Cutting through to the Heart of Peace

I love these roads that slice through broad swaths of fields on their way to somewhere. Roads with trees that act both as windbreak and tunnel. You’re going where they lead you and that’s that.

What if we were to set our minds and hearts on Peace and simply go?

Straight ahead toward Beauty. I find myself dithering between the word Home and the Word Unknown, because Peace is surely both, isn’t it?

What an odd and wonderful concept. But one way or the other, Going where Life is headed! Peace. May the Unknown become Home to all who travel.

Our Force for Peace Must Stand Firm

The elements are powerful and work at returning life to its most, well, elemental.

We’re the ones who can bring care and understanding and Peace to life. It is perhaps not the most natural of states. It is however muchly to be desired.

We are the ones who can bring Peace to life. It is a labor. But it is a labor of Love. And love is the ingredient we have to offer Life!

Let us be about the business of Love and Peace, all the while admiring the power of the wind and the rain to change the shape of life. And let us remember the people of Oaklahoma whose lives have been changed by the strong hurricanes.

Wind and Water. Love and Peace. Let us honor them all.

One Meatball for Peace

This picture (as so many) offers very contradictory feelings for me…

First, my girlfriend’s mama made her sauce and meatballs. Looking pretty delish! Sauce and meatballs are Italian for I love you, child of my heart… So there’s the perfection of this beauty.

And then, there’s the song that reminds us that those who go hungry are also mocked for it. What is that about? Who are we as a people?

And then there’s my joy in my friend Ann Rabson, a wonderful blues singer, who left too soon. Whenever she was going to leave your life, it was going to be too soon. Not only could she sing, she was a good friend. I miss her voice. I miss her laughter. I miss her heart and talent.

So, cook for someone you love, donate to programs that make sure people are fed, and buy yourself an Ann Rabson cd and rejoice. You can donate to her fund to encourage Blues at the same page. You can listen to One Meatball sung by my friend right here.

So take some Peace, give some Peace and grab some Peace (or give it to a friend!)

Shhhh! Dawning Sabbath Peace

The soft quiet of a morning. Before the birds wake up; before you’re really awake. The world turns softly golden and your only responsibility is to drink it in.

“When I breathe in Love I breathe out Peace. When I breathe in Peace I breathe out Love.”

What a start to the morning. What an incredible way to set yourself up for the day.

And then, as the saying goes, begin as you mean to go on. Begin in Peace, continue.

Peace be with you, my friends. Every day.

And today? Is Mother’s Day. A happy day to all who celebrate. And commiseration and congratulations to those who have had to do this without the mother everyone deserves. It was her insufficiency. You are beloved and you did an amazing job without her.

The Peace of What Is

Not every day is a big day. Some days are just another day. But every day matters, even those days we concern ourselves with everyday matters and everyday Peace.

And those are most days, right? But still we make the most of them. Because every day is what we have. And I don’t know about you, but I know there are not any days to waste. This is not to say there aren’t days to luxuriously do nothing. That’s celebrating not wasting.

Peace is about being present. Every day. It’s what we have. It’s who we are. And most of us know, it goes too quickly. If we’ve been present, with life changes, we’ll have nothing to regret and the best memories. That’s what we give life and that’s what it can give us. Every day, Peace. Everyday Peace.

Sunsets aren’t less beautiful for being ordinary and completing tasks even when fewer than we thought it not to be sneezed at.

Enjoy the day. Do the work. Notice the loveliness. Make some Peace.

OK, Cute Zebu, But What About Syria and Peace?

I love Dagny’s pictures… and the work she does. She’s a great vet. But I don’t know what more there is to say about this incredibly cute mini-zebu than what I’ve already said. Here’s what I googled about this darling: This little is a mini version Zebu, which Wikipedia describes thusly: “A zebu, sometimes known as indicine cattle, humped cattle or Brahman, is a species or sub-species of domestic cattle originating in South Asia. Zebu are characterized by a fatty hump on their shoulders, a large dewlap and sometimes drooping ears.” Having read this description, I begin to wonder if in fact I’m not aging but rather becoming a Zebu… I’m not sure which option provides more comfort.

So enjoy.

And while you’re doing this, please remember that the Islamic Society of North America has asked that we make this a weekend of prayer for Syria. poor poor Syria. And if you have spare prayers or a still warm heart, think about Palestine and Nigeria and all the other places in the world where war is tearing people’s lives and hearts apart.

We must be a force for Peace. In situations like Syria, I don’t know what that means, but until we know better, let us pray for Peace.

Pets Who Unsettle Our Peace

For such small packages, they weave around our hearts in the same way they weave around our legs or they thump their tails and grin at us whenever we walk in the room.

And then they disappear. Sometimes they reappear, having just managed to make us sore at heart.

So, should you live in Allenwood and see this little darling, let us know, her mom is longing for her. Hopefully her heart’s Peace can be restored.

Lying Fallow for Peace

We spend too much time being busy. I was about to say we spend too much time working. But we’re just as involved in structured play and self-improvement. Busyness.

We’re sleep deprived, tired, and as a result, a little bit grumpy all the time.

I don’t believe you have to be at Peace to bring about Peace, but I do believe you have to at least know what it looks like. You need moments to help you understand and to give you something to strive toward.

What would it be like to have a few moments, just a few to start with, to yourself when you had no expectations of yourself, where you could just experience doing nothing.

I think a little personal Peace would be good for all of us; it would make us ready to do teh work for much bigger and more complex kinds of Peace.

Rowing Away to Peace. Will You Join Me?

This is the most alluring picture. Can’t you feel the boat’s invitation to get in, set off? It’s such a still picture and yet, the invitation seems almost urgent, doesn’t it? Come, explore

The picture’s deceptively beautifully calm. I see and I sense the “as above so below,” but is that really true?

And will we know if we don’t get in the boat?

This picture reminds me of a guided visualization I do… You take a boat that is rowed to the island of Peace. When I saw this picture, i thought, ah, there, That’s the boat I’ve been waiting for. It’s dangerous. It’s daring. And it’s so incredibly calming.

Will we find Peace if we don’t get in the boat? Will we become Peacemakers if we don’t take the risk to explore Life’s Beauty?

I don’t really think so. Peace. Get in the Boat.

Oh, for Peace’s Sake, Celebrate!

I always think it’s appropriate to celebrate Milestones. I also think it’s appropriate to celebrate sunsets. Celebrations don’t need to be full on parties for three hundred. They can be a soft, sweet pause. A simple let’s stand together and look at that sunrise/cloud/bird is important.

Milestones matter. Now I say that at the same time I wince about the celebrity mentality that says I must be at the center of a very large everything. That’s not what i mean by celebrations. I think more about a caress rather than a gala.

Something as simple as a shared piece of cake is a lovely celebration. I certainly don’t need a whole piece of cake to say life is grand. I’ve had plenty in my life… but a forkful of deliciousness? mmmm. hurrah.

So here’s to you and all you celebrate! We’ll all long for a forkful of Terri’s chocolate lavender tart. I hoist my cup of tea to you. If we help one another celebrate the little things that astonish and delight… we make space for Peace. Let’s celebrate Peace each time we see it. Let’s throw Peace a party and let people understand how delicious it is. Because the world needs celebration and the world needs Peace. Desperately.

Sacred Village

Building a World of Peace, Village by Sacred Village.

The Priestess Is In