Balancing Peace, llvl

I suffer (and therefore so do you) from intensity overload. I have focus but it tends to be all consuming. But working on an issue or a problem is more than simply laser focus. It’s about the down moments not just the exhilaration.

Peace doesn’t get made without being able to laugh at the missteps… and the successes.

Peace (Life? Love?) is an experiment. So let us do the work, but let us be filled with wonder when things move in the right direction. Let’s not be afraid to fail, because our failures make us smarter. Peace isn’t all or nothing, it’s what you have to work with now.

Finding the balance. This is our one precious life. Spend it wisely… and have a whole lot of fun. Because things will go wrong, you will be sad, you will screw up, and the fun and the great Possibility are what will enable you to come back to the Work of Peace. Find your balance, the trail is steep…

Serendipitous Peace, llvl

What makes these things possible? Presence? Discipline? Sheer, unadulterated Luck? All of these? I don’t know.

I know I am humbled and grateful.

I would love to believe it’s my little village, but it’s not. Villages and Cities are filled with wonderful interesting people everywhere. It may be true that it’s easier to see one another in small towns… I can believe that. And I don’t know that it matters.

I’m here and for whatever reasons, I’m connected to amazing people. People who when we notice that children are hungry step up. I’m grateful every day for the team I get to work with. Caring people and very, very smart. And not just smart, but ingenious. There we are… making things happen. Things that need to happen. Things that matter. You don’t have to be the best at what you are, what you dream… you do need to be disciplined and consistent. You do need to be, dare I say it, earnest about your dreams and your determination. Earnestness translates; it sells. And selling is what we’re doing.

No one is going to feed hungry children unless you offer them the opportunity and give them a place to pay. It’s that simple… I didn’t always understand that, but there it is.

I believe fervently that we can do work that makes our hearts explode in our chests wherever we are. Yes, sometimes it’s that overwhelming. Yesterday was one of them. I adore this artist. If you’ve followed my work, you’ve adored her as well… She’s the woman who did the Peace mandalas for last year’s musings. A wonderful artist. She lives here. We show up at the same events — last night at Steve’s Musical Mash-up. She’d been there last week and we’d talked about mandalas, about the LOVE project, about doing a project together. We brainstormed words and phrases (while listening to our neighbors play astonishing music).

And then this week she came back. She’d played with words and found three that work. She taught me how to look into her designs and then she told me how her designs move. In and out; around. The designs are gorgeous and her explanations completely germane to the work we are doing. And so we will go to work… And this will be one more way to step up, to be socially active, to feed children… and one more way to think about what matters. And for us, it will be one more way to use our arts… to explore them… to apply them… to collaborate… for good, for community, for Peace.

Oh may your lives be this joyous and filled with magic! I am awed and grateful that mine is.

Science Peace: llvglobal

Well, of course, la vida local is also la vida global. We are all part of the interconnected web. And so much that’s astonishing in life has a really long lead time. Here‘s a wonderful video about a scientist hearing that what he believed, nurtured and cherished has come to fruition. The 30-year lead time on that knowledge doesn’t change the wonder. And his 30 year lead is predicated upon, built upon the science of others.

The science is ‘way beyond my comprehension… but the notion that one could “hear” echoes of the big bang billions (loads of zeros) of years ago — and actually of the “inflation” that happened one trillionth of a second (greater loads of zeros than the last load) after the bang… now that’s a thing of wonder. An inflation that unites us in wonder… and leaves us with the responsibility to unite in Peace. “Come together, right now.”

(how extraordinary is this! I totally get it that I may have gotten the science wrong, but my inability to wrap my arms around the extent of the possibility isn’t science’s fault — nor does it change the wonderment! Oh, my Daddy would have been so excited. Look kids, science is fun and extraordinary.)

Snowy Owl Peace, llvl

It’s all supply and demand, but this time I can get it. Apparently, last year was a bumper crop for lemmings somewhere way up there in the Arctic tundra. Which meant that the snowy owls, instead of laying one egg, all laid three. And they all hatched. Lots of snowy owls. This year, there aren’t as many of those little cliff leapers, but now there are two many snowy owls for their original region, so they widened their territories.

Presto Changeo, snowy owls in North Central PA, creating a new end of winter vida local. Mother Nature offering joy to her humans (and terror to the small, and even not so small wildlife.)

And I saw one. My friend said, oh, wow, there’s an immature hawk, maybe we’ll see the owl take the hawk. (ann the girl who likes to pretend that meat comes in styrofoam packages — no, i know better, and i give thanks to those whose lives are sacrificed that i may eat all the time! but still, ewwwwwww. ) I smiled gamely, tried to look interested and thanked the owl for sitting still and taking a moment to preen.

