Within the Peace Park, there could be many gardens of healing, and here is one idea:

A square space, from 60 to 500 feet on a side, and in the middle a circle of 20 to 30 feet in diameter. The square is a lawn, bordered by a hedge or fences or walls, with openings, entrances at the four cardinal compass points. From each entrance, a path spirals in toward the circle, so that you arrive in the circle at a different position than where you entered the square.

The entrances all have burden bins, where people are to leave their baggage, weapons, slogans, etc, so they will enter the space free of attachments and preconceived notions. Paths could be mosaic patterns of colored stone or bricks, and could curve both clockwise and counter clockwise. At the intersections there would be large stones with petroglyphs of birds, fish, flowers, etc, to mark the space as contiguous with the natural world.

The whole space can be lavishly landscaped with trees and flowers. Within the central circle is a ring of benches around a hearth, or firepit, where people can meet and discuss.

This is a Neutral Zone, not belonging to any one faction or point of view, a safe place to share warmth and light. Any may speak, all may listen, and when they leave, they may not necessarily go out the same gate they entered by. They may retrieve their burdens if they do, or leave them behind for good, and perhaps periodically there could be special fires to burn the abandoned weapons, slogans, and preconceptions.

This proposition is meant to be taken both literally and symbolically, and will require a few leaps of faith and conviction to become real. It is my belief that we as a community could benefit from such a space, and I am pledging to help in any way I can.

Submitted with Peace and Love to All,

Tracy Powell January 14, 2006

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