Deja vu.

I just returned from two days in Dayton; a training institute for mediation center personnel. Last night at Earlham College I had the opportunity to listen to an international peacemaker, John Paul Lederach. It was so heartening to be in the culture of conciliation. I stepped out of this field four years ago, and here I am again, like time is standing still. It's good to be back.

John Paul spoke to us of the moral imagination. This is the space in which people who live in violence, transcend violence by using their imagination, their creativity, to come up with nonviolent solutions to conflict. He told stories of people in Ghana and Tajikistan who averted wars by coming up with creative alternatives. These stories of reconciliation, of conflict transformation, seldom show up in the media. We are a people sold on the idea of force. But the good news is, there is another way. Here's to the peacemakers among us.

More John Paul Lederach here.