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Baring All for Peace

By Cynthia Ward Cooper

I spent last Saturday afternoon getting naked for peace.

The event occurred at Lake Lavon, 45 minutes northeast of Dallas, where two friends and I joined 40 other women to advocate for peace. The organizer was inspired by the Bare Witness [www.barewitness.org] movement, which is rapidly gaining popularity around the world.

The mood was festive. The woman who owned the property had prepared a small feast for us, which we ate as we casually introduced ourselves. The group included filmmakers, architects, writers, educators, artists, librarians, nurses, mothers, businesswomen, and women in the healing arts.

After a brief orientation, we hiked to the location, a small peninsula overlooking the lake. The letters "PEACE" had been staked out on the ground, and we were told to pull out the pink sheets, towels, and blankets we had brought. The three of us were part of the letter "P", along with three other women.

There was some waiting while everyone got into place. Even though we were on a hill, we attracted more than our share of fishing boats, to our great amusement. A documentary filmmaker roved around, capturing the moment. Some women sang (including one who insisted on doing--ick!--"Kumbaya"), and others meditated or beat drums. We "Women of the P" were a little more irreverent.  There was a true spirit of camaraderie, a real sense of purpose, around us.

When we were in place, we were directed to disrobe and to lie on our backs, stretching our hands to the next person's feet. We did so, and soon heard the photographer's helicopter approach. (Both the photographer and the pilot were women, making this an all-female endeavor.)  It came around twice, and then suddenly, it was over, and we were getting dressed. It was almost anticlimactic.

The picture was released to all the Dallas-area newspapers, and will be on the Baring Witness [www.baringwitness.org] website.

In her statement to the press, the organizer said, "Peace isn't a feeling, it's an action. It's a dialogue that starts with a few people and grows, person by person. Forty-three women have started the conversation. And every time they talk about it, every time they show someone the photo, they're spreading the message even more."

t was a small but important statement to make, and I'm very glad to have been a part of it.

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