Sustaining the Peacemaker Within: Caring for Self & Community in Trying Times
In March, we created a reflective space for everyone to process the emotional and spiritual weight of current global crises while supporting one another as a community of peacebuilders. Guided by Anjana Dayal de Prewitt, the conversation invited participants to pause, name what they are feeling, and reconnect with practices that sustain inner resilience. Through personal stories, shared reflections, and small group dialogue, we explored the importance of self-care, humble curiosity, active listening, and compassion, starting with ourselves and expanding to others in our communities. The call reminded us that tending to our inner well-being and nurturing authentic human connection are essential foundations for sustaining hope and continuing the work of peacebuilding in trying times.
We invite you to read the full transcript below and / or Click here to watch the call recording.
Call Nuggets
Check in with yourself before trying to fix the world. Global crises create deep emotional and physical stress. The reminder is clear: pause, breathe, and ask yourself, “How am I doing?” Self-awareness is the first step to sustaining compassion and meaningful action.
Feeling overwhelmed is a sign of our humanity, not weakness. Many participants shared exhaustion, anxiety, and sadness. Rather than seeing these reactions as failures, the group reframed them as evidence that our humanity and empathy are still alive.
Self-care is personal and essential for peacebuilding. We cannot give what they do not have. From music and prayer to humor, dance, and stepping away from constant news, we are reminded that self-care must be personalized and intentional.
Curiosity and active listening create real human connection. It’s so important to approach conversations with humble curiosity. Listening with empathy and seeking to understand helps maintain dignity and connection across differences.
Compassion begins close and ripples outward. Whether through checking in on a friend, connecting with someone outside our “tribe,” or simply appreciating daily moments of gratitude, small acts of compassion help rebuild trust and strengthen the broader human community.
Hollister | Euphrates:
No matter where you're calling from, I know we've all heard that there's a cry for comfort and courage and peace, and we all have to take care of ourselves before we can take care of others. You know, the famous metaphor of putting your own oxygen mask on before you put it on your children. So we're here to do both today. We're here to put on our oxygen masks and each other's.
We are grateful to have Anjana Dayal de Prewitt guide this conversation today. Anjana is always very present. She is incredibly courageous, very wise, brings her full self into all spaces with such tenderness, and when you're in her presence, you can't help but feel a deep sense of compassion for all of her brothers and sisters.
And so, it's always wonderful to be in the presence of somebody who really, truly makes you feel at home with your own self. And I was very excited about the opportunity to bring Anjana back this month. She spoke briefly last month with Janessa in that moderated conversation, and she's been giving workshops and presentations in her capacity as a former Red Cross employee. She also has done this just out of the spirit of her heart. She also preaches from a pulpit occasionally. So, this is her pulpit today, and we're so glad she's come with her kindness, her compassion, and her courage. And she's gonna walk us through a real tender, nourishing care for each other and ourselves.
Anjana Dayal de Prewitt:
Thank you, Hollister. And I think that you talk about me being wise—I think the only wise thing that I've done today is to be in the presence of all of you wise people, and hopefully we will all learn from each other throughout this hour and a half.
Today, you could be doing so many things—and if you were me, you could just be in your bed and just mourn what's going on around the world, and be angry, or be sad, or maybe writing a poem, I don't know, right? There's so much we could be doing, but we have taken a decision, and we are here together.
I really hope when we leave here, we are feeling slightly better, and we are better because of each other. So many, many thanks for coming today. And the goals today are… I don't know, there might be some sub-objectives that will also be there for all of us, but mainly we want to reflect on the current environment around us. Just talk about it, right? Like, it's been hard.
I remember the very first time I felt really down and under—when I first heard that, at that time already, about 15,000 children had been killed in Gaza. And being a very neutral person, representing an organization like Red Cross, where we never ever take sides, something was really sinking inside me to know that in this day and age we're watching 15,000 people being killed, and now, of course, that number is way, way higher.
