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…

In Your Own Peace, llvl

I’ve been thinking about presence, which I believe is a sacred act. And then I realized that too often I overlook myself as worthy of that radical action.

I postpone taking care of myself, my space, sometimes my wardrobe. I’m not always attentive with my money. Some of this is just personality. But some of it is not. Some of it is just stuff I procrastinate about.

And so last week, I started at the gym. Finally. I like to swim. I really like to swim. But even loving the water doesn’t get me to the pool three times a week. And the pool is not enough. So I’ve paid my money to increase my membership and now in the last two weeks I’ve been to the gym three times. I’ll go once more this week. Two or three swims and two gyms. Every week.

Because I’m worth it. And because I’m 62. If I don’t work on those core muscles now, I won’t have them later. All reports say it’s going to be a slip slidey Winter. Let’s keep the balance thing going. And I’m an Evans, and we’re pretty long-lived. That means I both want to honor that heritage and face the reality of needing to be in good shape.

It’s unlikely that I’m one of those people destined to become a gym-rat. I’m sure it will make me feel better. It will certainly make me look better. Somewhere, if I’m lucky there will be endorphins (so far, my biggest excitement about the recumbent bike is that I can read. OK. I’ll take that. Some people claim you can do that on the stair master, but somethings I don’t need to test quite yet. Maybe some day.)

But if I think of this as offering myself radical presence. If I think of it as one long ongoing prayer of gratitude for my body and my life, this may be the goad I need. Maybe. It really goes against my thealogy not to consider myself central to the hard work I’m willing to do in the world. And yet, I’ve done that effectively for years… sigh.

“It’s me, it’s me, it’s me oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer.” Don’t hesitate to ask me gently how I’m doing in this sacred endeavor.

So here’s me, counting me in as worthy not only of working for Peace, but of creating it for myself. Amen. Blessed Be. I wish the same for you and all your wonderfulness.

Beautiful Peace, llvl

Some Peace you work for. Some you’re just given. There are those days, and yesterday was one of them. Blue, blue sky. Corn shocks hanging around. Color deepening on trees that don’t release until their leaves are brown. Undulating patchwork fields. Sunlight that hadn’t turned to winter’s lemony light.

It was just gorgeous.

And then a brilliant sunset reminded us — winter is coming.

Some days are really just about drinking in the beauty and filling up for the week ahead. Twice. Lots to do, but it’s all the better for the beauty of the weekend. I spent lots of time hanging with my sweetie. That was pretty wonderful too. Oddly, for my crowd, I was asked to say grace yesterday. There was much to be grateful for

The weather will change, but the next season offers its own Peace.

You have to keep your eyes and heart open. Otherwise you won’t recognize Peace when you bump into it. And wouldn’t that be a shame?

Brisk Sabbath Peace, llvl

Well, the temperatures plummeted last night for the first thing, and so did my heart. I came home from my lovely, lovely wedding to find a note about (yet another) a course being offered in a local town that envisions the end of the world’s arriving with a fight between Israel and all of Islam.

I sat through the first class once, it was appalling. There are so many things wrong with I went with my friends from the mosque. I won’t sit through it again. I love that people are writing me to say, what do we do. Well, we do what people have always done. We witness for Love. In a world where people are afraid, Love will carry us through to Peace.

There’s work to be done. But this makes taking a day of rest and reflection even more important. You want to go to that work filled with love and not a thousand other things that make you feel superior (and not just scared). Actually, we want to go to all our work that way. Life is challenging, we need to fill up so we can contribute. We need to remember what is important simply because life is extraordinary. Only then can we live our lives as a prayer of gratitude.

So enjoy the day and the Peace it offers. And get ready, because we have Peace to offer the World. It needs our loving hands.

Ice Cream, Peace, No Peace, llvl

It could take a lot of ice cream with friends to fix what’s going on in our little world. I did have a magical moment out by the pumpkin patch with dear friends yesterday. No problems got solved but we breathed in beautiful air together and ate fresh peaches on top of our ice cream. Not a bad afternoon at all.

And when you look at the relentless ugliness going on in the world. My brother-in-law holds that it’s just that we’re looking at these things, and we have to hold that as a good thing. I’m not convinced.

Mostly I’m overwhelmed. My perky (shouldn’t that be spelled with an i with a heart over it) Pollyanna can do personality is having a whoa, sh•t moment. When you wake up, it’s hard to figure where the best place is to step up. Do gooders like me are feeling like we’re taking a class in some gym on life up down up down up down. switch feet. And while you’re doing that, speak out. Oh, no, step aerobics as prayer. (what is seen cannot be unseen.)

But, nonetheless, there is work to be done. Some fool on FB took Toni Morrison (Toni Morrison????) to task for worrying about racism and interrupting this woman’s feel good moment. She was confident that there was no racism and most people wanted to gently suggest… no, no gentle suggestions. respond. Now. The list is long, so we all have a lot of opportunities to say no to hatred and stupidity.

