Would You Do Me An Itty Bitty Favor?

Would you be willing to add a drop of clarity and kindness to dilute the muddy puddle of confusion and judgment that many people have?

Quite a few people have made rude (to put it mildly) remarks about Muslims since the shootings which occurred yesterday at Fort Hood. If the shooter would have been of any other religion, maybe things would be different. We don't usually hate all Christians when a Christian kills, but there are people who say awful things about Muslims when they find that a person of that faith does an egregious act.

This is painful for me and it is especially painful for most people of the Muslim faith who would never entertain the thought of killing an innocent person.

Would you please add a kind comment on this blog to compensate for the hate that gets a lot of attention? I will pass your words on to some Muslim friends who could stand some kindness right now.

You can comment anonymously, if you want. I reserve the right to delete any unkind messages. It's my blog. If you want to be unkind, there are plenty of other venues for that.

Thank you.

My message:

I have looked into the eyes of my friends who follow the Muslim faith. I have looked into the eyes of my friends who are Christian and Buddhist and Atheist. In the eyes of every person, I have always seen the same thing. I have listened to my friends of all colors and religions, and I have heard the same needs and dreams that others share all over the world.

Hatred and intolerance make it into our sensation-driven media. I KNOW that for every word of judgment and hate that is printed or spoken through the media, many more words and acts of kindness are spoken and performed with little notice.

I hope that, amidst the anger that is amplified in the media hype, you can hear the voices of reason who stand by you every day. My voice is one of them.

In Peace,
Carol

Blogblast for Peace

I'm not supposed to mention that SOMEONE made this Peace Globe for me, so I won't.

Today is Blogblast for Peace Day. Thanks to Mimi who has orchestrated such a lovely themed day.

May peace be in our hearts today and always.

We interrupt this moment to bring you...




... some spaciousness

...simple peace and quiet

...a time away from news and to-do lists

...just simple nothingness








This moment has been brought to you by Life. Underneath all of the "stuff" we call life, peace and spaciousness await us all.

Right Here, Right Now

On Wednesday and Thursday, the snow came down and came down. Truthfully, it wasn't always coming down - sometimes it came across, blowing horizontally from the north.

On Wednesday I was at the office and the powers-that-be decided to close the place down at 2:00, due to the weather. I wanted to go home and wasn't looking forward to the drive. I had heard that the highway we normally take home was closed, due to multiple accidents. We would have to take an alternate route, which I prefer in the snow anyway. Still...

I stood at the glass door, waiting for Mr. Carol For Peace to get done messing with his computer (yes, we work in the same office). I felt antsy, impatient, nervous - wanting to get home NOW.

Then, I wondered what it would be like to be a small child looking out the glass door. All of the layers of thoughts and opinions that have formed over many years started peeling away until all I saw outside was amazing white snow.

It was absolutely, stunningly precious!

We Don't Need No More Trouble

This is my favorite Playing For Change song and video so far. For those of you who can't watch the video, people from all over the world, including Bono, are singing Bob Marley's War/No More Trouble.

"Until the color of [everyone's] man's skin has no more significance than the color of his [or her] eyes, everywhere is war." *

- Haile Selassie, from a speech made before the United Nations General Assembly in 1963. Bob Marley used the speech as lyrics to this song.

* [Inserted words are mine - thank you very much!]

Rethunk My Plans; Rehink Afghanistan

I was going to stay home and get some things done today. I wasn't going to get dressed. It was snowing outside and I didn't want to leave the warmth of my house.

Then I read a Contact Form submitted on my Carol For Peace blog. Here is the website of the man who contacted me: Marigold Fund, Afghanistan.

Looking at that site, feeling deep admiration for this man's work, I suddenly remembered that the video Rethink Afghanistan was showing at a church downtown today - as in one hour from that very moment. Not that watching a video will change the world, but suddenly, it seemed important. I got dressed, laid aside my introversion and shyness, and drove downtown.

If you haven't yet seen Rethink Afghanistan, I highly recommend it. I didn't know what to expect. I learned some things, was reminded of the futility of our military actions over there, and I witnessed the human cost of war. It wasn't an easy movie to watch, but it had me captivated.

To see a trailer and find out about a screening near you, click here.

For more trailers click here.

I truly think that, in order to live in peace on this planet, we need to care about the suffering of all of our brothers and sisters as much as our own. I would rather die early, having lived with benevolence toward all, than live long at the expense of another.

Under Colorado-blue skies
(Crayola should name a crayon
"Colorado Blue" after these kinds
of skies),
Buddha, the dog, and I
went to Clear Creek
to do our walking
meditation
the slow kind of wandering
a 13-year-old dog
likes.

We passed no one.
I soon realized why
Path closed, due to downed
trees. Dangerous.



I forgot
about the winds
and hail,
three months ago,
that uprooted grandfather trees,
that splintered windows
and filled houses with inches
of white ice,
that shredded tomatoes and
zucchinis and sunflowers,



that defied all attempts to
control nature, bringing
down trees and their protective
beaver-resistant
fence-dresses




This was truly
ground zero
that late July night.
Today the chain saws
and shredders
moaned.

First the hail and winds,
then the machines,
until we forget that
there used to be
acres of trees here.





Amidst the piles of dead
tree parts
an artist put brush to
canvas,




creating a soft,
graceful ballet
of fall colors.

While I explored
the raw and
broken.

Yesterday

7:30 a.m. Arrive at the public area between Denver Public Library and the Denver Art Museum. Unload bags and bags of shoes and boots. COLD! I have never been a part of the Eyes Wide Open exhibit in warm temps. What is it about that?

9:00 a.m. All boots, shoes and signs are arranged. Three women from the downtown Women in Black vigil arrive and stand with their banner. One of the women ends up standing the entire 5 hours we have the exhibit out. I really appreciate her dedication. A few people pass by. Some look for a few moments. Others keep eyes straight ahead as they walk to wherever they are going. I wonder how they can be so disengaged with what is going on around them. Then I realize that I am sure I have been that way before during times when I wasn't comfortable with what presented itself to me. (Mental note: I want to live my life being present, with wonder, open to investigating what's around me.)







A few of the "usual suspects" come and hang out with us. I love these people. All are kind. All trying to help the world in any way that they can.

Noon: The wonderful women from the Women in Black vigil that I stand with come with our banner. We all gather. There is a prayer. "...Remind us what YOU have taught through every religion, that we are wise to do to others not as we have been done to but as we want others to do to us. Open our eyes, make us wise that You give us answers better than war..." Names are read. The first Iraqi name, that of a one-year-old, shoots through the air and into our hearts.
The weight of my head is too heavy for my shoulders to support.










Then Jeff Lucey was remembered. Not a casualty of physical injuries, but a suicide after returning home from the war. A casualty of war, nonetheless. My heart... We all stood in silence for a long time. There were no more words.

Boots representing the unknown number of suicides that have occurred
as a result of the wars.

Thank you for the photos, Mr. Carol For Peace.

The Human Cost

If you live in Colorado...

8 Years in Afghanistan: The Human Cost

Join us for Eyes Wide Open, the Human Cost of War. As there are commemorations all around the world to mark this chilling anniversary, we will be participating in Denver with the Eyes Wide Open Exhibit.

Tomorrow, Saturday, October 17, 2009
9 am - 2pm

At noon there will be a special remembrance of lives lost in Afghanistan and Iraq, both civilian and military.

Location: Public space between the library and the art museum in downtown Denver.
10 W 14th Ave. Parkway

Very little grows on jagged

rock. Be ground. Be crumbled, so wildflowers will come up

where you are. You've been

stony for too many years. Try something different. Surrender.

- Rumi