Last Week's Conversation

I’ve been working at the Red Victorian for about a month now, and I’m consistently inspired by the conversations that take place here. Every day is a good day for Peaceful World Conversation at the Red Vic, but our official conversations are Sunday morning at 9am. Every Sunday morning, it’s a mystery: will people come today?  And yet by 9:05 I always find myself sitting at the big round table in the front of the café with at least seven people. No one is committed or required to come- but the magic of the conversations pull people in week after week, month after month, year after year. We’ve been having these conversations for 30 years now.

Sami Sunchild leads the conversations, and every week there is a slightly different topic or approach. What every week’s conversation has in common is that people get to know each other in unexpected ways. Sami has a knack for creating a space where everyone feels comfortable speaking openly about their visions for the world, what they are doing in their lives, and how they hope to connect their passions with their vision.

People from around the world find similarities in their work. A few weeks ago, elementary school teachers from New Zealand, North Carolina, and Napa County were present, and they all exchanged ideas about fostering community and teaching peace in the classroom. I saw two young men travelling for the first time, looking for something different outside of their small town in Missouri, connect with seasoned travelers and get that much closer to finding the people working on creating the world they wanted to see.

Last week, a woman named Kathy, one of the many guests at the Bed and Breakfast who is associated with a patient receiving care at the nearby UCSF Medical Center, was a part of the conversation. Kathy told a story of great tragedy, spanning the past few years in her life, from her husband’s sudden death to her step-father and father’s death. Her life took a 180 degree turn as she left her career of several decades as a nurse for Connecticut Poison Control Center to care for her family members. She was in San Francisco with her aunt, who had just been diagnosed with cancer and giving six months to live, a patient at UCSF.

Like many guests who come through, Kathy found that the community conversation was a much needed supportive space, outlet, and oasis from the difficulties of day-to-day life.

Kathy told us that she had bought one of Sami’s posters- Choosing- for her Aunt’s room, and that it had been significant for her. She said the nurses liked it as well, so she bought a second one for their office.

Here’s the choosing poster.

The mission of the Peaceful World Foundation is:

"To promote all kinds of peace in the world by giving my art to awaken and to fuel the personal responsibilities of those whose lives I touch."

We encourage everyone to host their own peaceful world conversations, anywhere in the world they might be! You can find information on how to do that here and here.