There’s a lot to be said for sharing. Probably the first thing is that we should do it. We should do it all the time in ways both big and small.
Sharing says that we believe there is enough. And when you look at life, there is so often so much more than enough. There is Abundance.
Learning to share with open hands and hearts… and, oh, right, minds, means making Peace. And that is the whole goal in life. To make Peace. To spread Peace. To share it…
People think a thank you is a simple thing.
In one sense that’s true. Just a simple thank you. It’s what we need to hear from time to time. It’s what needs to fall easily from our lips and our hearts. Let’s thank people for their generosity — fact is, it makes people more generous when we do!
But true Gratitude extends beyond that, I think. It looks at the Bounty and helps you to understand that it include sharing. Here’s all this wonder… now how do I give back? Who needs what I have?
When we’re delighted with the Abundance, the best way to say thanks is to give it away — abundantly. In a way that inspires others to do the same. What a lovely thought, creating cascades of Bounty!
Cascades of Bounty, people sharing with others, can lead to cascades of Peace. Fill up. Pass it on. Peace.
It’s that time of year! Well, of course it is; it’s the Full Ripe Garden Moon. Gardens are bursting!
Strangers are accosting strangers with handfuls of fabulous tomatoes. Friends are gifting friends. It’s all pretty wonderful. (Well, at least for me, since I don’t have a garden! No fuss about what to do with the extra tomatoes, no weeding in the heat, and fabulous summer goodness to layer on salads or pile on a sandwich!)
Friends are sending pics of their elaborate canning set ups. Trying to keep up!
I think there’s a message in here for us, and that’s to take advantage of the abundance. Eat too many tomatoes, melons, peaches. Sit on the porch with a fan. Enjoy yourselves.
Tomatoes may be bursting out all over, but they aren’t ripe on the vine forever. Enjoy the Peace.
We spend much of our time aware of how little we have…but really, there is so much. There are places and people, peoples really, who don’t have enough, but this weather should be a strong reminder to share.
This hot, humid weather that makes us grown makes the vegetables grow!
I’m overwhelmed by the deliciousness!
It’s moving toward the start of school and families get together to celebrate.
This family got together to make pizzas…
Instead of complaining about the heat, let’s look at this time of richness and remember: we can do something to make a difference; we have the resources. We can share the abundance; we can distribute the plenty.
Peace comes from sharing what we have.
It’s easy to get excited about summer foods. They just keep popping up in the garden begging to be taken in and eaten. Even I can occasionally be bestirred to make something! How am i going to use those fresh out of the garden potatoes my friend gave me? Something wonderful must happen, soon!
Imagine if we were to sit with strangers and eat a fresh tomato… or share a delicious peach. Wouldn’t that put us in harmony with each other?
There are so many ways to make Peace… We could take advantage of the little ones so we can build to the bigger ones. Do things now that kept us wanting to please each other. When you make someone happy with a fresh yummy goodness, their response makes you want to do it again.
That’s the joy of Peace. You do something sweet and people respond with surprise and enjoyment. So you do it again. Make a little Peace. Make a little more. It adds up… and it makes us all give thanks for Summer and the bounty of the garden. Take a look, the abundance is overwhelming. Grow it, buy it, share it; it’s grand.
Eat something from the garden for Peace. Share it with a friend or a stranger! The sweetness on your tongue can become sweetness in the world — if you determine to make it so! Summer Tastes! Summer Sharing! Summer Peace!
Things keep happening. And all we see is the scarcity and the lack.
We have to look at what people are doing. We have to look at the hate.
But we also have to remember the incredible bounty. We have to remember that the well is not dry. We must fill ourselves up for the work ahead of us.
It’s summer. The gardens are pumping out vegetables as fast as they can… That abundance is there to nourish our bodies. It is also a reminder to our empty souls and broken heart that there is what is needed if we decide to share it. There is what is needed to renew our spirits.