And there it sat. Not all that far from a large field of swans. Swans, hanging out in the cornfield. A hundred or so. It doesn’t get more beautiful than this. Nature, right here in my little local life.

I’m so grateful Liz was willing to haul me around and make me sit and watch. Taking the time to enjoy the beauty! Hooray!

Peace of the Snowy Owl, to you, my friends, and of the migrating Swans. Peace of la vida local.

Peace Dawn in La Vida Local

It is that time of year when you get up just a bit earlier. The light calls. And it’s worth answering its call because it’s gorgeous if you can get yourself out of bed. But there’s more than Beauty waiting, there’s Possibility.

It’s time. Goodness knows I’ve put it off long enough this winter. I’ve been sad, I’ve been sleepy. I’ve been shoveling snow. And all those things are fine… they are what they are.

In addition, the project I’m working on has been too big to get my arms around until now… It’s still too big, but there are little moments of clarity. Little things are getting done (shout hallelujah!) that are making it possible to understand what it might be. The team is lining up and finding their feet… and we’re off tripping and figuring things out. (I’m not trying to tease, the minute I’ve got a website for this baby, you’ll hear from me!)

This is the time of year for figuring it out. It’s time (Ann, are you listening?) to set the alarm and get up and get going. Because the world needs just the brand of Peace you have to offer. Wake up, wake up, wake up, you sleepyhead. Sometimes waking up is the prayer you need to offer the world. Get up, get up, get up, get out of bed! You’ve got your work cut out for you! Cheer up, cheer up, the sun is red! live, laugh, love and be happy! Joy is waiting for you. And Peace is made of Joy.

Traces of Peace, LLVL

I was a bit lost yesterday afternoon when it came time to write the day’s musing… it’s not a common occurrence, but I’ve been doing this for three years, and it happens. I asked a friend, what should I write? Write about our ice skating escapade he wrote, about the web of life and how it causes community. Hmmm.

Now when I say “our ice-skating adventure,” you understand, I don’t mean MY ice-skating adventure. I don’t do that. I’ve never had great ankles, and I’m not all that steady on my pins. Those two pretty much eliminated any childhood winter olympic dreams I might have had! No, this was a church outing. Although I have to find out if they have those ice-walkers for adults that they have to keep kids upright. I might be more willing to try it again… and less likely to experiment with my “triple-klutz.” (although that may be optimistic!)

But the thought for the musing certainly had possibility, and it wouldn’t be the first time I wrote about something I didn’t do. I’ve written a perfectly lovely poem about biking, and my balance doesn’t encourage that, either…

But the notion of tracing the lines, that move from one single line carved in the ice to many overlapping lines was intriguing. that some of the lines in the web are straight and sure and some are wobbly and uncertain makes the comparison to the web of life more realistic.

And then, above the skates, all the emotions going on, fear, joy, laughter (i spared them my terror!), growing friendships and giggles. There had to be a game of crack the whip, right? That was always the funnest — even when you were the little being tossed off the end. So as lines were being traced, friendships were deepening, and memories were being carved into childhoods and communities.

A silly thing, really, just a day of enjoyment on the ice, but so many connections were possible — and many were made. Even if nothing deeper happened, here’s to winter and the fun of winter sports. Breathing in the frosty air is a treat unto itself!

The Peace of Candlemas Light, LLVL

It’s fitting that the new Moon starts building on Candlemas, a season dedicating our Light to its Purpose. Let there be more LIght and may I be one who bears it, one who is it.

It is at Candlemas, historically, or Imbolc, that people took their vows of service.

Here’s an opportunity, my dears, everyday a new chance to say what do I want to BE, what do I want to DO, not when I grow up, but next. Not like do I want to go to the movies, but like do i want to change the world, even my small corner of it. I hope so.

People here in my little town are doing a polar bear plunge (what are they crazy?) for charity… that’ll change their lives. But it’s a dedication. and hopefully no one will slip on the ice going into the river. People may not be thinking about the symbolism, but it’s hard to ignore…

I’m skipping the icy bath, but will spend some time thinking about my light and what it’s dedicated toward…

That focus was deepened last night as I sat in a tavern laughing with friends, stepped in on a little harmony, and just reveled in a little town enjoying itself. It gives me hope that we can make a huge difference by building on that camaraderie, building Peace on Love and Laughter.

This little light of yours… what are you going to do with it? Let it shine? Let it shine for Peace? oh, i hope so. Altogether now…

Stories for Peace

The Dark is the time of Sacred Stories. We are asked to recall and recite the stories that make sense in our lives, the stories that make sense of our lives. Every time we tell them, a layer is added. The meaning deepens in the telling and so do our connections to the stories.

