Dithering Peace

Do I follow the weather or is it just the season. I feel stuck in my journey at the moment. Lots of little details. Very little progress. ‘Way too much repetition. Incredible opportunities to see where my bounding forward caused issues that need to be reworked. I yearn forward, and the work is in the present, right here, right now.

Maybe a good image is that of raking away the winter cover. It is a necessary and tedious job. It must be done carefully, or you’ll rake away the shyly emerging bulbs. This is a good time for allies, if you like me, have a fair amount of Tigger-esque qualities. Bouncing isn’t part of the needed skill set. Patience and deep breathing are.

These holidays and this cusp are important. Dwelling where we are, being present in the moment is as well. Peace. Rake slowly.

The Peace of Many Celebrations

Welcome to the weekend! Religious festivals overlap in a joyous burst of New Life. In the Spring it’s not just the Christians and the Pagans together at the table, as that sweet song says, there are lots of us digging out family recipes and putting the extra leaves in the tables.

Too many folk think this is a reason to snip and snarl (when we’re not decorating eggs or hunting out our Seder plate),but this is a reason to be joyous. What ties us together is that we are all celebrating. Mother Earth is calling us all back to life. Menus may collide or need some adjustment, but may your feasts be traveling one and may you get to know your neighbors and their religious practices. May Peace break forth with the flowers and may we be the reason why. Enjoy and sweet blessings of the holidays to you. let’s see… gefilte fish, peanut butter eggs, bitter salad greens… priestess or glutton, you decide!

Peace of Recognition

Namaste is such a powerful word. As a greeting, it goes right to the heart of what we all most crave — to be seen, to be recognized as sacred and worthy. It is one of those words, which if you begin to use mindfully, will change your life and your perspective.

You cannot say “Namaste” and then talk trash about someone or a group of someone. In your saying “hello, I recognize you” there is the plea to be recognized. There is a celebration of one’s humanity and one’s divinity. it is an acknowledgement of the other’s worth and dignity. Namaste is a word of Peace. It demands being present. It demands self reflection. It demands being aware of and counting one’s blessings.

I’m wary of snatching up words from other languages and cultures and assuming the right to use them. But any words that make us stop and consider how we interact in the world are good words to have around. Namaste, my friends, may you make it a wonderful Peace-filled day.

Peace-abilities, Peace-ibilities

Is that too corny for words? I can’t tell you… I’m probably not the first person to consider these things — just because i haven’t seen it before, doesn’t mean it’s not out there. I did find I couldn’t decide between a word that meant I was capable and a word that meant things were possible.

But imagine: we could even have a PQ Peace-ability Quotient that we could improve, or classes in increasing the number of Peace-ibilities we can envision. I’d better stop, I’m beginning to build a Peace-ibility Empire! (and why not?) Whatever it is, we should give thanks and get to work!

(ps… i looked and there is some stuff… so, no empire, just a post!)

The Peace of Molasses

I know it’s January in which molasses is supposed to be thick and slow, but this Spring is winning records at least in our psyches. slllllllloooooooooooooow. I’m usually pretty chipper and work hard at being in the moment. Writing these morning musings keeps me grounded and looking around, and I love that. So many days, I can just get excited about how the world’s unfolding. And then I can apply that to the Peace process and then I’m my usual Pollyanna self.

But you know, it is a bit slow this year. There’s a lot of grey and a lot of cold. Luckily any snow that comes goes pretty quickly. But could the grey just go away? And if it’s going to be grey and moist, could we at least catch up on the water table. It’s hard to believe it looks like this and still the water table is down. Sheesh!

And yet, and yet, if I take this back to growing Peace, isn’t this just one more of those sticky spots where nothing seems to be happening. In fact where factions seem to be grating on one another’s nerves and everybody owns the one true answer to how Peace moves forward. And so for a while, until we learn to compromise, Peace will trudge along like the weather and like the rest of us. Peace be with us, better times are coming — because we’re going to make it so!

Big City Peace

Of course it’s not only in small towns that Peace is being made, we make it wherever we are. When I think about my life in New York, in particular, I think about the buzz. I was young and filled with restless energy and New York was a spectacular place to be for that. It was astonishing how many people you’d meet at a party or in the park doing fabulous, fascinating jobs. If you knew the right people, you could start a wave that moved across the boroughs and sometimes then out across the land and made a difference simply because it attracted a lot of attention. You can’t deny the importance of Star Power. And when I was working on things in the cities, it was always a goal to to grab some attention as you did the work because that would make the difference in whether or not things got the momentum they needed.

