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.

Quiet Dawn of a Working Sabbath Morning

Huh, as I write this I think, my friends celebrate the Sabbath from Friday night into Saturday. Technically, we celebrate from Saturday night into Sunday, although for each group if we grab a couple hours and put them aside we’re lucky.

But what if we thought of the weekends as holy? The whole thing. Treated them and ourselves with a bit of reverence? Offered ourselves a bit of respite, maybe even some learning. A bit of play? Some yard work… clean out a drawer… Something reflective…

Something as reflective as this river is reflective. Something as blue and gold and rose. Something as full of clarity as this fresh spring air.

Sabbath… For clergy it’s a working respite… which seems odd, but there you are nonetheless. I have to plan my morning carefully so that what i’m doing comes from a place of reflection.

Today, really is a working day for my community as we have our annual meeting and look at budgets and make plans for the year ahead of us.

Dawn’s gift is clarity and observation in some traditions… I’ll take that this morning, yes indeed I will… and hope for a day of sweet Peace… for us and for everyone. Love. Peace. Blessings.

Never Too Late for Beauty or Peace

Sunsets often transform cloudy skies into wild beauty. There you’ve been, moping along all day, complaining about the clouds or the rain or the mist, and the Sun, on the way out door, headed home for the night, takes advantage of the moment and turns the sky into Beauty.

It can steal your breath and stop you in your tracks. And oh, I hope so. Paying attention is so very important. When we’re offered Beauty, we should take advantage of it.

It’s good to remember this when we’re gloomy about the prospects of Peace. We can be the transforming Beauty. We need to be.

Silliness for Peace

Sometimes, I confess, my brain makes weird (wonderful) loops. I think this was one of them. You may or may not…

But the horse just looked so “newsy” as my mom would have called her. (I guess you couldn’t mention noses in her house while they were growing up. She always said cows were newsy.)

And the dog was so disinterested in what was going on. snugly tucked against the warm barn wall, catching a snooze in the sun.d

Next thing you know, there I was anthropomorphizing! And amusing myself. There are worse things!

And if you’re going to work for Peace, you’re going to have to find your sweetness and light where you can, because often Peace is very heavy going. Not always, but often enough!

So here’s to laughter and to silliness, and to fabulous new red shoes. And oh, yeah, here’s to Peace

The Right Tools for Peace

Since we all make Peace differently, it’s important we find the tools that help us do the work. Sometimes they’re little things that fit in our hands, other times they rearrange the world.

Who we are and how we make Peace is really the question, isn’t it?

What is the discipline we use to develop our Peace-making muscles? What are the tools we need to help us? Who is our team?

How do we make Peace?

And more prosaically… how do we find pleasure in the small, strange things?

Sacred Village

Building a World of Peace, Village by Sacred Village.

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