Peace at the Dark of the Moon

I love the Dark of the Moon… I love the Moon in all her guises, but there’s something about the Mystery of this time, when the moon is invisible to us but continues to have her way with the tides.

I like that she is there, even when I can’t see her. I like that she is always strong.

I find it a wonderful metaphor for women’s strengths. We’re not always using all our strength, but it’s always there. Sometimes we need to visit the Dark and Lovely parts of ourselves.

Too often we think of the pieces of ourselves that we hide away as weak. But the Moon isn’t weak when she goes away. She’s weakest when she shines, when she can only reflect what is offered. But she exerts the same pull on the Earth facing us or turned away. Her gravitational pull is the strongest when she’s Full and when she’s Dark. Interesting, eh?

Peace — how are we strong for Peace? How do we shine it out in the world? How do we stay strong when we’re turned away from the world… and continue doing our work…

Hmmm. this has got me thinking. More later. In the meantime, it’s MLK day. go out and do something good for the world…

Martin’s Peace Lunacy

Happy Birthday, Dr. King.

We have so much to be grateful for in your leadership.

Such daring. Such truth telling. There are those who say you were just a man; that’s the genius of your work.

Because if you were human, great things can be asked and expected of us — we who are also simply human.

Peace. Courage. Conviction. Devotion. Faith.

You changed the world, and challenge us, with your life and your death, to do the same. You changed the world with your insistence that each life is sacred.

We give thanks… Let us then begin to move toward Peace in whatever way is best for us!

A Photographer of Peace Lunacy

He took so many pictures. But the pictures so many of us remember, that struck us right in the heart of our love for our little town was the one of the full moon rising behind the courthouse.

It’s a beautiful shot no matter what… but when it’s a shot of something you love… ah… it’s somehow so much sweeter.

When we walked up the hill after the funeral to the grave site, we were all moved by the view… his view… his town…

And such a crowd, so many people moved by his wonderful artistry and by his gentle soul. He walked around town with his camera, capturing unseen angles and vistas, but talking to everyone…

He was a gentle, Peaceful man who loved the moon. He taught us to see things differently. What a gift to give the world. What a gift for us to receive and take seriously. Peace. and the Moon. and Marlin. What a blessing.

Challenging Peace Lunacy

If there’s anything this Pollyanna hates to acknowledge is how challenging and sometimes painful life can be. But looking away doesn’t change that, however often we try avoidance as our coping mechanism.

Life is hard. Bad things happen. Pretending that good things always come from hard things is magical thinking. It’s true we may survive hard things, but it doesn’t always make us stronger or better. Sometimes it just makes us incredibly sad.

In the hard times, we have to search for the balm of Peace. Sometimes we find it in our friends’ or family’s love. Sometimes we find it in quiet moments of Nature. And some folks find it in loud dance music. Wherever we find respite is a good thing.

This year as we go through the year, looking at the Moon and its phases, I’m finding balm in the Moon, in the knowledge that her sweet and serene reflection is always there (even when I can’t see it.)

I like knowing that the balm of Moon shines on you and your problems at the same time. Because life is hard. Challenges do arrive. So I must take a deep breath, drink that light in, and as a favorite prayer says, forgive myself and begin again in love.

Shining Peace at the Moon

What if all of us at some point when the Moon were in the sky made the effort to look up and smile Peace and Love at the Moon?

Naïve, surely.

But it costs nothing and it hurts nothing, which is certainly not what we can say about the trying to war our way to Peace.

And it might change our mindset as we begin to have Peace on our hearts and our faces on a regular basis. It is exactly those times of being open and unguarded that we move forward in Peace, I think. And it might start us making constructive movement toward Peace in a world too frightened to let go of the hatred.

We might check our Moon calendar and see when the moon shines on Iraq or Syria and send our best Love. Or know when the Moon smiles at Nigeria and offer hope for a suffering people.

Peace begins where we are. And the Moon will be all the more radiant for our Hope and Love.

The Lunatic Peace of Oh, There You Are

A friend wrote that the moongazing felt oddly lonely — and I thought, huh, that’s not my experience… (and may be what tomorrow’s musing looks at!)

But I find at night, when looking at the grandeur, when the present is present or when it’s traveling and away, that I’m aware of the Moon or the Stars peeking in the windows of those I love and those I haven’t yet come to love — Making the connections with my Moon Peace community… a prayer for Peace…

I wonder who’s also looking at the Moon and sending Peace. Do we start a FB page to find out? Do we remind ourselves that the moon sends her very soft light on us? I read a lovely series by Sharon Shinn in which she talks about the Moon Goddess and says that the Moon can only reflect what is given Her… I loved the metaphor…

Do we give the Moon Love and Peace to reflect? Do we make conscious choices about that? (tomorrow’s musing’s reshaping under my fingers as I write to you…)

Hmmm. I think I should probably stop and ponder that. May the sweet Peace of the Moon be with you, my friends, until we meet again…

A New Generation of Peace Lunatics

It’s easy to become discouraged, even desperate, when we consider Peace. What will happen to our world, we wonder…

Antidote to despair: spend some time with some kids.