It’s good if we take a look, because we need to keep ourselves strong… there is so much that is wrong so we must be strong to Peace. You and I, together, digging through all the grime. Peace. We can do this.
The only flowers I’ve ever planted are roses. I had a Jacob’s Coat and a Lincoln rose when I lived in California. Mr. Lincoln was a glorious dark red rose whose blossoms were deeply fragrant. Ummmmm. My roommate still has the bushes, so when I go to visit, i get a nose full…
Now, all Peace doesn’t smell like roses, I’m sure… some of it has the sharp tang of a pine tree, or the green of freshly mown grass. Peace may have the elusive taste of coriander or cumin or the sweet taste of a shared watermelon. It may freeze your nose like freshly falling snow or delight like a warm summer rain. Life is filled with abundance and beauty and we need to remember to share our delight in those things.
Peace engages the senses. Sharing those sensations is one more thing that binds hearts and lives together. Peace is organic, it is a thing of many parts. That’s a piece of what makes it so challenging. But if we remember that there are things that we share that helps us move forward… then we make way for Peace… on the scent of roses.
Hurrah.
There is such beauty in the night. Too often we ignore it, brush by it, try and light it up.
What is most wonderful to do is to linger in it. To go out into its silence and breathe it in. To honor the Dark as well as the Light. To honor the traditions that celebrate this dark Beauty.
The night is also a gift. Particularly here in the country, where we don’t worry as much about the violence that hides in the night. But we cannot let them steal it from us. There is a movement dedicated to safety for women in the dark: Take Back the Night. Yes! Let us do that very thing. Honoring the very holy Dark. Honoring the Women and Men who have always honored the flow of time. Finding my place in that long river of souls that know that nature is a thing of balance and that balance is to respected.
And this night? this is a dark, dark night. No moon. The sun is late to rise and early to bed. Winternight. The Earth is getting ready for rebirth. But that’s a time away from now. Right now we have Beauty and Abundance and this Dark and Sacred Beauty.
Let us go out into the Dark in the winter and breathe in that crystalline air, rejoice in the stars. Let us simply be at Peace in the night.
Alternative Advent, December 11: 2¢ for every bar or dispenser of soap in your life. Don’t forget all the stuff under the sink, in your linen closet or in the laundry room… You thought, oh, two cents. Hah! it adds up.
And why not? Why not snuggle in and enjoy the dark. Light the candles, fluff the throw, put on some seasonal music. Someone special in your life? Share the comforter and the candlelight.
We need this. All of us. We need to rest in the security and beauty of our lives, to fill our lungs and hearts with it. We need to open our eyes to the abundance in our lives.
That’s when we can go to work. We can work on Peace because we know that everyone deserves what we have. We can work on Peace because we have touched base with all we’re blessed with. So enjoy the luxury. Cuddle up. huh. and Cuddle down. Cuddling. It’s a good thing. Savor your own Peace and then share it. Ah, Advent you teach me.
Alternative Advent – December 9: 20¢ for every tub or shower.
Today the Old Moon ends and the New Moon rises. Bye and large the harvest is finished. In Canada, tomorrow will be thanksgiving, which is much more in sync with the actual harvest.
Here in Pennsylvania, the leaves are taking their own sweet time to make decisions about changing. There are just the slightest hints of color starting. However, I just looked at the thermometer and for the first time i saw that the temps had dipped into the 30s.
No, Ann, really, time to dismantle the porch that gets no light (and by light I mean warmth) this year.
But I stood outside a barn yesterday (it was a wedding, relax, I wasn’t being rugged!) and looked down across the empty field toward the river. The late afternoon light was all Autumn, and everything was golden in the light. The air was clean.
The world had moved on even though many of us still clung to last season’s warmth. The Beauty on the cusp of changing Moon and changing season was lavish. Open your hands and hearts and let go. And what the heck, take the Sabbath to revel in it, why don’t you?
Notice the Beauty, my friends. We can’t move on to Peace, if we’re holding on to the joys and privileges of last season.
