It Feels Like Spring

After a few weeks of snow and frigid temps, I walk outside to let the Buddha dog do his morning duties and I breathe in spring air.  The Birds are singing.  My computer exudes exuberant voices from Egypt.

It's a new day.

Spring-like weather may not last from now into the summer, but the high today is expected to be almost 50 degrees and I will enjoy it as I stand for peace.

The exuberance of the Egyptians may not last indefinitely - after all, there is much to do to ensure that they get a government they want - but they are enjoying the results of their work right now and so am I.

When one person is willing to free herself, we are all freed.

Because it will be a warmer day to stand in vigil and because I'll be standing in solidarity with my brothers and sisters in Egypt, I have brought out one of my favorite shirts to wear:

It was designed by my friends, Emma's Revolution:





Thank you, people of Egypt.  You have shown me the power of the human spirit.

Happiness

Today was a day to fill myself up.  Have forgotten about fun and friends for too long.  I called a friend and we went out to breakfast, then I stood with our Women in Black vigil.  Much healing occurred.

Sometimes it takes another person to straighten out our crooked eyes, so the time shared at breakfast was more than food for the belly.  And I realized that virtual hugs are awesome, but the real human thing cannot be replaced. 


I have not mentioned that Mr. Carol For Peace has been out of town for most of the great adventure that has taken place this past week.  So there have been no hugs and no one but me to take care of Buddha.  Good thing the Buddha is so appropriately named.  He has been an understanding and supportive companion at all times.

While standing vigil alongside a street full of holiday shoppers, something within me opened up.  We are a group of women dressed all in black as a sign of mourning for the atrocities of war.  Today I could no longer be in a place of mourning.  I wanted to wish happiness to each driver and passenger.  I wanted happiness.  I wanted happiness for my family.  We can have happiness even when we have no health or wealth and when the situations of the world are not to our liking.  We can be happy with those who oppose what we say.  We can be happy just for the sake of being happy.  No conditions are required, being happy just because we are alive.


It was all so beautiful.  I couldn't help but to smile.  A lot.  I connected with drivers and and pedestrians, not with words, but with eyes - in a deep, human connection.

"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy."
— Thich Nhat Hanh 

Happiness right now IS peace.  

"Each moment is a chance for us to make peace with the world, to make peace possible for the world, to make happiness possible for the world."
— Thich Nhat Hanh (Teachings on Love)  

 

 

 

 

(You have my permission to remind me of this post the next time I lose my footing, okay?)

This 4th of July Weekend

For almost five years of Saturdays, we women wearing black have stood on our corner as a witness to peace. We have been given gifts of all kinds, we have been flipped off, yelled at, clapped for, thanked, peace-signed and ignored. Most of the negative comments lack originality, obviously having been taken from some soundbite on television or radio. Not that peace signs are original or anything. But their silence (and their agreement with our message) is more tolerable than hearing an imitation of some Fox News talking head. So to stay consistent, I guess I'll have to admit that, for me, being flipped off is preferable to hearing someone yell "Support Our Troops" as we stand there offering the radical suggestion of ending wars so our troops can live healthy lives with their families.

I especially like standing in vigil on patriotic holidays. People are more alive and engaging.

So what was I going to write about? Oh yeah...

Yesterday I was holding this sign



when a man walked by and said to me, "Peace will come to earth when God comes back".

And I wondered...

Where did God go? And when?

Did God create the earth and all of the universe and then just GO somewhere?

Or did God abandon just those of us here on the earth? Is God now residing on other planets, allowing peace to flourish there?

How does this man KNOW that peace on earth will only come at some date when his God "comes back"? Did he read it? (He could have read about a lot of other possibilities.) Or does he KNOW it like he knows the back of his hand or the face of his child?

Are we supposed to let go of our imagining and our work toward a peaceful life because such acts are useless due to the fact that we can only have peace when this God comes back? Are we meant to be passive people waiting for our redemption? Or would this God, when he/she comes back, want us to have followed the teachings of the wise people of all ages, creating peace by treating our fellow (hu)man as we would like to be treated and "thou shalt not kill"ing and such?

Just wondering...

A Wild World

I was stopped, waiting for traffic to pass so that I could make a left-hand turn. I heard nearby thunder. It passed me by in the form of a camouflage-painted jeep which had all kinds of outdoor gear and cycles attached to its top and back end. The thunder was actually John Lennon belting out "Give Peace a Chance" so loudly that I could understand the words when the jeep was a half a block away.

