The House of Light on the Hill, affiliated with the Fraternidade – International Humanitarian Federation, has organized the meeting “Making Peace Flourish ”, that had the objective to promote the quest for inner peace in a conscious contact with nature. On Saturday October 8, 30, children and youths from the cities of Carmo da Cacheira and Boa Esperança, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, lived this experience.
The work was done with children and adolescents with which the House of Light on the Hill has been working for some years. The idea was to take advantage of the early spring to follow the rhythm of nature and in touch with it to make peace flourish in the heart of every child and youth. “At a time when in many places in the world reign chaos, war, te disorder, disharmony, both in the families and among nations, we consider important to remember it is possible to contribute to peace looking for it first within us, as the Divine Messengers teach us”, told sister Maria Inmaculada, a nun of Grace Mercy Order, responsible for social service of the House of Light on the Hill for children and youths.
The exercise consisted of a walk by natural environments of the House of Light on the Hill, with stops for details observation and reflection on teaching about how the Mineral, the Plant, the Animal and the Devic Kingdom contribute to the Human Kingdom, interacting in perfect peace and harmony. To help in this exercise, each participant received a small piece of paper with reflections on nature, which were read in the stops during the tour.
“We explained that it was not a mere walk, but an opportunity to realize nature with all external senses (sight, smell, hearing, tact) and the inner senses of the heart”, described sister Maria Inmaculada. During a lunch break the conscious use of taste was also worked, when it was requested that all of them feel the taste of the fruits they were eating.
At one point, the ride came to the spring that supplies the House of Light on the Hill and that is hidden under the ground. There it was explained that just as the water source is not visible, there is within each of us the Fountain of Mercy, which you can not see with your physical eyes, but you can feel it with the heart.“We explained that this Mercy comes from God, it forgives us and encourages us to forgive ourselves for our continuous mistakes as human beings, as well as to forgive the brother or sister to find the peace in us and to radiate it to all others”, continued sister Maria Inmaculada.
After the walk, the participants had a moment of rest and soon began to put on paper, with the help of colored pencils and brushes, the photo that each one had caught with the senses and kept in the heart.Then, all shared lunch and made a moment of silence. “It was a moment of silence, of conscious breathing, of assimilation of what they had lived, it was very beautiful and even the most restless managed to quieten”, told the nun.
In the end, each participant could choose between three activities. One was to complete the drafting of the mandala (the picture of the heart) using the elements collected on the way, such as flowers, leaves, branches, etc. Another was to manufacture a wreath to be worn on the head, or the activity of planting lilies around the Monastery of the Sacred Charity of Saint Joseph. The meeting ended with a snack and the intonation of the song ‘The Blessed’. “The song was a moment of thanks to God for the shared experience, asking Him to make the peace that we could enjoy reach all children on the planet”, concluded sister Maria Inmaculada.
