Day 12. Power[ful]...

“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. ...We need not wait to see what others do.” ”

— Mahatma Gandhi

Have you ever thought to yourself… “I’m just one person, how can I make a difference?”

But you can, in small, simple ways that can have a huge impact. What if 10 people shifted their mindset so that “I am one person, and I can make a difference!” Or 100 and then 1000!

Some people think of this as Random Acts of Kindness (RAK). Doing something today for another person that is unexpected and giving. Buying coffee for a stranger, sending a note to a long-lost friend… Anna Brones, a talented writer and paper-cut artist recently wrote on her digital advent calendar about Random Acts of Kindness… it’s definitely worth the read.

Yet I want to take us beyond RAK to show how we can, as one person make a difference. There is “power” in just one person making a difference.

How often have you passed by litter and thought “gosh, why do people do that?” If 1 person stops to pick up garbage along the roadside, in a park, on a sidewalk then that one person is beginning to “be that change they want to see in the world.”

Last year during on Day 15 of Project Peace, I talked about the Copper River Delta Knitted Birds Project. On this post, I encouraged Project Peacers to knit birds and send them to the exhibit that Dotty from The Net Loft was creating. Last summer I had the chance to visit Cordova, Dotty, The Net Loft community and the bird exhibit. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect. What impact could a room filled with knitted birds look like?

Powerful…

Graceful…

Sweet…

Global…

And evidence of peace spreading around the world…

I stood in the museum in solitude and silence, weeping with tears of joy, astonishment and evidence… that the act or seed planted by one can make a difference… we worked collectively to contribute to this magnificent display.

This room was filled with hundreds of peace doves… doves from Nicky’s generous gift of the dove pattern last year. From all around the world… Knitters for peace… symbolized by the migration of peace birds all the way to Alaska.

And as I continued to meander through the birds and the tears persisted, I knew they were also tears of gratitude… for our knitted community dedicated to peace.

Peace seed #12.

Never doubt that you, just you can make a difference…

Today, as we begin to extend our peaceful thoughts and actions outward, identify one simple seed you can plant today that has the potential to positively impact others. Whether it be a Random Act of Kindness or you stop to pick up some roadside litter, or identify a local group that accepts knitted winter weather gear, or stop to talk to someone about knitting and peace.

Plant seeds of peace…

P.S. To my knowledge, the Copper River Delta Knitted Birds Project is ongoing. Maybe we should send a skein of Pearls to Cordova?

Day 11. Pass...

“Slow makes fast and fast makes slow...”

— Anonymous

The tortoise and the hare. We’ve all probably heard the fable countless times and know the moral of the story: for the long haul… we must slow down. And yet, how many of us spend our days acting a little more like the hare rather than the tortoise?

Ambition, productivity, pride, ego, inspire the hare along his quick and flighty path. Running here and there distracted by… well, everything.

Distractions… they are everywhere.

The t.v., computer, phone, shopping, the list goes on. These items pull us away from our true course, creating a rushed world, one filled with messages that promote a life filled with more titles, more news, more “friends,” more material goods. And not that these items are inherently bad but the way in which we use them has become a wee bit problematic.

Peace seed #11.

Pass… so what does today’s word have to do with peace.

Let’s “pass” on acting like the hare.

Today, pick something… just one thing that pulls you away from being more like a tortoise.

Here’s a potential list of items you can step away from today:

• today, I will refrain from watching the news

• today, I will limit my time on social media to ___ minutes

• today, I will limit my computer time to ____

If you are seeking a seed that promotes, encourages and reinforces the positive, perhaps consider the following:

• today, I will drink more water

• today, I will knit in silence

• today, I will walk during the time I typically watch the news

Wearing my professional hat, I can tell you that we’re all more likely to implement our desired behavior if we write it down and/or share it with someone else. So, today, write it down on a piece of paper, a sticky note, your journal, email it to a friend, or even here as a comment.

What seed do you commit to implementing today?

I’ll start.

Today, I will drink more water.

Why?… because I need to PASS on all the holiday and sugary treats that are everywhere and if I think about doing something rather than restricting or avoiding I might just have a chance.

pause, ponder, presence, patience, pass…

~Christina

Choose peace… and water.

Glacier National Park, Montana

Day 10. Patience...

Patience… perhaps this is one of the most challenging traits of peace. In a world where we are on the go rushing here and there, crossing off items from a never-ending to-do list, seeking instant gratification, and quick fixes, to have patience seems to have no place.

Muddy waters along the Rio Grand, New Mexico

I recently attended the Hunger Summit organized by the World Food Prize and spoke with one of the keynote speakers on malnutrition and violence. I’ll get to this topic a little later this week yet the conversation with her was breathtaking… literally. Have you ever come across someone that you knew you had to meet… to introduce yourself? I listened to her talk and I knew I must share with her the vision of Project Peace. I know, risky, you say… she could laugh… but it was a chance I knew I needed to take.

As I explained my background and pivotal life moments in what could be best described as a 3 minute play… scene 1, scene 2, scene 3… to present day. I told her of my dreams to plant seeds of peace around the world and to use that energy to pay it forward… to raise money that would continue the ripple… to help so that others can live in a non-violent world with access to healthy food and clean water. I finished my elevator pitch on Project Peace and my life story by saying “But I just don’t know where to go from here…”

She paused…. she took a deep breath and looked at me; all the while I’m thinking… it’s time to exit.

And then she said this…

“I don’t know what I have to offer you but I can tell you this one thing…”

I had chills… recall that this is the E-X-A-C-T verbiage used by Mr. Hagerty during our “Be Present” conversation.

“Be still.”

Yes, that was her “one thing.”

She said “there is some story about being still while standing in the muddy water and letting the mud settle long enough to make the water clear. I can’t remember the exact words but you get the idea.

You have all the ingredients, you just need to be still and let the mud settle so you can see clearly the path forward. You must be patient.”

I felt myself tense up “be patient?” No, I’m ready right NOW for the answer… I want to take that next step. Please tell me the answer I thought… you have to KNOW what I should do right now.

Be still. That was her answer… that was the next “step.”

“Do you have the patience to wait
Till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
Till the right action arises by itself?”

— Lao Tzu

Clelar waters in the Lochsa River, Idaho

Peace seed #10.

Be present. Be still. They are intertwined yet different. As you knit (or walk or sit and drink your favorite cuppa) think about how you might cultivate the concept of being more still. What does “be still” mean to you?

Winter stillness, Iowa

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.