An April of Conferences

April 2016 has been a month I've been looking forward to since last summer. I had culminating conferences in three different groups that I am a part of. After months of planning, I was expecting April to stressful. Instead, it was wholly inspiring.

After the Baltimore Yearly Meeting's Peace Networking Day on April 2, I wrote "First one down and a success!" I had a powerful conversation on the drive to the event with a peace activist, and I shared with him the discomfort I feel in the way he presents a message of peace (sometimes he makes peace sound like an exclusive club). I appreciated the opportunity to speak truth to power. The conference was combined with a Youth Peace Day hosted by SSFS. It was wonderful that the two conferences coincided because it was inspiring to see the work that students are doing for peace. As a whole, the day was full of exciting collaborations, from which I learned a great deal from my peers and was able to envision all of what Bethesda Friends Meeting is capable of!

The SR TEDx conference was themed "The Mystery of the World," and the talks were consistently thoughtful and deepening. They offered all of us new ways of approaching the world around us. At the time I wrote that, "TEDx feels like a mascot for all the work I do" because it had a spirit of social action. It was inspiring to have a broad audience exposed to such positive an encouraging messages. The greatest part was that my stepmother was one of those incredible speakers. I was so proud!

Finally, last weekend I had the Quaker Palestine Israel Network Collaboration. It was an amazing opportunity to connect with people who share my passion and values. One of the themes was that investing in peace takes head and heart. It helped me to feel comfortable taking on stand for the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement as the most authentic form of solidarity with the Palestinians and the most promising means of supporting the Palestinians in having a voice in peace talks. What a powerful reminder that pacifism isn't passive.

I'm coming out of this month a more grounded woman than when I entered it. So much of my time is put into activities that help me to be the change I want see in the world. This month helped me to see that it's worth it.