves, our families and circles of friends and enemies. May this spread uncontrollably to every corner of the earth in an Atomic Love Explosion!! (c) Peace be with you now and always, Thank you to my bonus son, William D. Lucas, for the peace image on title page. Judy Fisk Lucas [email protected] (805) 312-0579 148 Wild Oak St. Ojai, CA 93023 Epiphlyllum blooming in the Fleurat/Barajas Montecito summer garden. From John Aaron’s Chalk4Peace art collection https://www.facebook.com/chalk4peace 1,000 Pieces of Peace January 1 New Year’s Day Worra, Bryan Thao 1973, Laos– The Brave Open Doors, The Wise Open Minds Live your life as a blade of grass Or a weeping willow, The broadest oak, the bending bamboo. You may become the wall, the gate, the beam Of a palace of dreamers, a nation of souls Speaking to souls, of feet ascending, hands opening. Tomorrow as easily as Today, Every word a leaf falling away to the eternal river, Every kindness a memory worth sharing. Families, like fires, illuminating worlds worth preserving Among strangers teaching, becoming. Laughing. Ercoli, Charlie 7th Grader, Oak Grove School, California– Peace Peace is all around. Sometimes it’s hard to find. It has no sound, But once found, everyone is happy. We can make peace by loving and caring. Not by scaring and being mean. Be friendly to everyone, even to people You are not as fond of. Kamp, Jurriaan 1967, Netherlands– A lot of people feel powerless. Climate change. Poverty. War. Terrorism. There are so many things we could fear in the world. So where do you start as an individual, when the size of the problems seem so daunting? It is important to know that you can have a demonstrably positive effect on the world. We can change the world, starting with ourselves. All the darkness of the world cannot put out the light of a single candle. January 2 Harmon, Larry (Bozo the Clown) 1925–2008, Ohio I’ve spent fifty-plus years talking to children. And I’ve been lucky enough to meet hundreds of thousands of them later as grown-ups. Some have lived fantastic lives full of accomplishments, while others have gotten lost along the way. And the difference between them is usually just one word. That word is inspiration. ** He left this world a happier place than when he came into it, said the rabbi at his funeral. How many people can you say that about? Trout, Linda Kulp 1955, Maryland– HE’S NOT JUST A SOLDIER, HE’S MY SON Mr. President: Have you looked into the faces— of the ones you send to war? Do you ever sit alone at night and wonder who they are? You say you’re sending troops but each one has a name— so before you send my son I think you should know about him. My Johnny was an Eagle Scout, and played in Little League. At six, he had his first crush— on the girl down the street. He loves old sci-fi movies surfing on the Net, video games, chocolate cake, and hanging out with friends. I’m not a politician, I’m just a mother pleading: Don’t let another life be lost. Our children— deserve to live in peace. And before you send him there to fight, to kill, to die remember— He’s not just a soldier, He’s my son. Levine, Anna 1961, Israel– On This Map of the World I am unfilled color-less space waiting for some hand – your hand? to shape me. Map my meridian arc. Imagine the zenith, dependent upon the ebb and flow of time and tides Give me contours. Chart mountains and valleys. Insert legends. Use all colors of the spectrum. Create of me a continent. Asimov, Isaac c. 1920, Russia–1992, United States Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. ** Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome. Ikeda, Daisaku 1928, Japan– Nothing is more precious than peace. Peace is the most basic starting point for the advancement of humankind. ** People can only live fully by helping others to live. When you give life to friends you truly live. Cultures can only realize their further richness by honoring other traditions. And only by respecting natural life can humanity continue to exist. ** A great human revolution in just a single individual…will enable a change in the destiny of all human kind. January 3 Mott, Lucretia 1793, Massachusetts–1880, Pennsylvania The cause of Peace has had my share of efforts, taking the ultra non-resistance ground that a Christian cannot consistently uphold, and actively support, a government based on the sword, or whose ultimate resort is to the destroying weapons. Damien de Veuster, Joseph 1840, Belgium–1889, Hawaii I am gently going to my grave. It is the will of God, and I thank Him very much for letting me die of the same disease and in the same way as my lepers. I am very satisfied and very happy. ** I would not be cured if the price of the cure was that I must leave the island and give up my work…I am perfectly resigned to my lot. Do not feel sorry for me. Hoffman, Elinor Gene Knudsen 1919–2010, California An enemy is one whose story we have not yet heard. ** Peace-making is a healing process and it begins with me, but it does not end there. ** The world of sharing and caring alone can bring peace. ** One truth I’ve already learned from the Armageddon voices is that the time has come for ending the world of exploitation, imperialism and war.