On Sunday, November 9, 2025, the AIMC Arts and Crafts Group — featuring Cynthia Copeland, Anne Engelhardt, Margot Geist, Pamela Heater, Sandra Munoz-Puga, Kathy Toupal, Julie Cabell, and Vikki Nagelis — offered an afternoon celebration of Peace and Goodwill at Albuquerque Insight Meditation Center.
AIMC was packed as we unveiled 1,000 origami cranes and heard from our very own peacenicks: Suzanne Kryder (Peace Talks Radio) and James Jenko (The Wire-Walker). They spoke on the nature of peace and how delusion, greed, and hatred can obscure it in our lives and in the world.
This event marked the completion of a seven-month project to fold 1000 cranes. The artful sangha crafted more than 2,000 (strands and senbazuru) cranes as our offering for hope, peace, and goodwill. In Japan, the folding of 1,000 cranes are associated with the granting of a wish. We were inspired by the story of Sadako Sasaki, who was just two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Though she survived the blast, she later developed leukemia. While in the hospital, Sadako began folding paper cranes, drawing on a Japanese legend that one who folds 1,000 cranes is granted a wish. She wished for healing and for peace. She died at the age of twelve. Her legacy has become a global symbol of the wish for peace.
Our ailing world needs healing. We felt that perhaps the gesture of 1000 cranes could be a guide and help for this healing. We felt this in community as our busy hands connected with our loving hearts, and we created the gently folded birds. The thousand cranes unveiled at AIMC will now be a permanent addition to our center, a visual reminder for Sangha members and visitors of our shared aspiration for peace and compassion.
The Strand of Hope is a symbol of our intent to create and realize a world of compassion, beauty, and peace. It is our divine right. Join us in spreading the Strands of Hope. Proceeds will allow the sangha to bloom even more fully. Strands of Hope were offered for sale at $25, raising a wonderful amount for AIMC’s general fund. Although most were sold, Strands of Hope are still available for purchase by cash or check.
The Sangha was filled with love, happiness, and togetherness on a day when so many of us deeply need refuge in one another. It was a truly fantastic afternoon! We offer heartfelt appreciation to all the “Craniacs”, our guest speakers, and our fearless leader, Cynthia Copeland, who helped make this magical day happen.