Maybe the louder we sing about peace and the more we offer our music to anyone around, whether they want it or not, the higher the chances we really will have peace in our world.

Or maybe the guy driving just likes the song.

A lot.

Accepting Various Truths

Wow.

That's all I can say about it.

Wow.

Helen Thomas wrote an article titled Accepting Various Truths in the Albany Times Union that just really said the unsayable. I mean, we all know it, but it just hit me over the head.

The United States spends more for its arsenal than any other 10 countries combined. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the U.S. accounts for more than 40 percent of the world's total military spending. China is in second place, at a relatively puny 5.8 percent.

If the U.S. defense spending bubble were ever to deflate, domestic job losses would be catastrophic, a stunning fact that raises the question of whether we can ever afford peace.

I guess there's the possibility that we could slowly reduce the military spending while increasing our spending to for renewable energy and humane efforts.

That will take a very big paradigm shift.

The 12 Days Before Gaza: #4

A trip doesn't begin the moment we board the plane. Not the moment we pack, either. This trip has been... well, a TRIP for a long time, with the planning, conference calls, emotional roller coasters, etc.

Last night we went to a party. A woman who is a member of the activist community always throws a big bash about this time every December. Her dinky house is filled with wonderful people who work for social justice. The house is so small and so crowded that when someone wants to walk from the living room to the kitchen, EVERYONE gets to move in order for that to happen. It's a dance. It's a microcosm of the macrocosm - one movement affects the whole.

At the party, a beautiful woman, an elder, who is maybe 80, encouraged me, supported me, applauded me, and empowered me regarding my trip. That is the work of our elders. That is who I want to be for those who come behind me.

