Maria Arpa
As the year ends it’s a great time to take stock of what has been achieved.
Work began in Dartmoor prison where we received some very positive feedback and in Wellington College. As well as these two major projects, we’ve intervened in families, workplaces, neighbourhoods and schools applying the Dialogue Road Map to change the conversation and create the conditions in which healing can take place, negotiation can be transacted in a state of calm and new directions can begin.
Today, though, I went to visit a prisoner that I trained in 2009. I explained how the Dialogue Road Map has developed and what my plans are for pushing the boundaries of what can be done in working with perpetrators of violent crime. He said, ‘if this methodology had been available to me all those years ago, the person I killed would be alive today’. So, I’m off to take a rest, reflect on the work and nourish my soul in preparation for 2017.
Before I finish for the year, I just want to take a moment to remember all the people around the world who are enduring unnecessary human suffering at the hands of a violent individual, system or policy and ask the question; what one thing can each of us do every day to ensure we don’t perpetuate it directly or indirectly?
I’d love to hear your responses.