And to realize that my tax money—my money—I'm supporting that. It was very bad, but that was, right, a couple of years ago. And from that time, Ukraine, and all the atrocities, and that war, and what we've been seeing…
My biggest fear is that we are normalizing it. We're not even talking about it as much. What we are feeling in our bodies—how are we reacting to all of that? So we'll reflect on it. We'll take a pause, talk about it, hopefully in a way that brings people together rather than divides us more. So we'll keep that in our mind, but we'll do that together.
And also reflect on our personal well-being. Like Hollister said, who's my partner in this thing—you know, we need to take that mask first before we take care of somebody else. So we look at our inner resilience.
And those of you who've been part of Euphrates for a long, long time—we always talk about inner peace, interpersonal peace, and then we can talk about global peace. So we're really going to focus on that inner peace as well today, and then just see how we can support each other.
And not just those who agree with us, who are part of a tribe, but also those who don't agree with us, or we think we disagree. I think that is really, really important as peacebuilders, but also just as human beings, because we are so connected. We are all one family.
How do we find ways to take care of each other and be compassionate with each other?
We will try to do those three things primarily today. So let's just reflect: what is causing stress? Is anything causing stress, or are we peachy?
Valerie Venegas:
The thought that our country has betrayed us in what's been happening over this last weekend.
Anjana Dayal de Prewitt:
Yes, thank you. Starting pretty strong—thank you for that. Okay. Yes, we are feeling betrayed. Many of us are feeling betrayed.
Trish Garland:
I would also say feeling helpless.
Hollister | Euphrates:
In the chat: it's difficult to know who to trust, and so we lose a sense of belonging, a spirit of collective humanity. And feeling overwhelmed.
Okechukwu Livingstone Ikefuama:
And for me, it's the crisis all around—can you hear me? The crisis all around, locally and globally.
Maxine Ruzicka:
For me, it's the amount of people suffering around the world, and many, many of them are people we don't even hear about in the news.
Ama Vunkannon:
I feel a great deal of stress because I'm aware that there is such a powerful call to action, and I'm terrified of taking action, and it's nervous to consider: can I do it? Can I answer that call?
Nathan Hult:
I'll just throw in one thing—an item of joy amid all this chaos. I just got word from a younger sister of mine that she's getting married.
It's a little interesting that our new brother-in-law is from Mexico. He's been in the United States 25 years, and he's still been unable to get a green card or citizenship, so we still face the possible issue of ICE that surrounds us.
Anjana Dayal de Prewitt:
es, yes… God forbid, but you know—those things. As an immigrant, I'm a citizen and it's very uncertain these days what can happen. And congratulations—that's great news. Thank you for dropping that in today.
Hollister | Euphrates:
Yeah. Work and life stress, keeping up with all that's expected.
Listening to many touching stories from people within my circles, concerned about digital privacy and fear about what they're gonna do with our data—if they will use it against us.
Overwhelmed by community needs and the unrest around the world.
Anjana Dayal de Prewitt:
Recognizing this is going on—and somebody said feeling helpless, right? With everything else that's being said, and then on top of that, feeling helpless. That feeling of helplessness exaggerates everything else for us, because we can't do anything.
As a humanitarian—25 years—being around the world, going out there and responding to a disaster, wipe a tear, give a hug, hand out a sandwich… and then when you can't really do anything and you're feeling helpless, it worsens everything.
There is no way to bring that smile back, at least not right now. And keeping that hope alive—because as humanitarians, as peacebuilders, one of the responsibilities we carry is to bring that hope, bring people together, for a better future—and all of that jazz that goes on with it—while we are feeling so helpless.
So let's take the conversation slightly further. How are we feeling these days? How are we reacting? These are the things going around us—how is it coming out in our moods, in our body, spiritually? Let's talk a little bit about that.
Hollister | Euphrates:
Anjana, can you distinguish between what we were sharing previously—what's causing us stress—just the difference between what's causing us stress and what is our emotional or physiological response to that?
Anjana Dayal de Prewitt:
Okay, so there's stress, right? There's a stressor that's causing the stress, and then there's a stress reaction. For me, for example, the stressor is the crises all over, the chaos and confusion and uncertainty, the wars, all of that are the stressors.