Eat some ice cream. You’ll need it. Because the journey is long and arduous. But we are exactly the right people to work for Peace, one little piece at a time. Together…

Pretty Peaceful Swimming, llvl

Nope, we’re going in. Lorraine’s Law. And friends go along if doesn’t mean jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. Even at 62, there you go along. It’ll be a while before I have the chance again.

um, whee? Clambering across algae covered boulders and stones, please, no slip-sliding awy… trying to get out to where you’re at least knee deep, so you can turn around, squat until you’re immersed and push off. oh, ok, whee! indeed, whEE!

It’s not as if it’s ever a real hardship to swim and giggle in the water, and by now I’m almost adept at the whole changing under the towel thing… this was NOT a day to push the “I’ll just sit here in my wet bathing suit and dry off thing”… brrrrrrrrr. barely 60 degrees, but we did it! And then there was ficka: tea or coffee, your choice and for each of us, a baked good of choice. I ALWAYS choose cinnamon roll, unless of course there’s something with almond paste… (no almond paste today, they’re moldy… bah!)

But it was a rewarding, wonderful moment of Peace, sitting under the Picasso sculpture on the shores of the lake… goodbye, lovely lake. goodbye, lovely swim. goodbye, lovely i’ll do it if you do it Peace… goodbye, lovely sacred prayer of Life…

It’s summer and we were swimming and that’s the way it is.

Variations on Peace, llvl

It’s all well and good for me to appreciate the glories of my local life, whether at home or at my friends’ homes. It is good to appreciate. But at the same time, I think, you hold the tension of life where things are not going well… There are always horrifying things, but today there seem to be so many.

With a dear friend, living with AIDS for 23 years now, I’m aware of the huge scientific loss of the Malaysia flight in addition to the humanitarian loss. What, you wonder, would make people think this violent act was a good idea? And then list all the other places in the world where people suffer horrendously for other people’s greed…

I’m grateful to know that a sister UU church is standing up and saying No to the hatred in Texas — And I’m sure there are plenty of other churches along side them… but horrified there are churches standing together on the other side of the street, that the welcome being extended is a counter protest.

So, when life is breathtaking in a little village in Sweden (or a little village in Pennsylvania), I think we must store that up against the horror — store it up so we have fuel to get back to work when the time is right… It was a beautiful day touring around the bay yesterday. The beauty is outrageous. The skies were clear and the temperature was perfect. The whole day was a prayer of gratitude and beauty.

And somehow the intermingled stories of the oysterwoman and her priest brother were just so simple and lovely. So I breathe in the love, the wonder, and the simplicity and let it soothe my soul. And I try to be present to each of the fabulous moments. There are so many right now. I am so lucky. I am so grateful. I am at Peace.

The Peace Gate, llvl

Are you going out or are you coming in? I have this silly image of some Divine Being standing tapping a foot looking at us like we look at the dogs and cats who either can’t make up their minds or just want us to stand their offering them options. “I don’t have all day, you know…”

Either choice is a good one, but we have to commit. Into the Paradise of Peace. Onto the Peace Path.

Making our lives great, exciting, wonderful, Peaceful. That’s what we’re asked to do — because that’s what we’re given the gift for. One of my more common exhortations to myself (and others) is: Count my blessings and make myself a blessing to be counted.

So whether your prayer is one of homecoming or one of departure: say it, mean it, do it. Life is waiting for your loving hands. Peace needs you.

Recalculating Peace, llvl

It’s a complicated thing, this Peace thing. And so many places it can derail. So many places it does derail.

So, faithfulness is asked of us. And remembering. Remembering that we live in our own small local life where change is possible. Remembering despite the news of shootings and violence. Remembering despite my rage and sadness at the way we treat one another.

Peace is a one-foot-in-front-of-the-other journey. It’s a journey where you sometimes have to sit down until the fog clears. Sometimes when it finally does, you notice the path is changed.

So you do what the GPS teaches and recalculate the roads we’ll take to get to Peace. We must keep it on our hearts and minds. It’s a challenging enough journey. We must keep the destination clear and the prayer alive. Peace be with you, my friends.

Popes for Peace, llvl

Well, it’s not my local vida, but it’s the vida local at the heart of three important religious traditions. There where there should be Peace, there is only conflict.

I can’t tell you that Francis’ gesture toward Palestine and Israel will go anywhere, neither can he. But his open-hearted invitation and their acceptance gives Hope. This is the work Popes are supposed to do, since no one else is making any progress. On the sixth of June, when they pray together, may we all pray for Peace between Palestine and Israel. And as our prayers hang in the air, like incense, let us wage Peace.

If Peace doesn’t start with one of us, it doesn’t start. All our high-minded posts on social media about revering the soldiers don’t matter today, they matter tomorrow and the days after that. If we revere them we do everything we can to keep them safe. We do that by addressing the Need and the Possibilities for Peace that don’t demand their ultimate sacrifice.

Sacred Village

Building a World of Peace, Village by Sacred Village.

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