Peace of Uncomfortable Belonging

I have a very mixed relationship with my pride in my country. or really in any group. I’m very happy to be an American. It’s shaped me, made me who I am. There are many opportunities here. At the same time, there are many things we don’t do well, and I worry we’ve stopped trying. And blind nationalism scares the hell out of me.

But you don’t spend a lot of time in a small country without beginning to see how some sense of national pride and unity changes and strengthens you. There I am, back and forth, one foot and and the other. Mostly I get to ignore it. I’m not sportive, I don’t wind up in places where there’s a lot of singing of national songs. (Well other than when Hope and I sing for the elders. Then we sing them all, and they sing with gusto. It’s another way you realize how important both the celebration of unity and the singing of these songs are.)

I wonder if the national ambivalence about belonging has lead to the notion that it’s ok that we not be the ones who sacrifice. It’s fine for others to sacrifice for our country, but we aren’t asking ourselves to support that in any way… hello, can you talk about health services for returning vets? Would singing national songs change that? I don’t know, maybe if they were the right ones. I certainly think that singing in groups can solve lots of problems!

But there I was, caught off guard when the graduation ceremony started with the Star Spangled Banner. And to be truthful it’s not just my ambivalence about nationalism that makes me hesitate to like the SSB. It’s hard to sing and so many people sing it badly. And there’s this new rather lamentable (at least to me) trend to sing with so many notes that the song is obscured. But this young woman stepped out on the library steps in front of 30,000 people and sang her heart out. Simply with great conviction. The teletron was right there, so you felt as if she were singing to you. No manipulation, no over-the topness, just joy in the moment and the possibilities…

Caught me off guard. I certainly wasn’t the only one wiping tears from my seat. It was a good reminder to keep my opinions flexible. And to stay in touch with the pride, not focus only on the disappointments. Freedom of speech, willingness to question: we need these things. But Balance. it’s important too.

And of course, everything was meaningful that day, because my sweet Hannah was graduating. But I’m very grateful for the song.

Shared Peace and Success

I’ve been watching my dear friend’s joy in his daughter’s accomplishments. It’s such a joy to see and participate in. It’s struck me that we need to do more of this, more living in our friend’s lives. Opening our hearts to what matters to them… The more we can do this with our friends, the more we can do this with others… Caring about people’s lives is what makes us Peacemakers, I think… Peace is personal… stretching out our hands, opening up our hearts, opening up our eyes… This starts the Peace process. It’s easy with our friends, easy when love is already established… More challenging when we’re asking ourselves to really move beyond our boundaries… but this is what Life and Peace require of us.

It’s been a wonderful celebration of my godchild’s graduation here in NY. A lot of memories catching up with me, about these friendships, this city, education, shared life… Making new and wonderful memories, but always, thinking about Peace and how it makes us richer. Does that sound fatuous? I don’t mean it to. But writing every day about Peace does make me think about Peace.

I certainly wish you all a sip of the heady, mix of love and pride and celebration I’m living in at the moment. as Jim Scott says: And may your life be as a song!

The Peace of New Beginnings

Such an incredible, bittersweet moment. My darling goddaughter is crossing the college stage today. That’s all sweet and wonderful. She had a good experience in college. She has a dream internship. If only her mother were here to watch. Yes, I know, watching from heaven, but still… I want her here. One of those days when Maggie will be so sorely missed, by all of us, and especially by that sweet young woman who will always be my girlie.

I have (of course I do!) so much advice for her and for anyone else who might be listening. But mostly, my dear, I want you to cultivate the knack of happiness and a great big hunger for a better world for everyone. Life is so grand. Sure, there are hard times, but drink it in, do your part, and revel. It’s fleeting, this life thing, you don’t want to put off being filled with the wonder of it all. you don’t want to, as some wise person said: postpone joy. And dream very large dreams… and then make them come true.

I’m off to get ready. You’re already ready! Make the most of it. I’ll be watching and loving you with open (but supporting) hands and an open and loving heart. You’re ready. I almost am. and… You’re off!

I love you. I love you all. I have such great anticipation to see what you’ll accomplish and who you’ll become.

and oh! Stay in touch. Visit your auntie!

Peace, Love(Flows), Happiness

I don’t know that I could be happier or even prouder. It was a crazy idea and an ambitious goal. To ask 1,500 for $10 to aid recovery work on Staten Island and to take some relief workers a party.

Lots of heads were shaken (that’s ridiculous!!), lots of sighs were heaved (here we go again!), but everyone set to work with a will. And we did it. Did 1,500 people contribute, nah, probably only a thousand. A thousand!!!! A thousand people gave a little so that displaced seniors in Staten Island can have a house with ramps and lifts and so that some still displaced people can get a bit of rent relief.

And now we’re off on Saturday to do some work and to take some relief workers a party. A great band. Great food from here and there… and 50+ volunteers. Get on that bus, folks, there’s a party going on. And you’re the reason.

Keep having those crazy ideas. This really is how Peace gets planted. Love will continue to flow. Joy and Happiness will abound! Let’s go. Gratitude overflowing. Happy Dancing. Pride in the achievement. YES!

Connected Peace Sabbath

Well I considered using “you can run, but you cannot hide” as my tag line for this, but i refrained (well sort of!).

I spent an hour yesterday on skype with a friend across the country. Got to see her girls and her husband, got to feel the sweetness… it’s grand. And I’ve been grieving friends’ moving across the country, not being on hand to watch their little grow up, and I finally realized, Oh! right! Skype. They can check in when they’re making dinner and Miss Charming is running around the kitchen. Pretty fun!