And my stress reactions—my biggest stress reaction—is depression. I just want to be in my bed, keep watching the news, I don't want to move. So I push myself to do other things, which thank God I'm able to do. Sometimes I'm not.
So I'm feeling very sad and very low energy. That is my reaction. My emotional reaction is feeling sad. My physical reaction is feeling very low energy—don’t want to do anything. Does that make sense?
Hollister | Euphrates:
Yes, thank you. Extreme exhaustion and health decline and lower motivation levels.
Debra Myers:
I was just talking to a friend yesterday about it. It is like a constant hum of anxiety in my body. I can feel my chest and my body just vibrating. Clenching. Yeah. It affects me mentally.
J & T:
Another thing is waking up and feeling guilty that there is so much going on in the world where so many are suffering. And feeling the guilt at not being able to do anything, or wondering exactly what to do other than turning to prayer and being hopeful.
So it's a struggle between the sense of inability and spiritual ability. Spiritual ability to pray, and to have that advocacy be productive.
Victor Garpulee:
What is lingering in my mind has to do with fear. Fear of uncertainty. And nationalism really tracking our country into a condition of uncertainty. And it caused a lot of trauma on us. And it's not really laying the foundation for the generation that we envision.
But we got to work together to break a barrier by engaging, connecting, and collaborating with family domestically. Then we'll go at an international level.Because what we find ourselves now is that everybody wants to protect themselves. How can a man go and buy a lot of weapons just to protect themselves? It does not make sense.
So we have really got to work, or else we find ourselves in a place we do not expect to be.
Hollister | Euphrates:
I'll share some more from the chat.
Irritation, frustration, annoyance. Feeling disconnected. Sleep patterns disrupted, creating a cycle of fatigue and catch-up. “I did not sign up for this.” Me neither. Frustrated and sad.
And then Lossie was saying he’s very worried about what's going on currently. “I have a relative in Lebanon who reached out yesterday that they were under gunshot.”
More feeling tired. Feeling sad. Feeling bad about Minneapolis, but also a new courage born of this, a sense of resolution to be myself.
Very sad and frustrated, but this impels devotion to spiritual practice, to trust a higher power, and a commitment to help with the grieving of others.
Anjana Dayal de Prewitt:
I loved it when Hollister said: what’s the difference between what’s going on and what we’re feeling? Because we’re so focused on what's going on, sometimes we forget about how we are reacting to it.
Sadly, many of us are normalizing this feeling of exhaustion, not sleeping well, the confusion, the fear, the anger—because it's been going on for so long that it's now settling down in our bodies, in our beings, in our souls. And we’re like, okay—let me do the next task. Let me read the next news cycle. Let me just survive. Let me do whatever monotonous, robotic, mechanical thing I need to do to live life—rather than saying, okay.
I'll give you an example.
My mom passed away in COVID back in India. I was here in the United States, and I couldn't go back in the moment. Two weeks later, I fought with the whole world. I went back to Delhi—Delhi at that time was like the center of the universe of COVID. Every day there were hundreds of people dying.
And I decided I'm not gonna go in the moment, and I started working. I thought, okay, maybe if I start working, at least my mind will be away. Diversion's not a bad thing always.
But then I was just in that deep grieving state and doing that every day—my body was normalizing it. Then one fine day, I got up, I was getting ready for my morning meeting, looked at myself in the mirror, and I said, just checking in—how are you doing?
I remember I was about to put my lipstick on, and I immediately teared up and started crying. I was so full of sadness, and I was just gonna go for my next meeting. I cried. I looked at myself. I kind of hugged myself spiritually, put that lipstick on, and went back to my meeting.
But that check-in with ourselves is really important. How am I doing? What am I feeling? Is this normal? Am I doing something about this?
Sometimes we don't even know what we're feeling. Sometimes we may know what we're feeling, but we're not really doing something proactively about it, or not doing enough. So today is the day to check in with ourselves.
Meditation Moment
Before we go into more conversation, let's take another mindfulness pause.
Close your eyes if you feel comfortable. If not, just be yourself.
Let's focus on our breath. I'm not gonna count for you, because everybody breathes in their own way.
