Come and Play with Us

If you're in the Chicago area on the weekend of November 7 or November 14, then you may want to stop by the Irish American Heritage Center and watch the play Six Stories Up in Peace. It's funny, and interesting on many levels. 

Six Stories Up is an annual production of six original stories woven together around a theme. This year's theme of peace is especially significant considering the vitriolic nature of the political campaign and the fear associated with the economic crisis.

In one of the lines, the Mother Teresa character says "Perhaps Dan has no peace because he forgot that we belong to each other." For some reason that line continues to unfold for me as we rehearse for the show. 

Have we forgotten that we belong to each other? Are we angry because we think that the rich guys got away with something and we are bailing them out? Or are we afraid that someone will take away our comforts so that some poor person can have a better life? 

I believe that we do belong to each other. I find joy in discovering the magnificence in everyone I meet, especially those who may be marginalized by disability, age, or poverty. That's why I am grateful to be a mentor in Six Stories Up.

Six Stories Up pairs up six adult mentors with six middle school children to produce an original theater production.  

Each adult/child team works together for six weeks to write a 10-12 minute theater piece on an assigned theme. The entire group comes together to weave the pieces into a full-length show, which is performed for two weekends at a professional theater. We also provide apprentice opportunities for children in set design, mask making, music composition and stage management.  Because of the intimacy of the group, we are able to take the time to draw out the specific abilities of each child and empower him or her to shine. Kids with disabilities get starring roles, which they rarely get in school. The adults and kids without disabilities grow in their understanding of disability.

Because this year's theme is peace, we researched Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Mother Teresa, Wangari Maathai, Greg Mortenson, Socrates, Confucius, and more. The result is not only hilarious, but also poignant and moving. 

So if you have time and you want to remember once again that we in fact do belong to each other, please come to Six Stories Up in Peace. Get details here>>

Call 312-409-1025 for reservations. Adults and children over 5 years old will love it.

If we have no peace it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other - Mother Teresa

Creating Peace

My efforts to reform my book buying habit have failed miserably.

I had turned over a new leaf, to borrow rather than buy. And as usual I kept my book way too long. Also, because it's been on the New York Times bestseller list and others were waiting for it, I got a gentle reminder in a letter from the library.

So to make amends I bought two more copies and donated them when I turned myself in. The librarian said she likes that policy better than fines.

It's the least I can do after all that the protagonist in the book has gone through. Three Cups of Tea is the true story of Greg Mortenson's mission to build schools in the poorest regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. He kind of reminds me of a mountain climber guy version of Mother Theresa. 

The fact that Mortenson built lots of schools is important. But what impressed me even more was how he went about building those schools. He gave of himself wholly, by immersing himself in the culture without judgment. He helped people, not in the way he wanted, but by finding out what they needed and how to provide it on their terms.

Here's what Mortenson said in the book about a man who helped save his life. 

"Haji Ali taught me to share three cups of tea, to slow down and make building relationships as important as building projects. He taught me that I had more to learn from the people I work with than I could ever hope to teach them."

After a failed attempt to climb a mountain and a successful attempt by village people to save his life, Mortenson promised to build them a school. He went back to America, lived in his car, wrote hundreds of letters and got absolutely no response. 

Finally after miraculously raising barely enough for one school he went all the way back to the village only to be told that he couldn't build the school because they had no bridge. So he started all over again, researching, raising money and finding experts and manpower to help him build a bridge. It was like that all through the book. He spent countless hours learning the ways of the people. He overcame unbelievable obstacles and finally built the school. But then he didn't stop at one.

Other people asked for schools and he obliged. It wasn't easy. He survived two or three death threats by those who didn't think girls should be educated. He was kidnapped at gunpoint, and on top of that became the subject of hate mail by Americans who after 9/11 thought he shouldn't be helping out anyone from that part of the world.

Greg Mortenson is unstoppable! So far he's responsible for building more than 60 schools and educating thousands of children. His organization is especially dedicated to educating girls and has connected thousands of school children in America to school children in Afghanistan and Pakistan through his Pennies for Peace program.

With Greg Mortenson as my inspiration, I will continue to look for ways to work to repair my little corner of the world, in a way that promotes understanding and connection with others, on their terms.

Hopefully, I'll get better at returning books at my local library too.