My Experience at Elos

By Mercy Maruza

I have spent the past week at the Warrirors without Weapons gathering at ELOS in Brazil

ELOS awakened my appreciative gaze.

I stopped seeing problems and started seeing beauty and talent.

Here I became an active listener.

I learned to listen without judging.

I learned that when people feel heard, dreams come out.

ELOS taught me what it means to work with the community.

It means respect first.

It means working with people, not for them.

It means recognizing the strength that is already there.

The most important work for me has been internal.

I am learning to control my emotions.

To pause. To breathe. To respond instead of react.

That has been one of the best gifts ELOS has given me.

We have not started the "Mão na Massa" yet.

But something in me has already been built.

ELOS showed me what it means to be a "Warrior Without Weapons".