Please take the extra effort to take that deep breath, and to hold it, and then to release.
And if I'm not feeling okay today, it's okay to be not okay.
Hug yourself. Tell yourself you're okay.
This pain that you experience is good, because it tells you you're still human. You still feel.
All of these feelings, the stress reactions, are a sign that our humanity is alive. And that very reason can be a reason to celebrate today, amongst all the other things that are going wrong.
Let's take one last deep breath. Hold. And release.
And when you're ready, we come back together here.
Thank you for doing that. I know sometimes it takes a lot of effort to take that deep breath if we are really, really stressed out. If you weren't able to do a lot of them, that's fine too. Promise yourself you'll do it a couple of times during the day. If you make it a practice, it starts happening.
Okay, so let's talk about self-care and interpersonal support. We can't be effective peacebuilders if we're not at peace in ourselves. All of us associated with Euphrates—or peacebuilding in general—we know this, right? That's the foundational thing.
To maintain inner peace, we have to take care of ourselves. And from the psychosocial perspective, if we want to help somebody else around us—whether in our family, our students—we can't give something we don't have.
So we need to generate that resiliency, that peace, so that we can share with others. And if we are supporting others, sometimes that helps us back as well. That's the beauty of it too.
I feel very, very good when I feel I’m being useful for another soul. That gives me peace as well. So it all is interconnected.
So let's look at self-care first, and then we'll do interpersonal support eventually. For both pieces, we will also go into small breakout rooms.
What are some things I am doing to take care of myself?
What are some things I need to stop to better take care of myself?
What are two things I will start doing or restart for selfcare?
Anjana Dayal de Prewitt:
All right. So self-care—whenever you go into the psychological world, psychosocial world, mental health world, you will always hear: exercise, eat a balanced diet, make sure you're having sufficient sleep…
And I used to feel really sometimes stressed out, because, you know, I've responded to big disasters, been in big wars, supported that kind of work, and I'm like, what are you even saying? It's not magic. You're saying, “Have sufficient sleep so you have less stress.” But I can't sleep. So what are you saying? I just can't do it.
So yes, all of that is important, but there are other things that you can do to get to a place where you're actually having sufficient sleep, where you want to make the additional effort to get that healthy sandwich versus picking those chips up.
It's all extra effort, and when we're feeling exhausted—how do we get to that point where we want to get on that treadmill, or go to that gym and exercise?
Some relatively easier things are engaging in fun activities.
Sometimes we take ourselves too seriously. I used to have back-to-back meetings until September in my last job. And I knew I was needed as a director for diversity, equity, inclusion in this current world—so many needs—and it was a lot.
But I was not doing real recreational activities or fun things.
So as I'm saying these things, think: what did you do last week? What is your plan for next weekend? Some fun activities can be playing with your kids, with your pet, dancing, putting on some music.
I think dance, for me, is super, super fun. I come from India—Bollywood has a lot of good music. Think of those things. It'll bring your stress levels down.
And then—oh my God—phone. My biggest advice today is: just wanting to know more, hunting to know more. I'm guilty of being on the phone too much, so I'm trying to put boundaries there. Stay away from the phone.
And if you're on the phone, look at pet videos, fun videos, positivity videos.
For me, one of the things I look for is scriptures—encouraging scriptures. Somebody said “spiritual ability”—I love that, I'm gonna steal it.
No matter where we are, we can always pray, always meditate. Even if you're not religious, maybe just deep breathing. Those things go with us. It’s free.
If you're not very sick with breathing or lungs, we can deep breathe. And I don't want to say “always breathe,” because sometimes it can be a luxury in certain scenarios, so I want to acknowledge that. And then connecting with your inner self. If there's one thing you take today—one word—remember the word: connectedness. Connecting with love.
Connecting with ourselves, connecting with others. Connecting with myself: who am I? My values—what brings…
Sometimes we're so into our political rhetoric. Have you noticed yourself lately repeating things that were said by our favorite leader? Or name-calling this other leader that we don't like? But are those my values?
