Today was my last day on the run. Although I am not a writer I feel inspired to leave some closing thoughts.

It never ceases to amaze me how a simple flaming torch can bring people together and break down barriers.

All of us find ourselves building up walls and thinking more about ourselves and less about our sisters and brothers. We forget that we are all one family, the human family, regardless of the religion we practice, the color of our skin, the language we speak or lifestyle we choose to live.

We are all one.

When we run with the torch people open up. They open their hearts, their minds and their awareness. Children experience this spontaneously. When they see the flame and they light up with joy immediately. I feel so fortunate to experience this friendship and oneness that would otherwise be closed off. All of us need to start feeling this connection with other people in our neighborhoods, our countries and the world. I sincerely feel that the World Harmony Run will continue to blossom, unite and inspire people to seek harmony in their own hearts and from this to feel part of the universal family.

I would also like to offer my gratitude to all the community and socially minded hotels and restaurants that have self-givingly supported us on the Run with no expectation of return. All the runners consider you part or our team and appreciate your encouraging support. Without your assistance we could never visit the number of schools, community groups and cities that we do.

There is one person I would most like to thank and that is the founder of the Run, international humanitarian and world harmony advocate, Sri Chinmoy . Without his inspiring encouragement and vision for the Run, none of us could run the distances that we do and meet the personal challenges that we face everyday on this long journey. At a time when my leg was causing me great pain and discomfort, Sri Chinmoy’s affection, concern and advice gave me the strength to push through my own boundaries and believe that all limitations are truly self-imposed.

Gratitude! Gratitude! Gratitude!

Homagni

Today was the first real day of the intense heat that lies ahead of us. As we drove to our starting point in southwest Oklahoma we passed a sign with the first triple digit temperature we have seen. It read 100 degrees Fahrenheit! That’s about 35 Celsius! It was still before noon and getting hotter. Luckily some of the humidity had dissipated, but not all. Also the strong winds had died down but now we wished we had more of a breeze to cool us down a bit.

There were miles and miles of rolling hills surrounded by pastures and fields of young wheat and haystacks. The dark red earth was still visible and frequently cracked- the first sign of desert like-terrain. A few cactus now sprouted amongst the wild flowers on the side of the road. Heat waves warped the road ahead, mirages tricking the eyes, concealing dips in the road and blurring the oncoming traffic.

The recent departure of two of our runners, Michal and Homagni, who had to return home to New York, meant a couple of extra miles for each of the remaining 10 runners. In this climate, another few miles was very hard work. Drained from the days run in the stifling heat with a flaming torch to add a few more degrees, some of us collapsed into the hotel swimming pool, trying to recover for the hot road ahead as we enter into Texas tomorrow and the desert soon after that.

Damon and Team Harmony

We had an exciting welcome at the Eisenhower School in Oklahoma City today as four hundred children were waving flags and banners along both sides of the driveway as we ran in. We were welcomed by Principal Angela Houston during a ceremony that included the Pledge of Allegiance and a recitation of the school creed which has elements of our theme of world harmony beginning within each individual. A lovely choir of about 40 students very beautifully sang the World Harmony Run song which was composed by Sri Chinmoy, the founder of the Run. Our runners then joined in along with hundreds of students watching with excitement and enthusiasm.

There was also a contingent of students from the Spencer Elementary School and Principal Linda Matthews who so kindly arranged for the children to come by bus. We are so grateful to her for her enthusiastic participation in our events for many years.

Our Oklahoma State Representative, who is an accomplished long distance runner herself, spoke to the children about physical fitness and presented us with a proclamation from the Governor, welcoming the runners and celebrating their contribution to humanity by designating May 28, 2005 as World Harmony Run Day in Oklahoma.

We are very grateful to all the Oklahomans who have made our run and stay in Oklahoma over the past few days a very welcoming and warm one. We are grateful to those who offered us so much from the two schools we visited today, including Principals Angela Houston and Linda Matthews. We also would like to thank Irma Diaz-Lane for all her work organizing this wonderful event and for the participation of Michelle Drawhorn, Miss Becjek and all the staff here at Eisenhower and Spencer. Also a special thanks and congratulations to the great job as Master of Ceremonies, Zaylii Silas, a fourth grader at Eisenhower. She was very poised and confident as she cheerfully announced each performance and guest speaker.

Sutusthi Lang and Team Harmony

I would like to add a special note about an experience that Jeromy and I had before leaving Oklahoma City. Jeromy grew up here in O.K. City, so he wanted to visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial which was built on the site of the former Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building that was a victim of a sad bombing incident ten years ago on April 19. I had visited the site back then, only a month after it had happened. Since then I have visited the memorial twice and this time with Jeromy.

We met up with a few people from the Friendship Force, a group of individuals dedicated to programs promoting friendship and harmony around this country and the world. We could not spend much time with them, but it was a fortunate coincidence that we should be there at the Memorial at the same time. We hope to learn more about their work soon.

Each time I visit the National Memorial it makes me feel even more committed to the work we are trying to do on the World Harmony Run. We are stressing and sharing the principles of human beings living together in harmony. This harmony has to be the responsibility of each individual and spread one person at a time, like the passing of the torch of hope and understanding. Each individual is important here on this grand and beautiful planet. It only takes one or just a few persons to cause so much destruction and suffering for so many others as we have seen in Oklahoma City and elsewhere. So on the contrary, each individual can have a positive effect on the world around them or a negative one. If we each take the responsibility to offer something positive and harmonious to the world, then the future will be bright with hope and promise and happiness.

We visit many schools and children because we feel that they embody that hope and promise for a brighter world. If we can share some of our positive enthusiasm and hard work towards a better future, we are certain that the torch of harmony and love will be passed on to the future generations.

Oklahoma has uplifted our spirits and given us more reason to keep going as we run with the torch of harmony everyday to pass this message and inspiration along throughout the whole country. As part of a worldwide event, we feel that we have plenty of support and understanding as we connect individual to individual, community to community and eventually country to country in a spirit of harmony and oneness.

Gratefully,

Arpan and Team Harmony

Gratitude to Bob and Ana Redaelli, owners of the Holiday Inn in Elk City for such wonderful accommodations.

We are grateful to Sandra Graham, manager of Scholtzsky’s Deli for providing us with delicious sandwiches.

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