We have choices about the stories we tell. We have choices about how we tell the stories, what is it we want them to teach us. We even have choices about the way our stories evolve, because we can make choices about how we live our lives.

When I started this year, I decided to let a new storyline emerge. I wanted to explore Peace in my life. Writing about Peace every day, no matter how obliquely has turned me into a Peace-Considerer and is moving me toward Peace-maker. Choosing to capitalize Peace and other nouns that lead toward it, while choosing to take power away from unpeaceful nouns by keeping them lowercase has had impact, on me, if not on others. The capital (particularly from someone who is capital challenged) is a small, lingering caress. I pay attention to the Peaceful details of the stories I tell.

And oh they matter, those stories. I’m trying to collect them about a friend of mine, who died a week ago. He was a wacky, wonderful guy with a sly sense of humor and a penchant for collecting things and people and stories. and awful jokes. There are so many Charlie-stories worth telling. Telling them well, next week when we have the memorial will help those stories settle into our collective hearts and become part of our history.

Telling Charlie stories will ease our sorrow and shape our shared future and perhaps our individual ones as well. That’s what stories do, the bring the past into the present and offer a path into the future. And if you make your stories stories of Peace, you will build a future of Peace. The more people in your stories, the more people on your Peace road. So observe so you can collect those stories, practice so you can tell them and listen to what you say so you know what to tweak and what to do next. Which ones exhort you to show up? Which make you reflect? Which count the blessings of sweet memories made from your feats of derring-do and your moments of collective lolling about.

Tell the stories that make you happy, make you laugh. Tell the stories that remind you that your heart bruises. Remind yourself of big work completed and little times enjoyed. Tell the stories that help you remember what you stumble over. Remember what you’re proud of. Tell the stories of how Love grows, and Hope and Joy. Tell them simply or embellish the heck out of them. But most of all? Enjoy each and every one of them. Peace, my friends… Happy Story-telling!

Wishful Thinking on Christmas Peace Past

So, here’s the deal, it’s all a pretty fantasy. Annandagjul sales (2nd day Christmas!) another big sales day. It’s good to have Swedish Sisters who keep track of you to keep you on the straight and narrow.

But I am going to sit in my chair and pretend. (Making it so, thanks Jean Luc!) Nothing but visiting, walking and because I’m Ann, swimming. I love me some fantasy, so I’ll keep spinning the stories… In a land far away… there is comfort and joy, comfort and joy… oh, well, but at least the pastry shops are probably open over there! And at my house, there’s strata waiting to be warmed and salad to be consumed. Brunch. Yes.

Why not make your Christmas Peace last… The Priestess gives you full permission to laze about today. Need a note from your Priestess? Lemme know.

We had a dusting of snow, and I’ve got a dusting of laziness… ahhhhhhh. Enjoy your day. I’m going to enjoy mine. Peace, out!

The Peace of Christmas Come and Gone

This is a hard day for me. First Christmas without Deb. The reality of so many wonderful family Christmases, the remembrance of family gathered last night, and the beauty of family close by and far away, my dearly Beloved and my dearly beloved… and the sweet sadness of a woman missing, calls not made, hugs and kisses not given, conversations stilled.

I miss her. Terribly. I think about my friend without her husband. My nieces without their father. Our church without our Charlie. And my friends who have lost and lost. The loss is always true, always there, a small payment for the joy of having loved, but still… On a day when there is Hope, it is Hope despite the breaking hearts… and the Love which you all share with me.

There is so much that has been beautiful about this year. I am grateful for my Peace Path, for Love Flows, for my writing… and for all of you. I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve, the people who trust me and the ones I trust. Broken-heartedness doesn’t render me unable to serve and it doesn’t touch the Laughter. Thanks be for that.

And the Christmas question… can we allow (can I?) — despite aching hearts and broken promises and tattered dreams — Christmas to come? Come with a renewal of hope and faith in Possibility. Come with the enjoyment of family and friends. Come with its own urgency to Peace. Come with healing on its wings?

I hope so. And till it does, as it does, Deb, I miss you so much. And I fantasize, because we know nothing, that they keep Christmas in heaven (may there be a heaven) and you, at last, at last, at last, have your kids and your husband around the Tree and parents checking in… all hearts mended, all problems solved. And you’ll know we’re coming along some day…

And so, I will pick up the living room and put up the tree. And Steve and I will call the kids and celebrate… For I believe in Christmas and I’ll keep Christmas Day. And it will keep me until my heart is healed because I have kept it with you… and the many people I have loved… living and dead. Peace be with us all.

Sacred Village

Building a World of Peace, Village by Sacred Village.

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