Day 9. Precipitation...

As the seasons change from autumn to winter the leaves fall from the trees making their way to the earth's floor. The bare trees prepare for a long slumber to recharge during the winter months; to rest and renew for the coming spring.

As the snow begins to fall all is quiet. One might say, it's peaceful. Standing outside in the dark of the night, arms stretched out wide, head raised to the sky allowing oneself to be showered by the snowfall.

Slowly, one flake falls from the sky, meandering from way above, drifting on it's own path until finally it lands. One flake alone is beauty, simple, quiet yet it's the powerful act of what happens when all the individual snowflakes collectively work together. Each in their own right unique yet it's a different experience that brought the snowflakes together to blanket the earth.

Knitting and snow. Just as each individual snowflake collects to make something bigger, the knit stitch is like a snowflake... we link each stitch together to create something beautiful. It starts with one, then we add another, plus one more until finally we have a hat, mittens, cowl, sweater, socks, etc. And really, it is our knitted product that we've made to keep us warm and protect us; just like the accumulated snow that protects and provides warmth to the earth during it's winter slumber.

Snow and peace. One tiny, unique snowflake makes a difference. That peaceful snowflake gathers with other individual snowflakes to create something rather powerful.

And so is the collective power of all of us; our own experiences in life bringing us together now working to enhance peace in our own lives yet the cumulative effect of all of us working together to create change. Never doubt the power of one, just like the snowflake; it's the collection of the individuals that make up the total that creates an impact.

Peace seed #9.

Precipitation… quenches the thirst for our planet. At times, that moisture appears with some foul weather… most often wind, cold or heat. That precipitation, so vital to our survival, yet often prompts negative chatter “it’s too cold, too hot, winter’s wicked, summer’s oppressive, etc.” We are once again presented with an opportunity to practice removing ourselves from the spiral of negativity… today, decide that the weather is what it is, it is not within our control to change the weather, and to find the beauty instead of the ugly.

Today's seed is simple. Pour yourself your favorite beverage, sit down in your favorite place and listen to some music. And now imagine yourself as that peaceful snowflake, drifting slowly with purpose yet without a rush.

Here's a YouTube link to Snow by George Winston. Here’s another YouTube link to Peace by George Winston. He’s probably my all-time favorite musician. If you have access to Spotify, Amazon Prime or Pandora (free) listen to the collection called December by George Winston. It's a treat. If by some chance, the links don’t work for you, google December by George Winston to access the music.

Winner of the give-away. Wow, with over 140 comments between the blog and the individual ones sent to me, there were a lot of wonderful suggestions. I’d highly encourage everyone to read through the comments as there were some amazing suggestions. There will be several other give-aways, at least 3 and each one is delightful and very special to me.

The winner of the Moeke yarn is Nancy. She left this comment:

To bring more peace into my day, I take walks. Walking under a canopy of tall trees is like walking into a magnificent cathedral. The sunlight through the branches, the songs of the birds, and the brush of the wind help me to live in the moment, peacefully.

Nancy, please email me (thehealthyknitter at gmail dot com) so I can make arrangements for you to receive your prize.

Day 8. Pearl...

“You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.
Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting—
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.”

— Mary Oliver, Wild Geese

Taking flight…

I’ve long had a fascination for geese. The mystery with which they can accomplish greatness. Their coordination, communication, perseverance, commitment, trust… they instinctively know that to achieve their goal, survival, they must work together. It’s downright beautiful.

Each goose on it’s own is vulnerable but as a community they are strong, determined and effective. They take turns leading in the sky and when one grows weary another steps up to shoulder the responsibility for the greater good of the gaggle.

This year’s Project Peace 2018 pattern deliberately includes the flying geese motif inspired by the quilting pattern “flying geese” as I wanted to capture these characteristics of geese that are vital to our own personal survival as well as us collectively. We must figure out a way to work together… participating, engaging, helping others, compassion despite differences, if we truly want to shift our own personal world or the world at large to one that chooses peace.

Whether the geese in your project are visible or not based on your chosen yarn is not the important aspect… inspiring reflection related to geese and peace while knitting was my goal.

