At times, the world can feel scary and overwhelming and violent and harmful and a million other negative adjectives. I know I’m not alone in this thought. This week, I sought solace here, at the Angel of Peace in Munich.
There’s something to be said for the comfort that comes with visiting monuments or significant places. Religious people may seek comfort inside the walls of churches/mosques/synagogues/etc. Those who have lost a loved one may seek comfort in cemeteries.
When I originally decided to visit the Friedensengel — the Angel of Peace — for the Alphabet Challenge, I envisioned myself sitting upon the stone steps below the statue, sketching or writing or meditating on the idea of peace. If you watch my vlog, you’ll see that the rainy weather interrupted that plan. Yet I was struck with new inspiration.
I searched for poems about peace and found this piece by Maya Angelou, titled “On the Pulse of Morning.” I copied down a part my favorite stanza, but please either read or listen to Maya Angelou read this stunning poem in full:
Each of you, a bordered country,
Delicate and strangely made proud,
Yet thrusting perpetually under siege.
Your armed struggles for profit
Have left collars of waste upon
My shore, currents of debris upon my breast.
Yet today I call you to my riverside,
If you will study war no more.
Come, clad in peace, and I will sing the songs
The Creator gave to me when I
And the Tree and the Rock were one.
I know it takes far more work than visiting a monument or copying down a poem to actually achieve peace in this world. We must have difficult conversations; we must educate ourselves; we must be open, and vulnerable, and brave. Paradoxically, sometimes we must fight.
Still, this felt like a step in the right direction. As shown in the vlog, I left the monument feeling lighter. Feeling ever so slightly closer to understanding my part in the world and my connection to others.
As promised in the video, here is some information about the Friedensengel from the Munich website & Wikipedia:
In 1895, the Prince Regent Luitpold Foundation launched a competition for the erection of a monument commemorating the victory in the Franco-German War of 1870 to 1871 and thanking the blessings of peace.
The six-meter-high angel of peace is a representation of the goddess of victory, Nike. She holds an olive branch in her right hand as a symbol of peace, and in her left hand the Palladion, an image of the goddess Athena, who stands for battle and wisdom.
The foundation stone for the Angel of Peace was laid on May 10, 1896 and the monument was inaugurated on 16 July 1899. Because the gilded figure threatened to fall decades later, it was taken down in 1981; the goddess of victory was not able to turn her gaze to Munich again until 1983.
For the centenary in 1999, all individual parts of the monument were cleaned, repaired and the angel was wrapped in a new dress made of gold leaf.
In the hall of the temple there are four large-scale Art Nouveau mosaics made of glass blocks. They represent allegories of war, victory, peace and prosperity.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on achieving peace, or at least moving the needle in the right direction.
Honestly? I’d also love to hear your favorite peace poem or quote or the place you visit when you’re desperately in need of solace.
Thanks for being here.💛
If you’d like to watch more of my Alphabet Challenge, check out the previous vlogs:
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