In December of 2003, I first experienced The Open Book Peace Project (OBPP). I use the word experienced because the OBPP captures more than just one’s attention, it energizes the spirit.
I had stopped in at a local church one day when Catherine Tszybinski, the artist who conceived the idea for the OBPP, and its most ardent nurturer, was visiting. Inviting those present to create a page for the book, she spoke about the project’s mission to “…explore, understand, and cultivate peace…to defy expectations and make people rethink their notions of what is possible, in both books and peace.”

She explained how its colorful handmade sheets of papers would be used to carry their uniquely artistic and written messages of peace around the world. Using colored pencils, pens, handmade rubber stamps, and other creative tools, participants expressed their ideas about the many faces of peace: while some focused on world peace, others wrote and drew about inner peace, justice, freedom, poverty, and much more.

The OBPP has a profound effect on both those who are awed by just seeing it and those who have contributed their own pages. Trzybinski’s passion for the project overflows with a contagious effect, which is why I became involved in bringing it to Thresholds, a nonprofit recovery organization for people living with psychological and social difficulties.

Once a recipient of the services offered by Thresholds and now a part of its staff, I view the OBPP as an incredible opportunity for both members and staff to collectively express themselves about a subject that impacts all our lives.

At this time, as the OBPP goes through the process of becoming a not-for-profit organization, those committed to its mission and perpetuity (all of whom are volunteers) are enthusiastically optimistic. May its tangible presence, and the ideals literally bound within it, create peacemakers of us all.