How do you feel about Ryan Dickinson’s sentence? That was the opening question I was just asked in an interview with CBC TV news.

Ryan, 20 years old, is the first person sentenced in Vancouver’s Stanley Cup riot. He pled guilty and was just given 17 months prison and 2 years probation.

I feel some relief that finally the cases are being dealt with. It’s been 8 months since the riots and that’s a long time to wait for closure. The criminal justice system is a very slow, cumbersome and expensive bureaucracy. Shortcomings are obvious; BC Premier Clark just announced a review of the justice system with a focus on reform.

I also feel sad and frustrated. Authorities in BC have chosen a strictly criminal justice approach – police, courts and prison. What a tremendous loss of an opportunity for healing and building community.

I raise a fundamental question: what is the purpose of our response to an offender?

Do we simply want punishment and retribution? That’s what this first sentence was about. Authorities wanted to send a clear message. If we continue to solely choose this get tough, eye for an eye approach, we really need to acknowledge what kind of a society that ultimately creates. And what about victims’ needs?

Crime hurts. Doesn’t it make more sense that justice should be about healing?

I think the purpose of our response to rioters, or any offender, should be to meet the needs of all parties through accountability, healing and resolution.

The rioters attacked our community and many people were hurt and traumatized.  Victims should be offered support and to have a say in what is required for resolution. Offenders need to be held accountable by taking responsibility, directly facing those they hurt, and helping to determine how they can make amends. And it’s our community, so we need to also be participants in a justice process.

The evidence is very clear: deterrence does not work; we have extremely high recidivism rates. Restorative justice does work. Recidivism is very low; victims report high satisfaction and reduced post traumatic stress symptoms as well as less fear, anger, hurt and vengefulness. Interestingly, research shows restorative justice makes the biggest difference with serious and violent crime.

So there are practical, evidence-based, and philosophical reasons for choosing restorative justice.

Ryan is now going to spend the next year in prison. What have we truly achieved? Are the victim’s needs met and are they now healed? Is Ryan going to be better off when he returns to our community? Are we a safer, stronger, healthier society?

And we’re about to continue to rack up our enormous bill spending millions of dollars responding to the next 125 accused.

Imagine what we could accomplish if we re-directed even a small fraction of the costs, say a million dollars, toward incorporating a restorative response?

We all know we’re inundated with stories of violence, hatred and revenge in the news and on TV.

The news doesn’t adequately cover what is really going on. I was fortunate to experience firsthand the goodness in people, and stories that never make it into popular media, at a young age backpacking around the world.

I’m interested in pictures and stories of transformation and it’s nice to know I’m not alone. In prior blogs I talked about the Forgiveness Project and Life After Hate.

And there’s DailyGood offering positive and uplifting news from around the world.  Positive TV was created to report on what’s breaking through rather than what’s breaking down. YES! Magazine reframes problems into solutions, provides resources and shares stories of people working for a better world.

There is so much happening in the world to inspire us!

As an amateur photographer, I was thrilled to also discover the International Guild of Visual Peacemakers. It was created to build bridges of peace across ethnic, cultural and religious lines through visual communication. They strive to break down stereotypes by displaying the humanity, beauty and dignity of people and cultures around the world.

Photography can be a powerful invitation to our shared humanity. For example, Theo Chalmers created a thought-provoking collection for Paul’s Place, a charity in the UK for physically and cognitively impaired adults. They expressed gratitude for “the opportunity to show the world just how beautiful we are.”

We really are beautiful, in all our incredibly diverse sizes, shapes, colours, and preferences. What would it take to celebrate our diversity and learn to get along with one another?

What if we chose to Say Something Nice?

What transformation would occur if we became inundated with images and stories of positive social change, beauty and joy?

We are capable of so much, yet we only tap into such a small percentage of ourselves. It’s time to step up and create a different reality with more consciousness.

What story do you choose to share?

“We must all learn to live together as brothers or
we will all perish together as fools.
We are tied together in the single garment of destiny,
caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.”
~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Happy Martin Luther King Day! I’m glad we honour Dr. King and keep his legacy alive. A hero to many, and also one of my mentors, he showed us the incredible power of a dream and what can be accomplished with nonviolence.

“The nonviolent approach does not immediately change the heart of the oppressor. It first does something to the hearts and souls of those committed to it. It gives them new self-respect; it calls up resources of strength and courage that they did not know they had. Finally it reaches the opponent and so stirs his conscience that reconciliation becomes a reality.”

We’ve certainly created change since the Freedom Riders rode the buses and Rosa Parks did not give up her seat. Yet there is still much to be done. When I lived in Florida, I was dismayed at how much segregation exists and appalled that hate groups like the KKK are still active. I simply do not get how you can hate and hurt someone solely because of the colour of their skin or because they are different.

In my peacemaking work, I am always touched when people reach across differences. As King said, “Like life, racial understanding is not something that we find but something that we must create.”

Thankfully, there are organizations helping to create understanding and sharing King’s vision. On this day in 1969, Mrs Coretta Scott King announced the creation of the The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (“The King Center“) in Atlanta. As founder Mrs King said, it’s “a living memorial filled with all the vitality that was his, a center of human endeavor, committed to the causes for which he lived and died.”

And there’s the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1971. It continues to track and expose activities of hate groups and offers a Teaching Tolerance program and free resources.

Another inspiring group is Life After Hate, co-founded by former racist skinheads, Christian Picciolini and Arno Michaels. They were pioneers in the skinhead movement in America. Now they’ve created this nonprofit organization dedicated to demonstrating and reinforcing basic human goodness. Two years ago on this day, they launched the first issue of their online e-magazine. Submissions are welcomed.