Did I grow up with an idea that when I grow up I'm gonna name-call this really bad person? Maybe not. Maybe my values were speaking my truth with respect. And if I'm focusing on my truth, maybe I don't have to name-call somebody. No matter what they are, we can call the issue the issue. We can name the problem. Maybe we don't have to name the person.
And then our faith. For me, as a Christian, I always think Jesus is the answer. I go back to my Bible. For you, it could be Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him; it could be Ram, Allah, Krishna, Jehovah—whatever the faith is. If you have faith, another place to connect deeply.
Connect with scriptures, not rhetoric. Not the divisive narrative coming in our algorithms and our social media. And then just being kind to ourselves. Very important.
Even when we are not able to exercise. When we pick up ice cream five times a day and eat it—it’s okay. We are going through something not very normal.
So let's be kinder to ourselves. The more we forgive ourselves, the better chances we will redirect ourselves, versus we keep hitting ourselves and then we sit down in discouragement. So forgiving ourselves, being kind to ourselves, loving ourselves is gonna help us.
These are some tips and reminders. There’s so much more we can do for self-care. In self-care trainings, we were told pedicure, manicure is good self-care. For me, no. I don’t like that.
For me, it’s fashion and style. Or painting doors in the house and the house looks nicer. Or cooking something from my culture. That's self-care.
So let's do something now. Let's go into small groups. Focus on what works for me—not what Anjana had on the slide, or what we read in literature….
What are some things I am doing to take care of myself right now?
What are some things I need to stop to better take care of myself?
What are two things I will start doing, or restart, for self-care?
This has to be personalized—what works for you.
Hollister | Euphrates:
Welcome back, everybody! Wow, everybody stayed until the very end, Anjana. Nobody came back in early.
So I think now is our opportunity to share back. Not a time to repeat everything from your closed circle, but an opportunity to share anything new that came up as you were listening to one another. Is that right, Anjana?
Anjana Dayal de Prewitt:
Anything new you learned, maybe, that you now want to do, or you want to stop?
Nathan Hult:
One thing we talked about—Evelyn in our group raised—and that was music. How music really settles you down. Music’s a wonderful way to communicate with others.
Ama Vunkannon:
Yeah, my groupmates mentioned that too. They reminded me there's music for every mood. Regardless of your mood, you find the right song, you can get it out.
Anjana Dayal de Prewitt:
Just don’t do too much sad music when you’re very, very sad, then you’ll just stay there. But if that’s what you feel like doing, do it also.
Quanta Dawn-Light:
I wanted to share something called quantum entanglement—that whatever happens wherever you are at that time, whatever you're thinking and doing is affecting something, even in the universe.
So therefore, when I sit at the table and have a cup of coffee, I connect with those who made that coffee, and the sugar, and the milk—possible for me to enjoy. I connect with them. I feel contentment and gratitude for their effort.
And because we're all one—when you feel that oneness, that's when you feel happy. Separation is unhappiness.
Anjana Dayal de Prewitt:
Thank you. That’s a deep one. Everything is profound, but this one for me is especially profound, because in my group, Valerie said something that I feel sometimes too—that we feel guilty for enjoying daily pleasures, knowing that so many people cannot.
But then—if I’m able to take a deep breath, and I’m able to sit there in prayer, or feel that breeze on my cheeks—we’re all connected. Maybe that healing will be passed down to somebody else as well. So let's continue to heal ourselves, do what we can, without feeling guilty. Because we're all connected.
Wazieh:
One thing that came up for me in the breakout room was Joyce shared that she focused on the good things happening. That struck me.
Sometimes a lot is happening and we focus on what's not working, but when she said so many good things are happening around us—instead of focusing on stress—focusing on what's good around us, what's good in our lives…it creates a balance. It's part of self-care.
So that resonated with me, and I'm taking that. So many good things are happening around us—in our lives.
Anjana Dayal de Prewitt:
Thank you. Okay, let's now go back to our slide deck, and then we talk about interpersonal support. Before I go into this, remember what you've heard. Take a deep breath and remember what resonated for you. Please do not forget it right after this meeting is over and you go back doing your own thing, okay? That’s a commitment we make to ourselves today.
