from the 'Dear Reader' introduction to Roots of Peace:
History—true history—was missing from my schoolbooks. It was missing from what my parents said, from what even my best teachers knew. Native people had given—and given up—so much in this country, but no one told me. I had no idea they'd been done so much harm. The older I got, the more I learned and the more surprised I was. The day came when I was certain I would write this book. I talk about Peace a lot in this book: the Peace that Native people enjoyed for thousands of years, before explorers came to this country. The Peace that Native people and Earth have lost since that time. The Peace that blossomed among certain Native nations in this land for over five hundred years. The Peace that Native and non-Native people could live today if we helped one another create it. The Peace you can live—even if no one around you is doing the same.
Many people don't care about Peace. Maybe someone treated them badly when they were children. Maybe they went hungry or never had a home. Maybe they never climbed a mountain or swam in an ocean or lay in a field of summer flowers. How would they learn to care for the Earth then? How would they know to care for other human beings? What would make them want to? Can you see yourself in other people? Can you feel what it's like to be living as they live? Can you understand that if you were living their lives, you might be acting as they are acting? Understanding is the first step toward Peace—Peace with others and within ourselves. It is the first step toward love. When we stop calling people our enemies—when we begin to try to understand them—we allow them room to become our friends.
As I grew, I met people whose feelings matched my own. We were like lights to one another. We connected heart-to-heart. It was as if we were waking from a dream together and remembering all we'd always known about Earth and Earth ways. Roots of Peace was born from these rememberings.
It has always been true, worldwide, for the smallest family as well as for the largest nation. It will always be true, until every day on Earth—until every being—is seen as holy.
From "Before Columbus Came":
From "Before Columbus Came": How surprised Columbus must have been when he arrived in the Americas. He and his men had thoughts of taking on their minds. They were welcomed by Native people whose thoughts were of giving and of Peace. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() From "Seeds of Hope":
These days, we must all be Peacemakers...Your age doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what your life is like or who your family is or where you live. You are important. Every thought you think, every word you speak, everything you do, circles out to all beings through all places in all times.
Copyright © 1993 by maggie s davis. All Rights Reserved.
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maggie s davis
207.266.7673
324 Grant Street, Ellsworth, ME 04605
e-mail: maggiesdavis@gmail.com