Wherever we are, we have to fit our Peacemaking skills to our context. But that’s the nature of Peacemaking isn’t it? So we work it in cities or in small towns and then find ways to connect our efforts to those of our cousins-in-spirit. Whether you’re a supercollider kinda Peace girl or boy, or a slow and steady wins the race one, Peace is waiting for our hearts to go to work.

Peace of a Small-Town Sabbath

People fuss and fume about small towns, but I’m finding it wonderfully freeing after 30 years in big cities. I love cities, don’t get me wrong, they have their own sort of fabulousness, but I am finding living in a small town incredibly empowering. I know who to call when I want to get something done. Projects are small and manageable.

And Sabbaths, they’re relaxed and filled with good times. You meet your neighbors on your walks around the block as you check out how everyone’s backyard is growing. You encounter them as you all tromp of to the grocery store for something special for supper.

It’s a good day to sit around with your feet up, catch up with the local news, and plot out your next project. ahhhhhhhhh. Enjoy the Peace.

Peace of Sacred Things

We’ve all been listening to the stories coming out about teen-age rape. One of the things that strikes me is the aura of protectionism (well, unless you’re the young raped girl, then, not so much.). But it seems we concentrate our efforts on what needs to be protected rather than what is sacred. We’re still trying the girls for inappropriate clothing or behavior becoming no one. We’re still worried about poor boys and their ruined chances.

But here’s the thing. People’s personage is sacred. It should never be assaulted by another. I believe it’s a fundamentally different approach to teach our children (and goodness knows, ourselves) to honor what is sacred rather than simply to protect what is precious. If it’s precious, someone wants to get at it. If it’s sacred, you despoil yourselves by mishandling it. Girls are not fragile things needing protection. Or rather they need protection as do all children because adults do not revere their sacred being. They teach their children the same lessons. Remember the phrase pecking order? It refers not only to who eats out of the bowl first but also who’s fair game.

I want the teaching about rape to be about an understanding of another person’s Godhead if you will. Let’s teach kids the meaning of Namaste: The Divine in me greets the Divine in you… So, even at 17 when driven by a (nearly constantly) erect penis, the Divine must be greeted. Let’s teach nasty girls that the Divine must be respected in themselves, who might not be so quick to gossip, and in others who don’t deserve to be gossiped about. Divine doesn’t work for you? how about that which is the Essence of Life? Who we are is sacred. It’s time we took seriously our responsibility to talk about and teach that. Because we’re teaching our children horrible lessons and then recoiling in disgusted surprise. Stop protecting, start revering. And share your reverence with the world.

Our children need that. Our Sacred Earth needs that. Those who are marginalized need it. And your health will improve, so you need it. Namaste, my friend, the sacred in me greets the sacred in you. Peace be with you.

A Trusting Peace

Peace seems like such an ephemeral thing. I guess “they” like to to keep it that way so that we don’t think it’s attainable. But Peace is also a very grounded activity. You move Peace from heart to heart. It can catch fire, but it needs to build slowly from a very tiny fire.

When what you and I believe begins to work between us, people take notice. We build trust, in one another and in our shared work. We invite others to join us and slowly we reach that magical tipping point.

I believe that big Peace is built by trusting one another with our Dreams and our Processes. Step by step, and then leap by leap. But, small steps first. Peace is possible, I believe that in the depths of my soul. And we’re the people. I believe that to. So, small steps forward. Onward, into Trust and Peace!

A Civil Peace

Here’s the thing about high ideals. They require a lot of step-by-step on the ground work. So just when you’re thinking about buying the champagne and Peace bunting you realize that you have to be making Peace in your local community… and helping them to become Peace makers.

It’s one of the reasons we need to team up on this journey, because some of us work well at blue sky levels, some of us work better on the ground… and then of course there are those who work in between and some who just like to work behind the scenes, they’re all necessary.

But just as the Sandy Hook tragedy underlined the necessity but also the opportunity of working together, this spate of violent gang rapes while teens stand idly by and then text horrific pics and threats offers us the necessity and the opportunity to talk about public responsibility and public discourse. We’d all better take the opportunity. This isn’t a case of those kids over there. This is all of us. We’ve failed those kids. All the “don’t make them come along, sit at the table, participate in group activities” leniency we’ve offered our children has taught them they don’t need to participate. Technology is both an incredible opportunity for widening our world and a removal from first person experience.

I’m not sure what the answers are, but I do know we’re the folks to work on this. We need to relearn and to teach the arts of civil discourse and engagement. Life is a conversation in which there are exchanges and silences. If it’s about violence and threats and disinterest, that’s our work to repair. We need to look in the mirror and indulge in some moments of self-reflection. We need to be stepping up to the challenges, because our children need us. We need to be working on the Peace Conversation.

Sacred Village

Building a World of Peace, Village by Sacred Village.

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