your letters
Thanks for this wonderful edition of Imagine (Fall
2016), which again lifts the bar high for other Cities
of Peace around the world to “imagine” how they
might contribute something to global peace. Please
convey my congratulations to the whole team in
Sedona. So nice to be working with professionals
who realize that peace must take its place among
the highest expressions and artistic endeavors of
humankind.
With respect and appreciation,
Fred Arment
Executive Director
International Cities of Peace
The creative design of Imagine sets the stage for the
articles, and the articles are the best part of all. I
read: “Can Compassion for Animals Lead to World
Peace?,” “The Heroic Impulse,” and “Empathy Is
the New Literacy.” I found them to be moving and
thought provoking. They made me contemplate
how these stories fit into my own life, how I have
lived my life, and how I could live my life. I found
the reads to be wonderfully written and revealing
of the inner truths of people’s lives and the under-
standing of humanity without being overly long,
but just long enough to sink into my mind.
Overall I feel you are doing something quite
remarkable here, something that fills a need in
the world. More than a niche magazine, this is a
compassionate service. I hope this venture of yours
spills out, like tributaries, around the globe to fill
the lives and hearts of humanity.
Sincerely,
Tashi Dawa (William North)
Sedona International City of Peace Executive Committee:
Paula Donnelly-Roark, Michael Iskowitz, Wib Middleton, Jane Perini,
Lori Rubenstein, Dawn Shattuck, and Margaret Joy Weaver
Managing Editor and Design: Jane Perini
FR O M THE EDIT O R
S
edona is a young city, having only incorporated itself
as such in 1988. It continually defines its emerging
character and ambitions by the people who choose to
move here, many artists among them. Even for those
who consider themselves generally bereft of artistic inspira-
tion, Sedona seems to encourage and tease out myriad forms
of self expression amongst residents and visitors alike.
In a climate where the fabric of society is undergoing
tumultous change and uncertainty, many yearn for ways to
experience and foster greater tolerance and social cohesion. As
a publication of Sedona International City of Peace, the staff at
Imagine thought it a good time to gather and share stories from
artists in Sedona and beyond that reveal just how the arts have
contributed and continue serve as a vibrant vehicle for connec-
tion, peace and social justice in our world.
In Sunday Larson’s article we discover how poets and writ-
ers worked together to profoundly influence the preservation of
magnificent wilderness areas in Southern Utah. Joanna Horton
McPherson and Annie Middleton share their firsthand experi-
ences of the power of theater to inform and inspire audiences
and actors towards beneficial social change. Sylvia Villalobos
tells us how the beauty of artfully designed rose gardens en-
gender peace and harmony in communities around the world.
Stories from visionaries, musicians, dancers, sculptors, painters,
even an aficiando on the artform of tea, fill the pages of this issue,
and it is inspiring to see the many ways love and peace naturally
arise and find expression in the arts. In fact, once we focused our
attention on this theme, the stories kept coming, so much so that
we didn’t have enough room for everything we wanted to print.
As a remendy, we decided to spill over into our fall issue with
full representation of our contributors.
In closing, and in the words of the German composer Robert
Schumann, “To send light into the darkness of men’s hearts, such
is the duty of the artist.” And, yes, in uncountable ways we are all
the artists of our lives, creating our collective reality in each mo-
ment. So let us take up our joyful charge as the artists we all are,
and offer the treasures of our hearts to a hungry world.
Imagine is published twice a year by the Sedona International City of Peace, a
nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering a culture of peace in Sedona and
beyond. View Imagine online at: www.sedonainternationalcityofpeace.org
IMAGINE l spring 2017 3