In living life, we are meant to go out, to risk everything, to find that which is bigger than who we think we are.

~~~

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, circumstances may be changing for some of the people with whom I have planned to travel. Things may be shaking up a little. That has made me look inside to get clear about why I decided to go in the first place. What drives me? If it ends up that my reasons for going no longer exist, do I still go?

In the end, I have realized that it doesn't matter whether I go or not. Whatever I do, I will not change the world too much , but either way, one movement affects the whole. Let it be a dance.


Reminds me of a song..


LET IT BE A DANCE
by Ric Masten

Let it be a dance we do.
May I have this dance with you?
Through the good times
And the bad times, too,
Let it be a dance.

Let a dancing song be heard.
Play the music say the words,
Fill the sky with sailing birds.
Let it be a dance.
Let it be a dance.
Let it be a dance
Learn to follow, learn to lead,
Feel the rhythm, fill the need.
To reap the harvest, plant the seed.
And let it be a dance....Chorus.

Everybody turn and spin,
Let your body learn to bend,
and, like a willow with the wind,
Let it be a dance.
Let it be a dance.
Let it be a dance
A child is born, the old must die,
A time for joy, a time to cry.
Take it as it passes by.
And let it be a dance....Chorus.

Morning star comes out at night,
Without the dark there is no light.
If nothing's wrong, then nothing's right.
Let it be a dance.
Let it be a dance.
Let it be a dance
Let the sun shine, let it rain,
Share the laughter, bare the pain,
And round and round we go again.
Let it be a dance....Chorus.

The 12 Days Before Gaza: #3

Yesterday I stood with our Women in Black vigil and was reminded once again how the atmosphere around our vigil is always different during this time of year. Each year at this time, our corner becomes a party, a community. More traffic, more smiles, more waves and honks and thank you's.

And I've been feeling different lately. More emotional and susceptible to tears. More in love with the world and with life. More grateful.

I'm wondering... does the absence of light during the winter months mess with our hormones?

These changes I experience and see around me can't be due to the upcoming celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace. A birth is just a birth. If all of this was about the person, we would feel peace and goodwill to all every day of the year, right?

I hope to someday discover this hormone that drenches us about this time each year so that I can mass produce it and spread it around every day. Maybe I'll figure out a way to inject it into our DNA (stranger things are occurring as I type).

But, really, could we stand to feel this much love all of the time?

The 12 Days Before Gaza: #2

On Christmas Day I will arrive in Egypt, a country that is building an impenetrable steel wall at the border with Gaza which will be 10-11km (6-7 miles) long and will extend 18 meters below the surface. According to the BBC,

"The Egyptians are being helped by American army engineers, who the BBC understands have designed the wall. The plan has been shrouded in secrecy, with no comment or confirmation from the Egyptian government."

From yesterday's Irish Times (whose article indicates that the Egyptians are now confirming the building of the wall):

Over the past year the number of tunnels has doubled from 750 to 1,500. They carry essential goods, household appliances, fuel, medicines, fertiliser, seeds, clothing, motorbikes, and even the occasional car.

If the flow of goods is impaired or interdicted, the 1.5 million Gazans would be reduced to reliance on the ration package containing flour, pulses and tea distributed by UN agencies.

Time Magazine recently ran an informative story about the importance of the underground tunnels between Gaza and Egypt. They are the lifelines for people who have been shut off from the rest of the world by the Israelis. From the article:

"There is only one economy — there's a tunnel economy," says John Ging, head of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency in the Gaza Strip. "You have zero exports and zero commercial imports through the [Israeli-controlled] crossing points. All that is allowed in is humanitarian aid and supplies ... In terms of economic activity, there is no economic activity other than the tunnel economy."

Ann Wright, retired US Army Reserve Colonel:

"The tunnels are the lifelines for Gaza since the international community agreed to a blockade of Gaza to collectively punish the citizens of Gaza for their having elected in Parliamentary elections in 2006 sufficient Hamas Parliamentarians that Hamas became the government of Gaza. The United States and other western countries have placed Hamas on the list of terrorist organizations.

The underground steel wall is intended to strengthen international governmental efforts to imprison and starve the people of Gaza into submission so they will throw out the Hamas government."

On Christmas Day I will be in Egypt. People in the U.S. will be celebrating the birth of the Prince of Peace while their tax dollars pay for bombs in Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, and other places around the globe. Americans will wish for "peace on earth, goodwill toward men" while their country supports much suffering all over the world.

AND on Christmas Day, there will be peacemakers from all over the world traveling to Gaza to give voice to what is occurring there. There will be doctors and nurses in every country who will be tending to the illnesses and injuries of others. There will be people stopping to help the person in front of them because they see a need.

How does a heart hold all of this???







I Believe In Father Christmas

They said there'll be snow at christmas
They said there'll be peace on earth
But instead it just kept on raining
A veil of tears for the virgin's birth
I remember one christmas morning
A winters light and a distant choir
And the peal of a bell and that christmas tree smell
And their eyes full of tinsel and fire

They sold me a dream of christmas
They sold me a silent night
And they told me a fairy story
'till I believed in the israelite
And I believed in father christmas
And I looked at the sky with excited eyes
'till I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn
And I saw him and through his disguise

I wish you a hopeful christmas
I wish you a brave new year
All anguish pain and sadness
Leave your heart and let your road be clear
They said there'll be snow at christmas
They said there'll be peace on earth
Hallelujah noel be it heaven or hell
The christmas you get you deserve

Some Ways To Peace and Unity

I truly believe that we cannot be a part of peace in this world if we don't have peace in our hearts. We can't use unkind language toward others, fight with our partners, or foster deep judgments and chasms between races and religions and then expect a world of understanding and peace. It starts right where we are.

If we want a peaceful world, we get to create that within ourselves first. I find my inner work to be the most important part of every day. Taking time to remember that which is larger than me and also looking at and softening the hard places within myself are two things that not only help me to move with compassion in the world, but they also help me to keep some sanity amidst the noise all around me.

Ruthie Rosauer and my friend, Liz Hill, have created a book titled Singing Meditation: Together in Sound and Silence. One of my practices has been to participate in zikr - a singing prayer/meditation that helps one to remember and connect with that which is the source of everything - so I am excited about this book.



According to co-author, Liz Hill:

Singing meditation is a communal spiritual practice that combines repetitive singing of short, simple, interfaith songs with periods of undirected silence. It is like chant, but the music is more varied and crosses religious and cultural barriers (with respect and recognition).

Ruthie Rosauer, who has been leading this practice for five years for a variety of audiences, has written a book with Liz Hill to explain the practice and encourage people to try it. Singing Meditation: Together in Sound and Silence, shows readers how to start and lead their own singing meditation groups, explaining everything from choosing repertoire to promoting the sessions.

Here is a beautiful video example of the type of music Hill and Rosauer use in Singing Meditation:




Much Peace and Love to you and all humankind this Holiday Season and Always!

Thank You!

Thank you for your response to my itty bitty favor request. If you haven't commented yet, it's never too late to do so in the post below.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Much peace, much love, this beautiful autumn day.

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

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.

Peace is Already Here

If peace is dependent on arms and legs and houses and cars, then there is no possibility of peace.* Peace has no conditions. - Byron Katie, speaking about the beliefs that some of us can sometimes have about needing more money.

*Blogger's Note: This can also be applied to our perceived needs for more oil, power, land, love, etc., etc.