I reached out earlier this fall to Nicky from Knit For Victory to ask if she had any Canadian geese patterns. She offered to create one just for us. And the goose she created is perfect!

I asked for name suggestions and wow… did you ever deliver. A week ago, I settled on a name that was near and dear to my heart and had so many connections to Project Peace but a couple of days ago, after the package arrived containing our goose, I instantly knew her name.

Meet Pearl.

You can download a copy of the pattern for Pearl on Ravelry. It’s a gift from Nicky so it’s free for all. I can’t thank Nicky enough for such a generous gift.

Pearl, my new walking partner

Peace seed #8.

The name Pearl, in case you hadn’t yet said “a-ha” is a spin-off of the knitting term “purl.” Not everyone likes to purl, it’s awkward, it slows us down, it can even mess with our gauge… But just think if the only stitch ever developed was the “knit” stitch. We would be limited in what we create… there would still be a lot of options but the purl stitch, the other half of stockinette provides just that… the other half. So, her name, Pearl is to remind us that we can find beauty everywhere.

And I learned through the process of finding a name for Pearl that a group of geese flying in the sky is called a skein… so go ahead “knit a skein.”

Today, as you knit ponder how geese relate to the greater good of our world and how you might work to be more like a goose. The flying geese pattern is simple a series of half-triangles with the top touching the bottom of the next triangle. For a simple activity to create a moment to pause, consider doodling the flying geese pattern.

And don’t forget to download your copy of Pearl.

Pearl stops to pause…

Day 7. Philosophy...

And we persist…

While attending a recent lecture, the speaker asked us “what is your career philosophy?” Hmm, I have a teaching philosophy as that’s a standard request in my field but an overall, big picture statement on what I wanted my career to be? To accomplish?

And as my mind was in the midst of it’s third summersault, she then asked “what’s your life philosophy?”

Now, I must have looked like one of those cartoons with the smoke exuding from the top of one’s head… life philosophy? My teaching philosophy centers around what I want to accomplish and how I’ll go about doing that; what I value as an academician… but apply those concepts to my life in writing in approximately a page?

My mind churned.

A page? How would I have that much to say?

A page? How could I possibly generate that much material?

Do we have a life philosophy? We may have guiding values, beliefs, and morals but a statement on what we want to do in life, how we’ll accomplish that including our values?

Wow… that moment was another game changer for me. I have pieces and parts of those but nothing consolidated or anywhere but mulling around in my head.

Perhaps I’m the only one that doesn’t have a life philosophy?

When I first began The Healthy Knitter 4 years ago, I wanted to use my professional expertise to inspire knitters to incorporate healthy habits in their daily lives. Knitting is typically a sedentary act, one where we sit while engaged in our craft. Interrupting the sitting with regular, short breaks including standing and walking are a vital component of health.

To capture my aspirations for The Healthy Knitter, I wrote a little poem…

The Healthy Knitter Poem

When I read this poem from almost 4 years ago, I’m reminded that these are still my goals… for self and for others. If I could make any changes, after “walk every day,” I would add, “if able.” You can click on the image and download a copy of the poem if you like.

So, it isn’t a philosophy but maybe it’s a start. I’m now inspired to spend some time writing and drafting a life philosophy. I know that I want to embrace peace in my own life, plant seeds along my path and inspire others to pause and ponder peace…slowly those seeds will grow nourishing those around them.

What’s your life philosophy?

Peace seed #7.

I’ve often heard that the number one goal for most parents is they want their children to be happy. The follow-up question is always “where/how do we teach happiness?”

Take a few moments today to view the Action for Happiness website. They publish a monthly free calendar with daily tips to promote happiness.

Once you’ve settled in, jot down a few thoughts about your life philosophy. Miriam-Webster dictionary defines philosophy as the most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual.

Perhaps you write a poem, a mantra, lyrics to a song, or a folk-story. Maybe you write one sentence… the comment you left yesterday might just be your beginning.

pause, ponder, presence…

May your day be filled with a moment of peace…

~Christina

Day 6. Permeate...

