Solstice Sweetness in the Thunder Moon

The clouds hung around all day. And just as I threw up my hands and said that’s all the preparation I’m going to do for the vigil tonight and I’m going to at least slip into the pool, it started to rain.

I listened carefully, it wasn’t rumbling, just raining. So off I trundled to the pool, and slipped in. It really is magical this swimming in the rain thing… It was still hot and the pool was still cool. The guard watched from under the overhang and i mostly floated. ahhhhhhhh.

Then back for the vigil with the two hundred. You’ve heard me on that.

And then out to the local ice-creamery to watch the end of the glorious sunset, a moon hanging in the sky with some planets to chat with and the rising of the fireflies.

I don’t know how much we accomplished on real Peace last night (although I have my suspicions…) but it was lovely to finish the evening in the company of a like-hearted friend rejoicing in the beauty of the earth and the blessings of the Solstice… claiming the sabbath for rejoicing in and being present to Mother Earth and her abundance.

Maybe we’ll do better on big P Peace today…

This and That Peace

I don’t know that what I’m working at has a lot to do with the Berry Moon, although if you saw it go down yesterday evening, you were thrilled. Jupiter was bright and beautiful and the tiny, tiny sliver of moon was orange… ahhhhhh.

But there’s a lot going on out here in the world, and much of what’s touching my life right now is sad. People are having a hard time, and my job, or at least part of my job, is showing up when life is hard for others.

And this kind of job is challenging because it seems that things come in waves. You boogie along and everything’s great and then all of sudden people need you to talk to them about hard things. Life and death things. Because that’s a big part of what ministers do. I’ve always done that with people, but now it’s official.

It’s an incredible privilege to be with people in the midst of their challenges. And it’s hard work. Presence is something to practice. And when they’re people you know, that you’re with on a regular basis, it can be very challenging.

And the day after a young woman died, my friend’s kids had a baby. The circle, the cycle, of Life is sweet. Life giveth and Life taketh away…

And we find a way to make Peace, not only with the journey but also with the beginnings and endings.

Right. Trust the Peace of the Flower Moon.

We’ve had gorgeous nights outside in this Flower Moon. Warm and relaxed and beautiful. Windows are open… or at least occasionally, because of course the trees are also enjoying the Flower Moon which means I’m still doing that hunker down inside thing.

We’re looking for rain today, so maybe it will wash all the pollen away. We can live in hope, right?

But the open window thing? It let’s in noises. So there I was on Saturday night and i started hearing this annoying beeping, sounding like a car unlocking. but it continued. I looked outside, didn’t see anything and went to bed, only to be awakened in the middle of the night crying.

All I could imagine is that my sweet neighborhood had been invaded by Not. In. My. Back. Yarders… devastating. How has it come to this? Seem unlikely? My friend Sarajane just informed me that a Catholic church in SF, in an effort to deter people with no homes from sleeping on the relative safety of their porch have installed an intermittent sprinkler system.

Why welcome people when you can let them know what your church really thinks. And what the heck, why not waste water in a state where people don’t have enough to drink and the people you’re watering have no access to public showers. What a nice thing, eh?

But when I woke up yesterday, I realized: Smoke detectors and batteries gone bad. I changed a couple and now I realize. oh, right, they all go bad at this time of year. And when I say I realize, I mean I stumbled to the basement to pull the battery out in the middle of the night last night. I changed that battery this morning! And I’ve run out of 9 volts. Drug store, here I come. (and thank goodness for the local socialist book store that recycles those batteries.)

It’s the little things, but it would be nice if my first thought wasn’t about people who can’t seem to care about humanity. Mistrust is not particularly Peace-building. Being present to your life is a good thing.

I’d better work on those things AND change the batteries. Peaceful morning, everyone. and check your smoke detectors and your battery supply. And if a church in your neighborhood is not being church, write to them and say “Fie, for shame.”

Breathing Pink Moon Peace

Breath. We’re not conscious enough about it. Particularly the exhale, because the inhale is automatic.

Far too many times when we’re doing something important, we forget to breathe.

Inhale, pause and then exhale and begin the work.

Inhale the fresh Promise of Spring and Possibility. That’s what this Pink Moon is all about. Pause to savor. and then exhale your dedication to Peace.

Every time you remember stop and do it again. Soon it will become part of your day. Inspiration. Savoring. Manifestation.

It was fascinating to watch the Fitzwilliam String Quartet get prepared to begin, to watch the stillness and then the breath… And then of course lovely to hear and watch them play.

Seeing people working together is such a wonderful reminder that we can work together. If people can make beautiful music together, can’t we make Peace?

Can’t we?

Can we breathe in and out and make Peace?

The Light of Pink Moon Peace

The flowers are what have named the Pink Moon. But it’s the changing light that calls those flowers into their resurgence.

That magical changing, day by day, of the Earth. Here comes the Sun!

I find I grow indignant on the Earth’s behalf that people are disdainful of the sweet miracle. It’s not warm enough, they complain.

Why yes, it is exactly warm enough. March in Pennsylvania is still quite chilly. But that doesn’t stop the flowers’ creeping out of the ground or the buds’ considering whether they’re ready to begin the cycle again.