So on this Sabbath day, stretch out your heart and call a friend, get in touch. The comment, oh, you can’t really talk on (insert whatever technology here), when it’s all you’ve got, you can make it not enough, or you can make it the world. Why would you choose not enough? A Peaceful heart is well worth it. I have a couple friends whose friendships have been developed via the internet and skype… and you know, they’re plenty good friendships! I think we haven’t realized what we can do with this little tool to make the world sweeter. I think we can make Peace via tiny little electrons. And we can certainly enrich our day, which is not a bad thing in and of itself.

A blessed, restful, Peaceful, connected Sabbath to you all…

Commencing Peace

There you go, graduates, off into a world we can’t imagine… but you will. I’m sure you have no idea both how much power you have and how little. Some things just are, and other things are waiting, begging to be changed.

The news, (and it’s always bad), says that we’ve taught you to be entitled, and yet, I have such a strong sense of your willingness to change things. You garden, you recycle, you form social benefit corps. You marry, or will, you parent, or will. You travel and meet new people. You make a difference. I’m proud of you. And I’ll keep cheering you on.

Pay no attention to those people who tell you you can’t have or can’t be. Go do what you were born to do. Off you go now. Have some good fun!

oh, p.s. that Peace thing? Peace really does begin with a girl or a boy, or a young adult, or an elder. It’s every bit as complicated as generations try to tell you and yet, not complicated at all. Try… for everyone’s sake… but mostly your own!

Cleaning Up for Peace

Resignation is so seductive. I’m not talking about the “take this job and shove it” kinda resignation, i’m talking about the slow, seeping ebb of our willingness to act on our convictions, the inertia that keeps us bound in our everyday patterns, while things slowly get worse. What’s the use?… what’s the point? we wonder…

Oh, come now! The use is we live on this world that deserves so much better than we give it. The point is we’re not being kind to those who come after.

Kindness. We often sneer at it for being saccharine. OK, I often sneer at it. And yet, kindness is a welcome respite in a tough world. When your store clerk really looks at you, you appreciate it, your day eases. His or her day eases when you take the time to appreciate, not just their work, but them.

And our precious Mother Earth — It’s time to go to work. Not just picking up trash and doing your recycling, although that’s always helpful. But find out what’s going on in your neighborhood that threatens the Earth’s well-being and start working against it. Start cleaning up your little patch of the river or forest or city. Start! or Continue! those are important words.

Our well-being and that of the generations after us depend upon our work. Who are we to leave it to the next generation? We participated in the slow slide, time to turn the tide! Yes, it’s hard work. But that just makes it all the more rewarding.

Graduate Peace?

Our graduates are coming out into a tough world. There aren’t lots of jobs available. And there are many things wrong with the world. We’ve certainly given them unrealistic expectations that their lives would be better than ours — a notion the boomers proved to be true in their early work lives perhaps but are perhaps struggling with today.

It’s a great time for leadership. And I’m not sure it’s going to be ours. Because we haven’t led. I realized two things in writing this. 1) well, that was depressing, despite my faith in them and 2) the next poem had better be to their elders, we’d better Peace-up, and start looking for our own solutions.

But graduates? Count those blessings, Review your shortcomings. Do that self-reflection dance. Stay present. Stay connected to your friends with great ideas and the will and ingenuity to implement them.

And isn’t that the work of right now? What’s going in that garden to feed our family? What Peace seedlings are we planting and tending to feed a Peace-hungry world? There’s work to be done. And for too many kids there are choices to be made between doing nothing and doing good. We cannot let these shining stars become discouraged; and they’re of an age where they might want to realize that it will be dangerous for them.

So, an important part of their challenge is to stay involved and inspired in their lives despite a very challenging world. There’s very real danger in their becoming disaffected… we owe our children not to let that happen — and they owe it to themselves.

Cusps and Verges are very interesting places filled with wonder and possibility and fraught with danger…

Kid Peace

A chance encounter in an alley: generally when you hear those words, what comes after isn’t good. But here we were on a bright, but chilly May morning. I was parking the car, all the in-front-of-my-house spaces having been scooped by workers. She was coming down the alley behind her house on her way to school.

She waved and deigned to speak! As an adult who bounces in and out of the life of kids, I do try and give them some choice in the matter! Next thing I know, we’re walking to her bus stop as she explains the intricacies of Girls on the Run (yahoo) and what they’ve been doing.

As you can imagine, I’m all about anything that’s empowering the girls, so it was a fun conversation and she had a great understanding of what was happening. And then a quick segue to how she’d be spending her summer vacation, and I waved goodbye. She’s going to otter camp which might also be seal camp, how much did I want someone to send me?????

It’s important to look through eyes that view the world at a different level, now and again. And hooray for friends across the generations! Being present. Counting blessings. Watch words for Peace.

A Cool Peace

Those of us on the East Coast, or at least here in Central PA are a leetle tetchy about the weather. It’s downright chilly. 7am my computer told me it was 29˚. brrr. and a fair amount of grrrrring as well. (where is that warm jacket?)

Unusual? Well, we like to think so… but I certainly remember walking off to school on May mornings in a little cardigan only to get down town and see 32˚ on the bank’s digital display. Mommmmmmmm! What were you thinking? There’s a reason they tell us not to plant until after Mother’s Day, and then to keep a (get it?) weather eye out for any new seedlings.

This is life, just being unpredictable. This is us, Peacegardeners and Earthwalkers, having to roll with it. We can moan and groan, or we can celebrate that the storm that drove in the cold front eliminated two thirds of the rain deficit we were running. Weather isn’t really dependable, it just is what it is. And whether we’re gardening or making Peace, we need to work with it and around it. So, slip back into the fleece and figure out what you’re going to do when the sun warms things up later today.

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