09/21/2020
Dear Peacelights,
It’s been a long time since you heard from me, and so much has happened in the world. I pray that you are faring reasonably well.
I’ve tried to write this post many times but felt overwhelmed with emotion and so many things to say. However, today, the International Day of Peace, seems like the perfect opportunity to honor and thank all of you in the Peacelights community and update you on my endeavors.
At our last Connect for Peace event two years ago, I was deeply moved by the support of the wonderful peace activist community from NYC and abroad. It was our 9th year, and somehow it felt like a completion to me. Peacelights had lived through its original purpose. It needed to grow or fold, I thought. When I looked inside myself, I understood that I was not the right person to do the work to grow Peacelights organizationally. Others are doing this much better than I ever could. I invite you to visit https://we.we.net for a list of amazing organizations that are doing important peace work.
My authentic expression is artistic and subjective rather than organizational and political. It became clear to me that it was time for me to return to my roots of storytelling. My passion for decades, as many of you know, was directing theatre. I have recommitted to my creative work and am now focused on visual storytelling through filmmaking. This is where I can best continue our shared mission to bring peace to ourselves and the world.
This year I completed my first short film, “31”, a fantasy tale about how a woman’s agency over her own life changes an old soul’s view of human love. It was selected at New York Shorts International Film Festival and Top Shorts Festival and won a Woman Filmmaker Award at the Best Shorts Competition. I am now enrolled in an MFA in Filmmaking at Stony Brook University, and so excited about the possibilities.
As I reflect on this transition, I am reminded of The Four Waves of Peacelights, which I wrote as the organizing principle of our work:
The Wave of Inner Work - integrating all aspects of ourselves.
The Wave of the Feminine and the Masculine - uniting the interconnected and inseparable halves inside of us and in the world.
The Wave of Creativity - living our uncensored and innocent expression.
The Wave of Relationships - consciously defining our relationship maps.
The waves all have to do with embracing what is authentic for us. This is the work of a Peacelight and how we shine. My wish for you is that you continue to work the waves and keep shining your beautiful unique expression. More about the waves here: http://www.peacelights.org/the-4-waves-of-peacelights/
Our world is in transformation, the future is ours to shape. Peacelights did a series of wonderful events, but truly, we are the Peacelights. Shine on my friends!
With love,
Joumana Rizk
Founder, Peacelights
P.S: If you'd like updates on my work in film, please follow me on https://www.instagram.com/joumanarizk/
