Posts

Gather in Peace

Reply

I wrote about gathering for the holidays and finding your pack.

But today, my mismatched pack will gather in Love outside a mosque to say no to the haters and to put them on notice. We are here. We are Love. We are together.

Peace isn’t something others get to take from us. They can’t have it. We are here. We are Love. We are together. (and Merry, Happy everything to you and your pack!)

 

The Peace of Short Days

Reply

I love the long night and the quiet whether starry or quiet. But I also love the short days.

Days like today when the air is crystalline and the skies are hard and distant and diamond bright. Days like yesterday when the skies are soft and cloudy and they come right down into the forest. Days when the mist dances frosty in the air. I like days when it snows, too, but we don’t seem to be having a lot of that.

People keep caroling that the light is coming back, but it’s so incremental so as not to be noticeable. Dwell in the dark a bit. Heal. Reflect. Get stronger. There’s a hard journey ahead. Let’s not go until we’re ready and by ready I mean prepared.

Everyone wants to be going, doing. There’s a time to take stock and to simply be.

Now is the time to be. Breathe in the Quiet. Breathe in the Peace. Breathe out your disappointments. Be in Peace.

 

A Peace Road

Reply

This is a reminder for me that I have a destination from which I do not choose to deviate.

The path is nominally protected. There is life along the path. But it’s where I have to be. Sometimes, like in this picture, the road is straight and true. Other times, it weaves and buckles. But still you travel. Still Peace beckons and longs.

This is the work. This is the Path. Peace.

Today is the shortest day of the year and the longest night for those of us in the North. Time for Dreaming. Time for Story-telling. Time for Gathering. Time for Mending. Time for remembering. Pause tonight with your friends and remember your Peace stories. Then go to sleep and dream of Peace. Blessed Solstice. Blessed Peace.

The Peace of Deep Winter Magic

Reply

Anyone who knows me knows  can drop into a story between one heartbeat and the next. I’ve always cherished the notion that the animals speak at MidWinter so all can hear. In all the stories I’ve read and written, they speak Peace.

In my story telling mind, everyone speaks Peace except for us. I do what I can, I do what I must, but the humans need a louder chorus.

It’s why I listen to the little creatures in my heart, who want their stories told. I know. There are places I could get locked up and you notice I’m carefully not saying the voices in my head… but if that’s so, they’re usually merry, so why complain?

But seriously, we need Peace. We just found out we’re in a drought. what measures will we take to make the Water safe? And not just safe for us. We kill ourselves, that’s one thing. But all of Nature doesn’t deserve to die because we’re asses.

So tomorrow night, listen for the whispers of the rest of the world. Listen to what the wild has to say. And if you’re not a fan of the Solstice story, it’s also told in the Christian World about Christmas eve…

All they are saying is give Peace a chance. Why won’t we consider this?

 

 

Comfort Food and Peace

Reply

Every season has its comfort foods, but somehow when you put fresh asparagus on a scale with lasagna, the lasagna usually tips the scales. But that’s because winter foods are heavy to keep us warm during the winter and summer foods are light to keep us cool in summer.

And just as we celebrate the spring green asparagus, we celebrate the warmth tomato sauce and cheese. This is a lovey twist on it. Makes me want to try it. Well, eat it, not make it! But cauliflower is a great and versatile favorite… Why should eggplant have all the fun?

I believe warm, full bellies can help create Peace. It’s hard to think about Peace when you can’t think about anything but hunger. People want to know what to do about Aleppo… Donate. People are finally being evacuated. They’ll need to eat. They’ll need food and clothes and shelter.

Fill your belly and eat it in the safety of your home. LIght your twinkle light and think about how privileged we are. Then think about where we need to make Peace. And then think about how you can Peace most effectively… and then? Peace!

The Peace of Lingering

Reply

I like change and endings as little as anyone else. OK, maybe less. But there’s something about lingering on these days at the end of the year, trying to squeeze in the fullness that I love.

I don’t do a lot for the holidays, but I do turn on the lights and light the candles. My little red and white Mid-Winter Trees often turn into Valentine trees and twinkle their way through the Winter. ahhhh. Reading. Twinkling. Tea. Writing. Snuggling inside. What’s not to like?

Winter, if we allow it, can be a lesson in presence, lingering in the moment until it’s done. Then you turn the lights out and go to bed. Peace, my friends, through the short grey days and the long, starry nights. Linger in earthly Peace.

Night, Winter, Peace

Reply

I’ve been out every night this week. It’s been cold. It’s been snowy. It’s been starry. It’s been cloudy. It’s been beautiful.

Every night. The cold is dangerous (right, please put your coats on teenagers, this is real cold. And remember, before you start complaining, the Sun is dangerous, too!) But the beauty is worth negotiating the trials. The stars. The snow. Even the bracing cold… that air in your lungs is clarifying. I love the high dark starry skies and the low grey snowy ones.

Button up your overcoat. Get out there and be part of the Beauty. That enjoyment you feel is the same enjoyment everyone does!

Peace in the Winter Dark. Ahhhh… Share it with me.