Fall, Sabbath, Peace, Beauty, llvl

We can’t know how many more of these days we’ll have, so I want to take advantage of this one. Welcome to my vida local… it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

One of the great joys of writing my musings and this blog is being seduced into discovering the beauty of the moment. It’s so beautiful here, so there are lots of those moments. Mountains, trees, fields and streams… pretty good building blocks for Beauty.

And Time and the lingering over it are pretty good building blocks for a Peaceful Fall Sabbath.

Next week it could be gray and cloudy. But it’s not today. Indulge yourself. Savor the day and the weather and whatever else comes your way. Yesterday it was folks standing around outside carving pumpkins (not me, no don’t be silly). To get there, we had to drive past fields where local Amish farmers were using teams of horses to pull the feed corn being harvested. Then you drove down into a valley filled with color and that small beautiful creek where only months ago I found myself sitting watching the world drift by. Today it was so still it looked like a lake, holding nothing but an occasional leaf and the reflections of the trees and the sky. Picture perfect…

Somewhere, someone said something like: “Delight is the only response the Creator desires from the created.” Today’s a good day to practice!

Your Piece of Peace, llvl

You do the work everywhere you can make a contribution, but, there are a lot of advantages to being involved in Peacemaking in your little vida local.

One big one is that you can get very clear what is needed if you’re partnered with the right people. Where do you get the intel you need? When you can get it from the source, that’s great. Our congo is supporting the school district back pack programs — but we’re really supporting the school district as they try and support their kids.

A short flurry of emails with the program director yesterday and we have our marching orders. The school nurse needs clothes and shoes for the kids. So, we can start working on this. We can buy them 6 bins and fill them up with pants, shirts and shoes for boys and girls in the requisite sizes. Because the children have no shoes. Somehow that’s the most painful statement I’ve ever had to make. The children have no shoes. And no clothes.

Pam thinks I’m enthusiastic. Well, yes. But I’m also realistic. These babies need this. And we can do it. So why wouldn’t we? Why wouldn’t I ask you? No reason whatsoever. What is your piece of Peace? If you’re not absolutely clear, the best way is to try something little and see if it makes your heart race. If so, do a little more. If not, try something else… You’ll get there. and in the meantime, you’ll do little bits of good wherever you are. And your community will be better for it. So will you. Peace, an addiction to cultivate. Step up into Possibility.

Peace and Welcome, llvl

I was busy having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day yesterday. (goodness I love Judith Viorst!) Mostly because I slipped. I know better. We all know better.

You see a conversation that looks rational but isn’t. And so you respond. What were you thinking? So then you get to be whiny about the conversation and really disgusted with yourself. Because you’re not going to make a difference. And particularly me, I’m not a rational builder of arguments. Too bad they weren’t teaching debate when i was in high school, i could have used the critical process encouragement!

Nonetheless.

There’s no parsing away people’s right to be themselves. You want to decry acts of violence, I’m with you. Let’s say no, and start saying yes to Peace. But really, it’s time to understand that the minute you start bleating about anyone’s right to be who they are, from whatever, culture, race, gender orientation, religion, you are immaterial to the discussion. That privilege is gone. Welcome to the cruise to nowhere, and it’s beyond me to care that you’re still pontificating.

Love. It’s what we have to work with. It’s what we have to work on. (and Justice, let’s not forget Justice. Divine Justice.) I’m tired of cleaning up after all y’all as you take away time and energy from the important questions. Do the children have enough to eat? Do they have clothes and shoes? Do they play well with others? Certainly those are the most important things, arent they? Cause if you think society works and gay marriage is going to upset that, you don’t know anything about gay marriage and less about kids at risk.

Peace Creation Process, llvl

Yesterday, I was invited to watch a play being born. Lots of research had been done beforehand. The playwright had requirements for good plays. He had some answers to how this man and these incidents might be shaped into a play…

And then he invited in the actors, the costumer, the set builder and said… what about this, what about that. And they had answers and concerns… concerns about the action, concerns for their troop, concerns about the history and who could play what roles. Two of us were outsiders and we could ask different questions.

