The first part of the team went out into the cold and windy morning to run over 30 miles with their first stop at the Raintree Montessori School in Lawrence, Kansas. The other two teams, mine being one of them, were at the Holiday Inn Holidome where we stayed the night before, working on various projects and having some R. and R. time as well.

It's windy in Kansas.

Working on stories, photos, scheduling, maintaining the R.V. and other jobs such as lunches, etc. can take hours. A short dip in the pool and Jacuzzi can also take a bit of time out of the morning and is sometimes essential for recuperation of stressed muscles and nerves.

The children at the Montessori School were thrilled at the arrival of the torch.

The whole team met at the Raintree Montessori School by 11:00 a.m. with a local cable T.V. station and a radio station waiting for us. It is always nice to have some media to cover our events and share it with as many people as possible. At the school there were about 200 children and teachers waiting for us excitedly in a small outdoor amphitheater.

We offered the children our introductions and thoughts on harmony, sang our theme song with them and then passed the torch around while we listened to some poems written by the children on the theme of harmony and peace. One selection, written by Sarah Lieberman, goes:

“This is our world hand and hand we stand near with no fear this is the perfect space for a perfect place.”

Erik absorbs the joy from his enthusiastic audience.

It was such a joy to see how children can express their yearning for a more harmonious world. We then ran with the children around the schoolyard with the torch being carried by Joe, one of the teachers who helped organize this event for us.

Ulegbeck proudly flies his country’s Flag in the schools geography room.

Enjoying a delicious and healthy meal afterwards with the children in their large classrooms, we got to know them better and they were able to ask us questions about the run.

“Your message is what our school is all about,” .

Principal Leanna Mc Reynolds and other administrators and teachers all invited us back next year and we gladly accepted. They even offered to put us up in family houses for the night next time and wanted us to spend more time with them.

The Mayor’s Representative welcomes the Runners to Lawrence, Kansas.

This indeed was a true gesture of genuine friendship and harmony.

Strangers one minute and good friends the next, we left there knowing that the bonds of harmony and goodwill can create powerful and meaningful ties between people from all corners of the globe instantly. After signing a few autographs for the children and even having them sign theirs for us, we were off once more to carry their wishes with us to the next destinations of the day.

Eight year old Gabriel chucked his fishing pole for the chance to carry the torch for a spirited quarter mile.

As my team was running south in Kansas out of Garnett, we were approaching Bangshidhar running with someone else holding the torch. He was a short boy, probably only eight years old or so, running at full speed next to Bangshidhar on the shoulder of the road. No one else was around. How did he get there all alone? Upon further investigation we found out that this boy Joseph was dropped off by his grandmother, Joy, who then went to get his brother Gabriel and Dalton and a friend named Charlie. They were fishing at a local lake and saw our runner passing by. Most people would just scratch their head and wonder what this was all about or maybe stop us to ask what it was were doing. But the spontaneous and genuine oneness of these fine people motivated them to run with us even though they were no older than 11 years or so. We are grateful to ‘Grandma’ Joy Dalton and the boys for making this part of our run something special in Kansas.

Some other curious locals.

I was also stopped by a curious local running into Garnett who stopped her car and took some photos of me running with the torch. She asked some questions and then told me that even though she was not from the local newspaper that she would like to send this information and photo to the newspaper in Garnett.

Most people just pass us by while traveling to and from work at rather high speeds making it unlikely that they would stop for such a strange sight of a stranger running on the side of the road carrying a lit torch. But those who do make an effort to stop really give us the ‘fuel’ to keep going day after day, along with the fine people who know we are coming and go out of their way to share with us their harmony and goodwill.

We ended the day in Chanute, Kansas with wonderful accommodations at the Tioga Suites Hotel thanks to the kindness and generosity of Todd Johnson. His Aunt Sharon was very kind to us as well and we deeply appreciate their understanding of our endeavors and their contributions to world harmony. The hotel is a classic old building totally updated but retaining its original character. Each room is named after famous figures in history such as Lewis and Clark, Amelia Earhart, Dwight Eisenhower, Judy Garland, etc. It is a great place for anyone to check out, or to check into when traveling south on Route 169 in eastern Kansas.

Arpan and Team Harmony

After two weeks with the World Harmony Run team, it is time for me to leave the mountaintop. It has been a tremendous blessing to have the opportunity to travel with this group and with this ideal, devoting every moment of each day to supporting the team and its mission. And I leave off this year where I began my run last year—in my original home state of Oklahoma. It is not every day that one gets the opportunity to run through 11states talking to schools and random folks about the real possibility of harmony in the world. It is indeed every day, though, that we have the opportunity to do something just as significant. We can cultivate the dream of harmony and also bring it from dream to reality in silent, small ways each day. I am grateful for the adventure on the road and look forward to the adventure of each day that comes. Thank you team for your dedication, and thank you Sri Chinmoy for the inspiration that makes this World Harmony Run a significant reality.

Gratefully,

Jeromy

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