Would that we human beings would realize the best thing to do on a hot summer day is to stretch out under a tree and let the world go by.

Is this really what I was seeing last year at this time? It seems like a dream.

We must believe in peace, especially when it seems impossible.

Don't you think if world leaders would sit and talk in this Washington, DC park instead of in the White House, we'd have a better chance of peace?

In times of war it is even more essential that we think for ourselves. And that always takes courage.

This is the face of a 21 year-old American soldier who has just returned home from fighting in Iraq. He said it is a crazy war that made him crazy. Victims all.

I found this beautiful sunflower growing/glowing outside the Iraqi embassy in Washington, DC. I wonder if flowers still bloom in Baghdad?

Whenever life offers opportunities for growth that push your limits, find a tree to befriend you. It can offer the comfort and grounding you need. This is my current best friend without whom I don't know where I'd be.

Be careful what you choose to embody. It just might take you at your word.

Our fears are scales on the skin peace is determined to shed.

How can we ignore their cries?

We each must do whatever we can to stop the tears of the innocents.

Anyone who thinks children don't understand the horrors of war should look closely at this little boy's picture.

If we are fortunate enough to live in peace, it is our responsibility to remain conscious of and connected to our sisters and brothers who do not. By holding them in our hearts we can bring them the peace they need to stay centered. And they can bring us the gift of suffering we need to stay real.

When I especially need comfort, the gaze of a child like this is all I need.

Air conditioning isn't the only way to stay cool on a hot summer day!

Wars wound hearts as well as bodies. Not knowing if your loved ones are safe is an open wound that cannot heal until peace has come.

No one I know has ever seen a white squirrel, yet there s/he was today, doing what squirrels do: digging in the dirt, climbing a tree, bounding across the grass. Seeing such an unusual sight gives me hope. Maybe we don't know as much as we think we do. Maybe peace is possible, even in the Middle East.

An hour after I'd admired these pink clouds in the harbor near my home, my family in Lebanon saw the pink skies of Israeli bombs attacking the airport near their home. How could similarly colorful skies elicit such different responses? And why should my loved ones have to experience war while I continue to live in peace? Where is the justice in that?

Peoples of the world, may we recognize our shared humanity and learn to live in peace.

Those who can hold beauty and suffering in their hearts without favoring one over the other are the most fully human among us.

When we know that atrocities are being committed in our name yet go on about our lives as if nothing is wrong, doesn't that erode our humanity?

Why did we send men to the moon? That orb of light is meant for magic not footprints.

Hydrangea changes color depending on the acidity of the soil. Don't we all?

Whenever we hear ourselves or those around us making prejudiced remarks based on someone's physical attributes, especially their color or size, perhaps we should consider how ridiculous we humans must look to a cat--huge, furless, walking on only two legs, with no tail to speak of.

A new camera gives me new eyes. How I wish these eyes could see peace in the Middle East.

If we build our dreams for peace too close to the edge of wishful thinking, they will wash away in the first high tide.

Just who are the REAL patriots?

Instead of America celebrating our independence, wouldn't we do better to celebrate our interconnectednesss?

A butterfly creates new life by following its passion. So do we.

When everyone has their turn in the center of the circle, world peace is closer than we think.