It was an amazing process. I didn’t feel as if I had a lot to bring to the party, as I’m a lousy historian and certainly pretty ignorant of the process and demands of plays… I was only invited because I’m the UU minister and this is a play about our valley’s important UU, Joseph Priestley…

But it was astounding to watch something beginning to take shape. I’m reminded of a friend’s explaining to me that the accurate biblical translation (i’m also a lousy biblical scholar and no biblical linguist) was “in their image, created they them,” indicating that the divine had many images.

So creation was a collaborative act in that particular understanding of the act. It was certainly mimicked here. Even though at the end, one person was going back with assignments, his task was now informed by critical input. It was fascinating.

And it helps me clarify how we best build Peace. If we each work on the pieces we know best, but we invite in the insight that other pilgrims offer us, Peace will be more stable, more lasting — and more fun…

Peace Feast, llvl

Go out into the garden and see the bounty remaining even after that first frost. Oh, you’re like me? Try this: Go to the market and notice all those richly colored foods piled up around you. yum. Mother Earth is proudly trotting out her fall bounty. It’s up to us to enjoy.

It’s also a good prompt to share that enjoyment. Eating together is a lovely way to build Peace. Discovering what kind of spices you use on these fall delicacies gives me new ways to enjoy old favorites. (Just found out that my friend Ed likes nutmeg on roasted Brussels sprouts. I have another friend who eats it on broccoli — but she’s Dutch so of course she does! That Dutch East India Trading Company made its mark on its home country.)

And the foods are good for you and beautiful to see. What more could you want? Company, you could want company to enjoy the Feast. Get together, say a prayer of thanksgiving and enjoy the feast. It’s an interesting question to look at who you celebrate with. How many people that you invite into your home look like you? How many look very different from you? Have you considered your hospitality as part of your Peace efforts?

Part of the glory of living a vida local is to enjoy the seasons. Make Peace. Eat good food with a friend. And while you’re enjoying, feast your eyes on Deb Slade’s pic! MMMMM. Now that’s delicious.

ChaCha for Peace, llvl

It’s all about the little steps. But if you know me, you know little steps to Ann mean Chachaaaaaa!

It makes a difference if you decide to view the obstacles in your journey as the time you step back and take a good look at things. The side steps can be waiting until the time is right or a simple dance for joy.

Now it’s true you have to pay attention, you can wind up dancing the chacha in once place, but you can also cover a lot of ground if that’s what you decide what you’re going to do. You just need to watch where you’re going.

But the notion that your work is tiny steps, some of them to the side, and some, heaven forfend to the back, is a good one to carry with you. The thought that all that stepping can be a dance to enjoy… if Peace is just a plod, we’re never going to enjoy it. Self-righteousness is not enjoyment… (i may have tried this so I have some insight… ahem.)

Stories of Peace, llvl

What are the stories you tell at home? Kia, listening to her mom explain Diwalli to us, was excited to tell me that her family told that story at home. She was so proud to have “their” story told.

It made me remember reading together as a family. We read lots of things, all of us together. I don’t recall my sister’s opting out because she was too old or had heard one of the stories too many times. Even when we all read, we loved to be read to. And it was straight up reading… no one ever imposed a voice on Pooh, so Pooh’s voice was still the one you imagined.

But this particular story was a story of liberation, faith, hope and inter-species cooperation. It was a tale of identity and love. Her pride made me think, oh, we need more stories…

Thanks, Kia! Here’s to more stories of Peace and Identity.

Sabbath Peace Coincidences, llvl

Fall driving through Pennyslvania makes a few things pretty clear: 1) they weren’t wrong to name it Penn’s Woods. Even though much of it was clear cut for logging, it has now reclaimed its title and right about now is about as glorious a place you would ever want to visit. 2) I’m very grateful for roads. I would not have wanted to be moving around in a wagon on a small trail the bears and deer wore down. 3) Road trips with good friends are really great.

We drove ‘way too far to hear a great friend sing. But it’s been a while; in the meantime she’s been very sick, a mutual friend of ours died and my sister died. It felt right to push to spend a bit of time and hear her sing. We didn’t know if EG would recover but she did, and her new cd is simply delightful. You really might want to take a listen. EG Kight’s voice is as lush as ever and her pickin’? Yes’m. She invited this friend of hers up to sing, Long, Tall Deb is another fabu blues singer. These women play well with others, the two of them. Such generous sharing of great talent. Hootin’ and hollerin’ ensued.

