October, 2025
On the last day together during “From Pain To Peace: Young Peacebuilders Training in Wetzlar, Germany,” the group took a walk outside in the forest outside to enjoy the turning autumn foliage and write a poem, in a session led by Chris Miller, AR Operations Director.
The practice of walking in the woods, “forest bathing,” is proven to reduce stress levels, one of the purposes for holding this training outside Israel-Palestine for these young peacebuilders — to give them time and opportunity to de-stress.
With sun shining through the leaves and acorns crunching underfoot, the group walked, talked, joked, took photos in the woods, and then sat for awhile in silence, listening to nothing but the wind, a raven calling, and the cranes migrating above.
In the silence, everyone had 5 minutes to think of their line for the poem, something they wanted to take away from the week together, with one requirement– it must end in the word “peace”, loosely inspired by the ghazal. The ghazal is form of love poem or poem of spiritual longing, often written by Sufis, originating in Arabia in the 6th or 7th C., in which each couplet is distinct, but forms a greater whole through the repeating end-word. The result in this case is a mosaic of perspectives, voices, and feelings, fused by common theme.
This appreciation of diversity, while also reaching toward a greater unity amongst all parts, reinforced the message of the week’s training in Germany: by including everyone as they are, we can create a more beautiful and greater world, it just takes a little intention, inspiration, respect, artistry, and collaboration.
Each person’s line was then spontaneously recited for this recording.
– Chris Miller
Peace Poem ~ Young Peacebuilders in Germany
The forest, the trees, and the river flowing by our side,
We treasure hope and peace. (Marwan Hatoom)
Love yourself in order to live in peace. (Elinor Saada)
I am the sky, I am the nature, I am the leaf falling from a tree,
I am the humankind, I am peace,
I am shalom, and I am Salam,
I am one in all the hearts. (Yeshua Ben David)
When someone gives me something from the heart,
I feel peace, and peace is here. (Avital Kalech)
I hear Hebrew. I hear Arabic. I hear English,
But in all, I hear the language of peace. (David Kalech)
If anger was a man, I would’ve killed him, and peace would be achieved.
If dialogue was a man, I would’ve hugged him, and peace would be achieved. (Aladdin Abuelkhaleq)
The planet Earth was born for peace,
But never witnessed a day of peace. (—–)
We dream of a child’s laughter, that lights the dark
And ends the dream with a cry of peace. (—–)
When you open your heart and hear the love that spreads between the lines,
Then you discover peace. (Hasan Adwan)
From the souls of the Jews that were here in Germany,
To the mosque of the newcomers, the light beams peace. (Roei Kleitman)
Drinking together, eating together, that is peace.
Laughing together, crying together, that is peace.
Together – that is peace. (Sarah Rech)
I love the nature, I love the trees,
I love my friends, who bring me peace. (Abd Elsalam Manasra)
When I feel my friends with me,
When I feel the sun open in my heart, I feel peace,
And I show and spread peace. (Chris Miller)
Peace! Salam! Shalom! Frieden!
