let kindness win

Yesterday was the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, it was also the 34^th anniversary of a peace vigil held every Monday on the corner of MLK and Doty in Madison, Wisconsin. I went to honor the people who have stood for peace all through the years and to add my voice to theirs. I held an old sign that reads “It’s time for peace, stop the war.” A woman approached me and asked, “To which war does your sign refer?” I replied, “I think the war within each of us is the war we must fight to end.” That was not a satisfactory answer and she continued to prod, “so there is no war worth fighting?” I said, “the war within is enough for me.” A veteran held her attention for a bit and explained he was not a pacifist, thought that military action would never end war, but he would have fought in WWII. She pushed me further asking, “are there any good wars?” “This is not a question I want to answer,” I replied. “The question I want to ask and answer is, can I stop the war within? I think if we can do that, war on the outside would end.”

“You are naïve,” she told me. “Perhaps,” I said, “but peace will never happen if we don’t try.  I am hopeful people can change,” I said. She then honored me as she turned and walked away saying, “you are like Anne Frank. She was naïve, too.”

It takes courage, clarity and love to stand for and to be in peace. Thank you to all who keep, or have kept the vigil – in your hearts and on the street.

“Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.” ― Anne Frank, Diary of a Young Girl

I was fortunate to be raised by an Italian Grandmother who could not speak English, who tickled the earth with a hoe for her food and who baked her bread in an outdoor oven. When she died I was too young to realize my nature was being corrupted by canned and later fast food, wonder bread and the pesticides left over from WWII chemicals that found its way to American tables in the 50’s…and continues.

I was fortunate that even though my childhood front door faced an industrial complex complete with glow in the dark, cancer spewing toxins, I never lost my love of nature, and yearned for the sweet smell of morning dew on the grass and of all things of the earth.

I was fortunate that although animals were not welcomed in my family home, I never lost my respect for and wonder of all things living.

I am fortunate that my love of life has been relentless in guiding me.

And I was fortunate to be welcomed home by a Navajo Grandmother, an amazing human being, who helped me to remember what, “Your people forgot long ago…”

I have met people all over the world who have helped me remember that I belong to this Earth. That my feet are always on sacred soil, and that with each step I have the opportunity to caress the Earth with love and beauty and dignity.

I am fortunate to know that in this great turning we must again remember we are one people, one planet. This is not a debate for me. It is a fact. As more individuals own that knowing, as more live from that knowing, the thread of consciousness that ties us together will rise.  And the Walk in Beauty will be more than a prayer.

 

After twenty one years of trying, it seems the world “leaders” are still in a quandary over what to do about climate change. As talks proceed until December 11th in Paris, perhaps it is time to give a new round of leaders the opportunity to sit at the table and put real solutions before the world. Take time to read and understand indigenous people’s perspective on climate change. Take time to connect the dots between Syrian and Iraqi people seeking asylum and people being driven from their traditional lands by force or ecological upheaval. Read and understand and then help others understand. No more fossil fuel. Love your Mother.

http://www.idlenomore.ca/        Idle No More

http://www.ienearth.org/            Indigenous Environmental Network

http://indigenousrising.org/about/   Indigenous Rising an Indigenous Environmental Network Project

“I think there is a huge change taking place in people’s minds. My own reading is, governments will be left behind. People will walk ahead of them both in implementing solutions and in working out ways to make a transition. And the governments will have to follow.”

-Vandana Shiva, www.navdanya.org in an interview Dec 3, 2015, on As It Happens, CBC radio

In this moment it is essential that people of hope not despair.

It will take a lot of kindness and a lot of conversation – not only with people you love, but also with people you fear – to overcome the darkness of hatred and anger.

It is not enough to fight labels with labels. It is not enough to minimize another, even if you are sickened by all they say and do. It is not enough to keep to your circles of agreement. It is not enough to stop listening in order to be right. It is not enough to say when will this end?

Darkness never kept the sun from rising. The sun does what the sun must do. And so must we.

Let hope rise within you.  Wait for it, call to it. When it comes to you, fill your cup. And when your cup runs over make sure it lands where it’s needed.

Ignorance begins with the word ignore. We cannot close our eyes in this moment, and we must hone our weapons for the fight. Hope, clarity, courage, conviction, peace…

In feeling hope we are alive. In feeling peace we find our way.  However desperate these times, I know we can turn this ship around.

Each of us, one drop at a time, together.

 

I am stepping into the world of blogs (couldn’t there be a better name?) Those of you who know me know that this will not be a Hallmark moment. It is my hope to find creative ways to think about life today in all its beauty and horror and to draw upon the thread of Kindness that I see winding its way through each of our lives. I will write from inspiration, not schedule and I will try to do no harm. Feel free to comment, I welcome healthy conversation.

Everything in me believes our best times are yet ahead of us. That it is not too late to rectify, to forgive and to find creative compassionate ways to move ahead. One planet, one people. To this end I will share with you my thoughts, my dreams and my concerns about this precious moment called now on this most beautiful planet. I hope you will find it both thought provoking and soothing to your soul.

It is never to late to begin. It is never too late for Kindness to win. Enjoy.

Thank you.