History and Philosophy

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November 4
 Bloggers from all across the globe
will blog for peace.
We will speak with one voice.
One subject
One day

What is it? A small group of bloggers answered a challenge I tossed one angst-filled October day in 2006.  I wanted to know what would happen if all bloggers everywhere signed their name across a globe and all posted the SAME POST on the SAME DAY. I created a graphic and made the first one.  I asked them to write "Dona nobis pacem" which is Latin for "grant us peace" across the graphics image and post it on their blogs in November.  Fifty-two people responded enthusiastically and soon it began to spread like a beautiful lyric across the internet.

It was the Internet's first ever online movement of its kind to invite bloggers to post the same message on the same day. From blog to blog it has moved and continues to grow. It is a virtual inscription of hope. We have been amazed to see the power and passion shown each year displayed on pages across the world. We visit each other with our prayers and scribbles, prose and poetry, art and angst, heart and hilarity - and are moved by it every single time. There is something magical about the peace globes. Something I can't explain. But everyone who participates will tell you that very thing.

What we have built since 2006 is a core of distinct and remarkable individuals called "peace bloggers."  They write. They draw. They paint beautiful words and images. They help and encourage each other. They may differ in philosophy and politic, but they find a way to peaceably debate. And then they sign their names to a promise. To a hope. To a dream we all have. To one day live in a world of peace.
Not all of them blog. Many blog peace on Facebook and Twitter. All have earned a special place in my heart.

They continue to amaze me with their inspiration and dedication to the peace globes, which now fly in 60+ countries and countless provinces and cities across the world. They are housed in an online gallery here and shown daily throughout the year on thousands of blogs. Every November 4th - which is my grandfather's birthday - we fly them in unity. We launch a new BlogBlast For Peace. We hear new stories. We welcome newbie peace bloggers. We learn about the world around us, how alike we all are, how human. It is a beautiful thing to behold.

This man, my Papa, is the reason I hold tight to the peace globes. Read his story below. I wonder if he knows what an inspiration he's become to so many... long after he left this world. I wonder if he knew that earth wrapped marble would become a symbol of peace and hope.  He was that to me. And now he is that to you.

Papa's Marbles ~ How It All Began

The Silence Of Peace BlogBlast For Peace #1    I used to say we were an invisible online world. I no longer believe that.  I've watched how the peace movement has deepened in meaning. I've encountered tangible proof that the best things in life are intangible. Your words. On thousands of pages you've written your dreams and hopes. Each time someone blogs for peace they send out a ripple of hope, of truth, of tolerance, that attaches itself to the next ripple and the next. Our pond is a little bigger now. But the premise remains simple. We simply blog peace. The world has to hear. Dona nobis pacem...grant us peace. If enough of us say it, if enough of us believe it, if enough of us live it.....that has to be a positive force in the world. I believe in its power.  Why?

Because I believe in the inherent goodness of people, deep down, to do the right thing. If I didn't, there would be no reason to hope for change. In our individual trials and collectively as humankind, there has to be a spark of goodness in every soul.  We were made for greatness. 

We won't get there without the goodness.

Peace bloggers are good folk.

Last year we decided to nail our purpose to the page. I challenged them (and now you) to come up with one reason each day during the 100 days leading up to November 4, 2011. It was called "100 Days 100 Reasons To Blog4Peace".
The posts have already inspired me and so any others. Many people posted their reasons in Facebook statuses each day. It was amazing to see. The year of 2012 peace globes will bring something new as well.  Peace bloggers are always coming up with new ways to spread the word.

I don't know what force led me to find a blue globe graphic and throw out a peace challenge. I don't know what manner of spirit or luck or destiny led me to my grandfather's marbles that night.

But there's a certain inexplicable electricity that accompanies faith fueled with the audacity to believe in something bigger than yourself.  This movement has a power all its own. 

I respect that. 

Our motto remains the same

If words are powerful....then this matters.

Please join us.

How To Blog4Peace The short version: 3 STEPS

1. Save and Sign. Choose any graphic on this page. Right click and Save.

 Decorate it or leave as is.

2. Send the finished globe to blog4peace@yahoo.com or TAG Mimi Lenox on Facebook

3. Post it anywhere online November 4 and title your post Dona Nobis Pacem (Latin for Grant us Peace)  hashtag #blog4peace  #blogblast4peace

We are a beautiful community of peace-lovers. Thank you for being here.

©Mimi Lenox All Rights Reserved

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