Cooperation, Tolerance and Love: A Community Poem

Cooperation, Tolerance and Love; A Community Reflection

Submitted by Crystal Blanton, NCLC

Some of the work I do in my day job includes restorative justice. For several years now, I have been bringing Restorative Justice (RJ) work to PantheaCon and other festivals.  This year we did an RJ community building circle on the PantheaCon topics of Tolerance, Cooperation and Love. Part of this circle was to write a sentence, word or thought concerning these topics. With everyone's contribution, we created a community poem. 

Below is the outcome. Nobody knew what others were writing. The comments are presented in the exact order of the seating in the circle.  We didn't rearrange the words at all. Out of this work, a beautiful poem was created. 

Enjoy,

Crystal Blanton

First Officer of Northern California Local Council

Cooperation, Tolerance and Love; A Community Reflection

By the community of Pantheacon's Restorative Justice 2013 circle

Bringing safety and authenticity to connection.

The tears when grief and joy, sorry and loss, pain and love, and connection are all one.

Cooperation allows for everyone to win.

Becoming one.

And now we're all friends.

Close your eyes and listen....

Together we build.

Building bridges all together.

Cooperation is the art of acting out a shared vision.

Empathy.

Stretch your soul.

Adds sweetness to life.

Zowie!

If we as a race could practice tolerance and love, we could reach the objective of peace for mankind.

Love expresses tolerance developing into cooperation.

Love is the light that saves, shines, and serves.

Showing my very best, my sweetest self.

Tolerance because it works.

I feel the line where your skin ends and mine begins.

When strangers meet and see beyond fear and lack, beyond us and them, an unfolding begins, delicate and precious.

Together more alike than not.

This is where we make our peace; our piece to share and hear; our peace to hear, shared in safety.

Space to love, time to be, a place to be together.