I had the most wonderful couple-hour conversation yesterday with a sophomore in college. She’s majoring in mechanical engineering because she wants to work on alternative energy. She’s a proud student athlete who loves sports and but maintains a solid gpa.

If the alternative energy angle wasn’t enough, she’s working on keeping tigers from going extinct. Apparently there’s a coalition of all the schools with tigers as mascots and they’re raising money for tigers (only 7 species left and 3,200 tigers, act now!) And then we talked about how else she and her friends might be active and how she might expand not just the numbers of friends she had, but the kinds of people she knows, people who weren’t student athletes in engineering.

I already adore this young woman so I knew it would be a pleasure to talk to her. But she was so passionate about things that matter. However she can continue to saving the world, she’s in.

She has great parents. I know them and like them a lot. She went to the best of the local schools — and it’s a good school. It’s a privileged life here, but her family is aware and helps their kids stretch. She grew up in the church where I work, so I’ve been watching her for years. They had a great youth group, liked each other, had fun. Parents matter. Good communities matter.

I’m very proud of the two communities I’m involved with, the UUCSV (and the parent organization the Unitarian Universalist Association) and thinkpeace workshop for girls. But I know there are lots of other great parents and great communities who are teaching great values and reminding us that Peace matters.

So let’s give our kids the tools they need to become lunatics for Peace and teach them to do good. There are so many children under this soft white Moon, let’s make them one another’s allies…

Little Pieces of Peace Lunacy

There is so much sadness in the world. Huge, sad reflections of violence and greed. There’s no question that we must address these as we can.

But at the same time, we must keep our spirits strong for the journey. One way to do that is to notice what’s working and to celebrate. Let’s encourage ourselves to then take the little pieces we can and set them to rights.

Is it crazy to believe we can make a difference?

I don’t believe so.

I do believe we often set our sights too high, too big and then when we fail, we walk away altogether. We’re better seeing what little steps can be taken and begin to make those advances toward our bigger goal of Peace.

But on the way, let’s tell one another the small joys that make a life rich. When the baby learns something new, when our kid succeeds after months of trying, when we have a wonderful date with our partner or our friends, when we have communion with our elderly parent or a giggle with a sibling. Life has so much sweetness in it, let us savor that.

And full of love, let us turn gentle eyes on the bigger problems and begin to consider where we might have impact.

Because although we might not have what’s needed to change the big picture, by changing the little pictures we begin to build up evidence that Peace is possible. It’s a sweet kind of lunacy this belief in a better world… but why not? Let us be as serene and joyful as the Moon, let us reflect Love on the world…

Sabbath Peace and Lunacy

Often my message for Sundays is to relax, to take a break. Sundays are good days in most people’s lives to step outside the mania. Odd but wonderful that for very different reasons my husband and I often do our best work on Sundays! Our Sunday morning conversations are filled with joy and encouragement. Have a great day, we exhort one another.

And today is no exception. We’ll celebrate our work and the relationships we’re privileged to be in.

However this is also a day that dawns after a very cold night. Although it will warm up today as cloud cover has finally moved in. It’s frigid outside. It’s wonderful to celebrate the beauty of winter and dark skies through which the Moon sails. Yet this is not all there is. Too many are without adequate shelter during the winter.

I’m not sure how I most effectively respond to this, but I know that there must be some response. Let us consider how all of creation might be warmly received. Because we’re the only answer we have… Peace is so much more complex than we know — may we see it, may we know it, may we embody it… May we embrace the Lunacy of Peace and stand for Creation and all who live upon the earth…

Diamenté Peace Lunacy

Out we go, into the cold and starry night! There, to be overwhelmed with the frigid beauty.

When the temperatures drop and the moisture disappears from the air, we have a much better view of the sky.

Wrap up and go out and look at the beauty.

I can’t imagine you won’t find it stirring. And consider, this black heaven filled with dancing light blankets the world (ok half of it at this point). People who think far different thoughts than you, people who live far different lives are looking at these heavens in awe and wonder.

May they look at Beauty in safety and Peace. All of them. Every last one. And then wait, here comes the Moon…

And in this frigid weather, may everyone have a place to go to be warm and cozy…

Sacred Village

Building a World of Peace, Village by Sacred Village.

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