Then a great night of sleep on a lovely hotel bed. Call me shallow, but I do love mangled hotel sheets. mmm.

Neither Emily nor I had ever seen Falling Water, so we decided to come home the long way. (and oh yes, it was the long way. You really can’t get there from here. But we did.) What a beautiful place. I’ve lived in PA a lot of years but I’d never seen it. It’s worth a visit. (Geezer alert, lots of walking, lots of steps with no balustrade. Oh the things we notice these days we never did before. Steve’s wanted to see this, makes me sad that I can’t take him along…)

But then to come out and seem my nephew’s mother-in-law hanging around in the visitor’s center, that was pretty fun. We did a lot of squealing and hugging. And they were getting ready to meet Elijah and Meghan. I had to get back and get ready for today, so we couldn’t be the surprise guests at their dinner party, but what a fun thing! Altogether now, one loud chorus of “It’s a small world, after all…”

So, here’s me, heartily recommending a weekend off with a bud. Peace is in the details and the coincidences. Go have a lovely Autumn Sabbath afternoon, that color won’t last forever! Go make some memories!

Balance in Peace

I’ve had a couple rather inspiriting if sobering days. So it was great yesterday to get in the car and literally and figuratively drive away from those times, give everything a chance to settle.

And what better way than to drive through the Autumn Foliage. Route 80 where i live is fairly high, and driving west it’s fairly wild. So nothing but trees, trees, trees, in varying states of Fall finery. Red, Orange, Purple and still a fair amount of vivid green. Wow!

Emily and I are good travel companions. We share responsibilities easily and laugh just as easily. GPS takes the “where do i turn next?” right out of the question, so, zoom, zoom, zoom.

And then there was a slow and comfortable afternoon, spent, reading and goofing off, drinking a bottle of champagne with the purpose of this trip. EG Kight. I just don’t see her often enough.

And it’s been good to catch up. She was very sick a couple years ago, they didn’t know if she would live and afterwards if she would ever write/sing/play again. But last night but all those fears to rest. Strong of voice. Sweet, sweet songs, and hot, hot guitar licks.

And today after breakfast, we take off for Falling Waters and a big tour. I’ve never been and am really looking forward to it.

Sometimes you have to step away for a moment so you can step forward. And if you’re going to do that, might as well have it be fun. Even Peace needs a break. Sing ho for a small pause for laughter.

What Peace Requires, llvl

Oh, it was a challenging evening. I went to see the film The Honor Diaries, which takes a relentless look at the notion of “honor” in tribal societies and the ways women (women’s bodies) pay the price for a family’s honor. It looked at honor violence, women being beaten, raped, disfigured; honor killings; and Female Genital Mutilation. I was in a hall filled with young women at a local college (and why weren’t young men required to be there?).

At the end of the film, which was attended by one of the women who was in the film’s roundtable, there was a Q&A. Part of the discussion about the film beforehand had been whether it was Islamaphobic. The speaker, a Muslim, is very clear, as are most of the women in the film, that they are working on civil rights, not (yet) on Reformation of Islam.

What is true is that many of the people there had to struggle with the notion that this was other… other than us. The violence in these countries is extreme and horrific. But it is supported by our lack of connection to people we understand to be completely different from us.

All that day, I’d been struggling with evidence of diminishing rights here in the states. Lack of access to birth control and abortion, rising rapes, death threats to young women taking what some men perceive as ‘their’ power. Comparable violence? No. but on the continuum? yes. And I believe the lack of focus on these problems is rooted in the same dismissal of women’s value. In those countries women are seen as having half the worth of a man. Here, at least financially, we’re pretty clear that we’re 78%. But any diminution of human value allows such atrocities to continue.

Women need to see this connection and be outraged. So do our Brothers, Fathers, Husbands, Friends.

So what does Peace need? The awareness that there is no Peace (and that we’re part of the problem). Justice. And a flat out commitment to bringing Peace through addressing (stopping!) the injustices.

It’s all very complicated. and so what?

Sacred Village

Building a World of Peace, Village by Sacred Village.

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