Interpersonal support: what can we do to support and take care of our peers, our family members around us? Reaching out is really, really important.
One of my favorite calls last year was Katy just calling me and saying, “Hey, how are you doing?” No agenda. She didn’t have any ask of me. She knew I had just lost my job. She just called to check in.
She saw what I was feeling even though we weren’t in person. So let's reach out—to even those who we think will say something we don't agree with. It's okay.
If we're gonna start mending our little things, a little beautiful light will come out with that little relationship building. Send the energy into the universe. Everything is connected.
Reach out to those you think are part of your tribe, but even those you think are not in agreement. We don't have to immediately jump into disagreements. For me, I really like to talk to people who think differently.
One of my hairdressers would shampoo my hair and say something really weird that I cannot ever agree with, but I would just let her, be open, connect with her. Then we would talk about her daughter and her next move, and there’s a sisterhood we experience regardless of all of that periphery.
At a human-to-human level, there’s so much to share. Make an effort to connect at a human-to-human level—not the project activity, not the next call, not the agenda, not how much money we've raised. Treat each other with respect and dignity, no matter what.
Even in the moment, if you got angry, then forgive them later on. Ask for forgiveness if possible. Just try as much as we can. When we lean into respect and dignity, it leads to more peace. It leads to less stress. These are foundational, fundamental things. We were taught this in school. We're forgetting it sometimes.
We are so into our cause and our agenda that we are ready to disrespect, or name-calling, or this and that. Is it really feeding our soul? Is it really feeding our soul? Is it really feeding our community? And then, let's listen to each other to understand—to reflect and to grow.
I keep going back to this hairdresser. She would say things to me like, whoa—no, impossible. And now, with the Epstein files, a lot of what she was saying was actually happening. And now I feel really foolish for not, in the moment, being more open to what she was saying. I didn't come back and research what she was saying—some of what she said was actually happening.
So we are so good at dismissing somebody we don't agree with. But are we really truly listening to understand, to reflect, and to grow? So again, these are some ideas.
The way we can do listening to understand, reflect, and grow is by active listening—paying attention to their body language, but also to our body language.
Not just saying, “Oh, tell me more,” and you're really not interested. How are we really paying attention to what's not being said? Are we paraphrasing to really understand what they're saying? It's so easy to misunderstand people. Not just people who speak different languages, but those who speak the same language.
English speakers, Hindi speakers—how many times between siblings? My brother's trying to say something, I'm already jumping to a conclusion. But if I had paraphrased for him, maybe he would have told me, “No, that's not what I'm saying,” right?
Empathy. Am I trying to put myself in their shoes?
Right now, with the Iran situation and with Venezuela, there were people celebrating where their leaders were taken out. They were dancing, rejoicing, something they were yearning for. And there were people mourning that their leadership was taken out—those who live here, those who live still in the country.
And me, as somebody who's never lived in these countries—I don't understand the politics. What am I supposed to do? I'm supposed to empathize with both sides.
What's my duty in this moment? I shouldn't tell those who are mourning, “Oh no, you should be happy.” Or those who are happy, “No, you should be sad.” So those are some things that are important: empathize with who we are listening to, and accept their feelings, no matter what they are.
If we condemn it, correct them, stop them—they will hold back and that human-to-human connection will never happen.
So how do we be slightly patient and say, “Okay, let me empathize with what's being said.” Accept what's being said, continue the conversation, and maintain that connection. And this happens because we are all in connected communities—family, office, broader community of interest like Euphrates, or yoga class.
So let's listen with dignity and respect. Maintain confidentiality. Remember these pieces of active listening. This will help you go deeper with your fellow human beings.
Also actively listen to yourself too. Don’t forget: connecting with love—with myself and with the people around me. So what are some things that we need to do?
So let's go back and do a little more conversation amongst ourselves. How are we reaching out to our colleagues? Are we? If we are, how are we reaching out? Is it just for work? With what intention? What goals?
How can we improve our active listening skills? As peacebuilders, we're all good at listening—what little improvement can we make? And how often do we connect at human-to-human level in an authentic way? But really—five minutes—connecting, checking in, patiently listening.
