How many people have you hugged…can you guess? How many hugs will you give in a lifetime? Let’s say you give 10 hugs a month…that’s 120 hugs a year. Now, imagine you live until 80 years of age, that’s 9,600 hugs in a lifetime! Can you imagine hugging 10,000 people in one day? How about embracing people for 19 straight hours? How about hugging 26 million people worldwide by the time you are 50 years old? Does embracing people create peace and harmony in the world?

On September 21st I viewed the film “Darshan, The Embrace” about Amma, one of India’s most famous “Mahatmas” or spiritual guides. I went to see the film to honor and celebrate the UN International Day of Peace. I had recently watched the documentary, Peace One Day, about Jeremy Gilley’s passionate six-year journey to formally establish an annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence on the UN International Day of Peace, fixed in the global calendar on September 21 – Peace Day. Deeply touched by the Peace One Day project I decided to dedicate all of my activities on September 21st to peace.

I had already made plans that afternoon to take photographs for the upcoming amateur photo exhibit at the public library. When I decided to participate in the exhibition I had no idea what a powerful impact the photographs or the day would have on me.

As I strolled up and down Main Street I began to find peace in some surprising places. First, I greeted each passerby with an enthusiastic, “Happy Peace Day!” instead of my usual “Hello”. The responses were heartwarming, ranging from “You too!” “Thank you!”, “Happy Peace Day to You!” and “Amen, to that!”.

Then, I met an adorable “Peace Girl”.

I strolled by my local pet shop and found “National Peace” – above a doggie bed of all places! A few moments later the PG&E technician helped me find “Peace Uncovered” and when I turned the corner…I saw the one thing I wish we could all wake up to every day, “Peace in the News”. When I began to remove the PEACE signs a stranger requested, “No, leave them, I really like how it looks.” The next day, the signs were still there.

Amma is known internationally for her charitable donations, fight for peace, and work to end illiteracy. In 2002, she won the Gandhi King Prize for her work, joining a prestigious group of winners that include, Nelson Mandela and Khofi Annan. She is referred to as “The Hugging Saint” and travels India and the world joining people in prayer, feeding the poor, and offering a blessing or darshan and an embrace.

As many of you know, I rarely talk about films except to say, “You need to see this movie.” I’m addicted to film because I love to be surprised. I love to soak in the messages and get inspired. I love to disappear into a great story. I don’t want to give away plot and take away from a viewer’s experience. I will, however, share a quote from Amma’s website, which is her formula for a better tomorrow:

“Children, do not complain about the darkness around you. Light the lamp of your heart with 
the flames of love and faith. You may wonder how this will dispel the darkness. As you move forward this flame will light each step on your path.”

One Day. One Embrace. One Photo. One Person…Does Make a difference.

Light the lamp of your heart.

Late at night, when the neighborhood is quiet, I can often hear the sound of a train whistle in the distance. It’s a deep, steady sound and it always brings me comfort.

In middle school I tucked my long brown hair into a blue and white striped engineer’s hat every day — it was a gift from my dad, the Lionel train collector. I wasn’t very interested in electric toy trains back then but I loved the hat. And I loved my daddy more.

Dad constructed long wooden tables in the basement and would conduct from behind the bulky black Lionel ZW power controller. I’d watch as he’d glide the levers forward and back sending the trains round and round on miles of track. Dad also customized lovely shelves and displayed his favorite trains for all to enjoy. I liked looking at the windows of the trains where you could see the black shadows of tiny people. I would make up stories about the tiny people and their grand destinations. I’ll never forget the smell of that musty basement…my daydreams rising with each realistic puff of white smoke. I wondered, did my dad do the same thing?

Nadia’s little son, Cole, pointed and bounced up and down with excitement as the Little Steam Train pulled up to the station in Tilden Park. I did too! We climbed aboard the tiny car and watched the white steam rise from the locomotive’s chimney. “Just like your tea kettle at home” the conductor explained with a smile as we handed over our tickets. Click. Click. Cole looked through the circle in his newly punched ticket. Then the bell clanged and the train slowly chugged forward. Cole’s eyes widened as we picked up speed and edged our way through the beautiful countryside. Light streamed through the tall trees and we tilted our heads way back to take it all in. The two short tunnels added to the excitement — we screamed in the sudden burst of darkness and listened to our voices echo and twist together. As the train hugged the corners we enjoyed spectacular views of the Bay and pointed out patches of vibrant purple and red wildflowers along the track. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the cool breeze. I simulated choo-choo sounds in my head and danced in between the moment and memories of the musty basement. The ride ended too quickly.

Next time I will wear my engineer’s hat…and bring my father.

P.S. “Life is train travel – not all passage and carriage. It is single scenes, one at a time, out the window. Laundry hanging on a line. A warehouse. The river’s shore. Each sight out the window has hundreds of stories behind it. And hundreds of stories before those hundreds of stories began. The rose, made of sugar, on the icing, on the cake.” – From Notes on the Kitchen Table by Bob Greene & D.G. Fulford

My ode to Magritte.