“In the silence of our breath, is peace.”

— Ntathu Allen

In a yoga class I once attended, the instructor said "we do all this work for the sole purpose of finding our way to shavasana." Now, shavasna is the final pose in a yoga class where one rests, not to sleep but to recharge after a period of effort and work. At the time, I thought her statement was odd. After all, why would I spend 50 minutes of effort if the only goal was to lie down and relax for 10? Couldn't I just skip the work and go straight to shavasana?

With more reflection, I realized one must experience the process the work and the rest; both parts complete the process and neither one can stand alone. Again, it's about balance... too much work without rest leads to imbalance and vice versa.

Yoga has also taught me the power of breathing. Using my breath to calm me down or to provide focus. A strategy needed not only on the mat. Isn’t it odd that we breathe all the time without ever giving it much thought?. Our breath is the most important life-sustaining act that we do. How long can we go without oxygen? A couple of minutes? maybe 5? Yet we don't even think about it.

We know how to do the “work” part, let's practice how to do the “rest” part. Using your breath to recharge is a powerful technique that takes only moments. If you find yourself thinking "I don't do yoga" or "this is silly," I encourage you to give this one a try. It isn't "yoga" per se and so what if you feel silly... that's ok too.

Peace seed #6.

Breathe. Allow the oxygen to permeate your entire being. Focusing on our breath provides that moment of rest we need to recharge ourselves in this busy, chaotic world. Today, let’s practice being aware of our breath with this easy technique.

1. Take a comfortable seat, making sure to sit up tall with feet placed firmly on the ground.

2. Place your hands on your lap and close your eyes.

3. Slowly breathe in through your nose to the count of 3 (1-2-3).

4. Pause holding the inhale for a brief moment.

5. And now exhale through the nose to the count of 3 (1-2-3).

6. Pause briefly at the bottom of the exhale.

7. Repeat as many times as you need.

When you're feeling stressed, anxious, or looking for a calm and peaceful way to begin your day, repeat 5-10 cycles, allowing your mind to follow your inhales and exhales. You don’t have to practice this technique in a calm, quiet place with low-distraction. You might find it helpful when walking, in traffic, waiting in line at the post office, sitting in a meeting, or even while knitting.

As you continue to practice this simple breathing technique, perhaps try visualizing the oxygen entering your body, crossing the border of your lungs, hitch-hiking a ride in a fancy car known as the red blood cell, crossing yet another border into the cell, traversing the terrain to a special room, the mitochondria where the oxygen is processed to sustain your entire being…

Allow the oxygen to permeate your entire body from the tip of your head to your big toe. And while the balance of work and rest may seem like a daunting task, find a space to capture that balance for just a few minutes today.

May your day be filled with peace and a few conscious breaths...

~Christina

Our first giveaway!!

This past summer I had the fortunate opportunity to travel to Cordova, Alaska to attend The Net Loft Fiber and Friend’s Festival. I’ll share more on that experience in several upcoming posts however one of the highlights was the people I met and friendships made. At one of the evening potlucks, a woman named Susan came up to me and said “tell me more about this peace thing you do.” So, I explained my dreams, aspirations and goals… That day, I believe a seed was planted and our friendship has continued to grow. I share all of this with you because today’s first give-away is provided by Susan. She has the most generous and giving heart. I’ll send you two skeins of Moeke yarn, locally produced in Romania with “love and care” in the most beautiful blue color. Thank you Susan!

Here’s what you need to do… leave a comment (or email me your comment if you can’t leave a comment for whatever reason) by midnight 12/7 in response to the following statement:

How can you bring more peace to your daily life… whether it’s something we’ve discussed thus far or a different idea you’ve had. Let’s start sharing and cultivating our knitted peace community.

Update.

Hopefully everyone’s yarn is beginning to arrive. Packages went out on Saturday through Monday. I haven’t had a moment to enter the tracking numbers but please know they’re in the mail.

BIG NEWS… on saturday, the name of our goose will be revealed along with the ability to download the pattern. Again, I can’t thank Nicky enough.