Hollister | Euphrates:
We'll have ten minutes. You're all in the same rooms. But we'll spend ten minutes in these rooms and come back into the plenary session.
Anjana Dayal de Prewitt:
Okay. We’re going to skip the video and do a little more conversation, then end with final reflections. We will share the video, but it’s very American-context. The core message is focusing on commonality—there’s more commonality than division, even though division is real.
Debra Myers:
James was in my group, and his first thing was curiosity—having curiosity. If you come in curious instead of “I’ve got something to tell you,” it changes the whole experience.
Anjana Dayal de Prewitt:
Yes, thank you. And I would add humble curiosity.
Joy Schwentker:
If you genuinely love other people, you're interested in them. That goes along with curiosity. If you care, you're genuinely interested, and it's easy to connect.
James Offuh:
Improving our active listening—coming from a place of honoring the other person as an equal human goes a long way. Equal humanity. Shared kindness. Engage fully.
Anjana Dayal de Prewitt:
And I want to acknowledge: there are moments when we are not ready to reach out. That's okay too. If we don't have it, we can't give it. If I'm already angry and I reach out and start yelling, that's not helpful. So reach out when you're ready. There is nothing wrong with not being able to reach out.
Protecting your peace—safe space, sacred space—that's fine too.
Fran Faraz:
I just wanted to acknowledge something. There are two things, and I will share them quickly. We can talk about them later if anybody is interested.
In our meeting, I had this beautiful soul from Pakistan, and I mentioned to her how much I wanted to thank her for the girls that we have, and that Euphrates has helped bring from Afghanistan. Pakistan hosted these girls for a while until they found their final destination and their home.
I really thanked her because all the girls we talked to said that Pakistan was a good host to them and helped them through this transition time. Even some families took them in, made them food, and made them feel at home. I shared how much I appreciated that, and that I just wanted to find somebody from Pakistan and give my gratitude.
She said, “On the other side, we have learned so much from Afghan people. Under such difficult circumstances, they are so creative. With their crafts and so many things, we have learned so much from them.”
So even in recent days, with war going on between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the citizens of the two countries can still find such friendship and such heartwarming experiences with each other. So that’s one thing.
In relation to who we listen to, I just wanted to say that sometimes we don’t have to reach out to people when there is such division and they only want to talk about the divisions—about who is bad, who is wrong, and who has done what.
In this difficult time, I’m not interested in talking to people who only want to talk about polarization and about who is bad or wrong. I want to talk to people who really feel the hurt. They may not have the answers yet, but they feel the hurt. We can talk about it and show up for each other. Those are the people I count on and reach out to.
I don’t have the bandwidth to talk to people who constantly want to make others bad and wrong on one side or the other. It is the same thing unless we really feel the hurt. And then from that place, we can move forward.
Anjana Dayal de Prewitt:
I’m not so opposed to feeling pain.
Fran Faraz:
We have to feel the pain. From there, we can have humility, and from there we can move forward. Without feeling the pain, we can’t move forward. So that’s what I wanted to share. I’m happy to go into it later when there is time and space for it.
Anjana Dayal de Prewitt:
Thank you so much. Yes, you’re right—we also need to protect our peace.
Okay—three questions to leave you with:
First: Am I being compassionate towards myself? Do I need to step away from conversations that bring more stress? Take time off if needed.
Second: Am I being compassionate towards my peer? Channel compassion when I'm ready—not necessarily in their presence, but in my heart and mind. Start close: family, plants, environment. Then expand.
Third: How is my compassion connected to my work? Is my work a conduit for compassion to reach people?
Hollister | Euphrates:
Thank you, Anjana. Thank you everyone. We’ll meet again on April 7th. First Tuesday of every month. We spring forward on Sunday, so it’ll be slightly different for UTC.
Bring a friend—everybody is invited. And you don’t have to be “official” to be a peacebuilder. You can do it right in your corner of the world.
Thank you, Anjana, for tools to sustain ourselves as peacebuilders and carry that forward.