A collaborative drawing from Andrea Kantrowitz's "Drawing Thought" workshop @ The Dorsky 12/7/24
Peace does not mean an absence of conflicts; differences will always be there. Peace means solving these differences through peaceful means; through dialogue, education, knowledge; and through humane ways…Today, more than ever before, life must be characterized by a sense of Universal responsibility, not only nation to nation and human to human, but also human to other forms of life.
-the Dalai Lama
I've been taking a cold plunge after I swim. I can only get in up to my waist and only for a minute or two. Occasionally I share the small well of water with others, some up to their necks. They cheer me on, start a conversation, a communal effort, our connection solidified without politics.
There's scientific evidence that cold plunges reduce inflammation and cortisol levels. If nothing else, the cold water is bracing, it forces attention away from the chatter in our heads, negative or positive. I recommend it as an amusing interlude, too, as I always exit the plunge laughing. It's a respite from the world's woes, my aching aging bones, and deadline journalism. This week I interviewed Peter Zalmayev, my Ukrainian American broadcast friend, in New Zealand where he's on a 25 nation tour of the Global South to bolster support for Ukraine as the Trump administration takes hold. I tried to stay positive as I was talking to Peter, but like so many friends, family and colleagues, I have never felt so worried about continuing support for Ukraine and the survival of the American Experiment. It's been a helluva week. So, on Saturday, I took another cold plunge, metaphorically speaking, and went to a "collaborative drawing workshop" at the Dorsky Museum on the SUNY New Paltz campus facilitated by Professor Andrea Kantrowitz who has written, and illustrated, a book called Drawing Thought.
It was a joyful, peaceful experience. We sat in groups of three and worked on timed drawings together, passing the paper to our right at Andrea's direction. The results were remarkable, albeit weird, but the sensation of collaborative accomplishment was a model of humane, compassionate endeavor. One can only imagine what might happen if the Ukrainians and the Russians sat around their upcoming negotiating table drawing together. Admittedly, an insane thought, as bracing and enjoyable as a cold plunge.