Pay attention! This beauty is so fleeting. This is the Moon named for the flowers. And these delicate beauties flourish and linger in the cool… Don’t wish them away.

Come to think of it, there is no day in this life that we can afford to wish away. These are the days we have. Let’s enjoy them to the fullest. Peace is right where we are. Peace is when we are as well. Let us be present to each and every moment of Peace.

Needed: Pink Moon Sabbath Peace

The world needs a Peace that’s pregnant with possibilities. It needs a Peace that holds that Life is sacred and stops for a moment just to be present to it.

This weekend, which is the weekend of the first Sabbaths in the Pink Moon is just such a weekend to contemplate that Peace. Spring is, snow notwithstanding, burgeoning. This is a moment in time where everything seems possible.

Maybe we need to take a pause, relax and refresh ourselves… and as the song says: start all over again.

Right now, we’re watching one jihadist who grew from a basketball-loving kid — but there are thousands of them. The fault is not just in them, it is in a world that fosters that need for structured hate.

In moments when I feel most hopeless when I see what’s going on “over there,” I have to remember that some of that started here. I can’t do much about over there. I can do something, no matter how small about over here. Because today it’s Minneapolis, tomorrow it could be the Susquehanna Valley. Despair has made itself at home in a lot of people. And lest we point fingers at one religious group, let us remember our white supremacy groups of which my home state has so many. It’s the same hate, it just dresses differently.

We then, are the answer, the antidote, we and the inspiration of this beautiful spreading Spring and a new Moon of Possibilities. Let us pray… and then let us get to work!

Snow Moon Peace Prayers

A couple marries. A young husband dies. A restaurant is shot up in Göteborg. The season changes, the Moon darkens and then, ever so slowly begins to grow again. Blessed to stand by the edge of the ocean, I open my heart…

To be aware. To be grateful. To be of use. To bring Peace. To be aware. To be grateful. To be of use. To bring Peace. To be aware. To be grateful. To be of use. To bring Peace.

Today, back in my life. I have the same prayer. and did I forget to mention, to be delighted.

Snow Geese, Swans & Sugar Moon Peace

Migration is such an amazing thing. Birds travel thousands of miles from their summer to winter homes and then back again. (well, they’re traveling to keep the same seasons going).

Because I live two blocks from a North/South waterway, there’s no escaping this beautiful reality.

I drove over to “the” field yesterday about dusk and 2000 birds were taking off. They flew in formation back and forth, catching the sun and then the shadow. They looked like an Escher print. Now brilliantly white, then golden in the sun, then black in shadow. The Vees formed and reformed. They called back and forth.

Every year, the same astonishing display. As I said, for me, it’s wrapped up in my Dad… but the beauty is overwhelming on its own. There it is, for free. Today, maybe tomorrow, but certainly next year! Making memories and all we have to do is show up and be present.

Every day there’s a reminder of life’s Abundance and Beauty. Swans and Geese are today’s gift of Peace from the Snow Moon. (oh, and the gulls, let’s not forget the gulls!)

Where Hate Lines Become Peace Lines

It is exactly where hate happens that we have the largest opportunities to turn things around.

Whether hateful activities are to be the place of Peaceful ones or to be the catalyst for Peaceful movement in other places isn’t what matters, what matters is that hate keeps moving us toward Peace.

We don’t understand hate as hate. The kids on the fraternity bus (and their parents, for goodness sakes) can twist themselves to believe that racist slurs aren’t racist. Senators can convince themselves that the law doesn’t pertain to them… that’s where hate is… and it’s exactly there that it needs to stop.

We’re the ones to turn hate lines into Peace lines. We can start it on our own, we can be a point of Peace, but we want to connect those Peace points into line. Because together we are strong. Together we can. Peace. We can do this. The Peace sap is running, let’s boil it down to its full sweetness… in what’s left of this Sugar Moon… Let’s be present to the possibility of Peace, shall we? and erase those lines of hate.

Recommitting to the Lunacy of Peace

We live in our isolated little bubbles. Stuff that happens outside our bubbles isn’t real. Stuff that happened a long time ago is hard to remember. There are wonderful things about our bubbles… I cherish my community of friends, colleagues and strangers…

But life isn’t like this for everyone. I spent the weekend immersed in a life outside. Friday night I listened to Peterson Toscano do a stand-up series of short skits on homosexuality and climate change. Saturday I saw Selma. Sunday I saw Dear White People. The whole was a strong wake-up call.

I know that life is not rosy for others, but I do like my cocoon… But if I live in my cocoon, I condemn others to a continued hell of invisibility. It’s an embracing of willful ignorance. It’s a rejection of a pretty large piece of the world.

And if I who knows better will do that, who is going to do the stepping up?

We’ve been told time and time again, Peace, Love and Understanding are lunacy. Dreaming? Lunacy. Possibilities? Lunacy.

But you know what hate, fear and greed are disgusting and hold us hostage in separated tribes. We’re more than that. We’re better than that.

And our world will not forever survive that worldview.

More is possible under the Sweet Sugar Moon. What would the Lunacy of Peace look like?

Sacred Village

Building a World of Peace, Village by Sacred Village.

Tag Archives: being present