Life After Hate is also a member of the global Against Violent Extremism network.  This is a network of former violent extremists, survivors, activists and experts united by the mission to prevent violence.

Thank you Dr. King for igniting a dream and thanks to all the couragous souls who change reality. If a black man can lead a nation out of segregation and if  violent racists can become a voice for equality, what else is possible?

December is a month of many celebrations, such as Bodhi Day, Hanukkah, Solstice, Christmas and Kwanzaa. I’m reflecting on our fabulous diversity, our challenges to get along with one another across divides, and the invitation for Peace on Earth.

This month Buddhists commemorate Siddhartha experiencing enlightenment and becoming Buddha; if he can become enlightened so can we, but in our own way. I like this wonderful Hindu teaching:

“There are hundreds of paths up the mountain,
all leading in the same direction,
so it doesn’t matter which path you take.
The only one wasting time is the one
who runs around and around the mountain,
telling everyone else that their path is wrong.”

We are all on a path. It’s a matter of becoming conscious of what that path is and then choosing wisely.

An ancient symbol of a purposeful path is a labyrinth. They have been created for thousands of years all over the world. I just walked a labyrinth made up of 700 candles for winter solstice.

There is no right or wrong way to walk a labyrinth. A circuitous path takes you to the centre and back out again. On the way to the centre, there is an invitation to release whatever you would like, such as thoughts, worries, distractions.

What are you ready to let go of that no longer serves you or is a limitation? What could we collectively release that would bring greater consciousness on our planet? Racism? Homophobia? Sexism? Torture?

When you reach the centre of the labyrinth, you can pause to receive whatever is there for you. It can be a place for mediation or prayer. The centre is a metaphor for your deepest self.

What are you willing to receive? What are you unwilling to receive that if you were now to receive it, would change your reality? What would it take for you to receive who you truly be?

Walking back out of the labyrinth is a time of union and return. You may journey back to the world with new awareness or a deeper understanding of who you are.

What are you willing to be aware of? What would you like to contribute – to yourself, to others, to the world?

In a way, life is like a labyrinth – meandering yet purposeful, something to be experienced holistically, having a beginning, middle and ending, with your authentic self in the centre; the ending is the beginning.

We’ve just had the darkest night, now the light begins to shine more each day. Now really is the time for an awakening, for us to choose a more conscious and peaceful way to be together on our beautiful planet earth.

Happy holidays, however you celebrate them, and peace to you, your family, and your community.

I’m interested in stories of transformation and utilizing their potential for educating, healing and inspiring. We need to be reminded of what is truly possible.

So I am dedicating this blog to The Forgiveness Project and the possibility of forgiveness.

The Forgiveness Project is a UK-based charitable organization which explores forgiveness, reconciliation and conflict resolution through real-life experiences. Founded by Marina Cantacuzino, it has no religious or political affiliations. The vision is to “to build a better future by healing the wounds of the past”. Check out over 90 stories as well as their exhibition and outreach programs.

The exploration of the “F Word” reveals how multi-faceted it is. Forgiveness is a journey, deeply personal, and sometimes difficult and painful. It is not a soft option and it never condones or excuses a behavior. It offers self-healing and liberation; it can be transformational. It is a gift and always a choice.

Imagine if we all started to travel the road toward forgiveness, of everyone, even our worst enemies?

This is a question Jeremey Cowart explores in his photography and his special post for CNN reflecting on Rwandans forgiving and reconciling with murderers who killed their children, families and friends during the 1994 genocide. His post is entitled “If Rwandans can forgive killings, we can forgive the waitress”.

As Cowart says: “Maybe we start small and decide to forgive the waitress, no matter what. Maybe if we begin with small acts of grace, we could one day find ourselves practicing radical grace and restoring humanity, too.”

Would you be willing to explore this option of forgiveness and the potential it holds as a contribution? Is there someone in your life that you can now forgive? Including yourself?

Gandhi reminds us: “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

Costa Rica doesn’t have an army. Imagine a country in Central America with no investment in war. What would it take for all countries to put down their arms and to end war on our planet?

I was just in Costa Rica for a workshop. Reflecting on possible futures and knowing that it’s our choice what we create.

Costa Rica simply made a choice and that opened up different possibilities. Instead of pouring resources into an army and war, Costa Rica chose to focus on things like preserving the environment and education – it has the largest percentage of protected areas and one of the highest literacy rates in the world. Imagine the wisdom of replacing an army of soldiers with an army of teachers; they abolished the military and guarantee universal public education in their constitution since 1949.

I’m glad Obama chose to finally end the war in Iraq. Imagine if Bush hadn’t initiated that war to begin with. Think of where those billions and billions of dollars could have been spent. Think of all those hundreds of thousands of men, women and children who were killed, maimed and traumatized. It’s also disheartening that 18 American war vets commit suicide every day.

Isn’t the insanity of war obvious?

Think about it; we’ve declared war upon and killed Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, pagans, indigenous peoples, homosexuals, blacks, and the list goes on and on.

Can we please get that there is no us and them. It’s just us. There is no “them”. We’re a human species with the same DNA all sharing one home – planet earth.

I find it crazy that people think we can drop bombs “over there” and think it won’t affect us “over here”. It’s like saying we can shoot a cannonball into the stern of our boat and think the bow is safe and we can keep sailing along as if nothing happened.

Can we please choose different possibilities before we kill even more of our fellow humans and take this whole planet down with us?

I’ve been called optimistic and a dreamer. I don’t mind. I have great company. Please watch this inspiring video with an amazing rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine” by Emmanuel Kelly from Iraq.

I know what I choose. What are your choices and what future possibilities will you open up for yourself, your family, community, and our beautiful world?