Day 14. Plan a peace party...

We are officially 2 weeks into Project Peace. Wow, even with a focus on peace, it’s easy for the days to quickly pass. As I think about the upcoming week, I’m filled with excitement for the 21st.

I’ve long referred to December 21st as the most optimistic day of the year (that’s my Northern Hemisphere identity speaking as it would be June 21st if I lived down south). To me, the darkest day of the year is a time to pause and reflect on the awe and beauty of the natural world… a day filled with promise that the light will slowly begin to reappear.

This year, the moon will be almost at it’s fullest with the Cold Moon on December 22. With clear skies that night, it’ll be nothing but bright with the moonlight reflecting off the snow and ice-filled ponds. Solstice is my day to truly honor peace… and how I can plant seeds to spread peace in my community, the nation, and the world.

During Project Peace 2016, a fellow knitter recommended we have a special day around the world to knit for peace. It only seemed right that December 21st would be that day. So we named it “Worldwide Knit for Peace Day.”

Last year, I was attending one of my daughter’s soccer games… and of course, knitting. A sister of one of my daughter’s teammates stopped to chat about my knitting. A lovely conversation followed centered on knitting and peace. I told her about Worldwide Knit for Peace Day and she paused, took a sweet little breath, looked at me with a sparkle in her eye and said “wouldn’t it be great if someday knit for peace day was an official holiday celebrated around the world?”

Why yes Lauren, wouldn’t that be grand. She said “I really hope I see that happen one day.”

Dream BIG…

Just the other day, I was having a conversation with a friend and she asked me “what is your long-term goal for Project Peace?” Silence… she offered to rephrase the question.

“If you could have one outcome as a result of Project Peace, what would it be?”

And it hit me… it’s to have Worldwide Knit for Peace Day become a day recognized around the world by knitters everywhere as a day to pause and knit for peace. …to know that globally we are connected through two sticks and a string, united for peace despite any differences, whatever that complicated word means to a person.

That Worldwide Knit for Peace Day provides an opportunity for a knitter to say “yes” to peace.

So, my one big wish is to make Worldwide Knit for Peace Day a real day… one that’s accepted, celebrated and owned by the knitting community at large.

But how do we do that?

Peace seed #14.

Plan a party… each one of us…

What will you do to honor Worldwide Knit for Peace Day?

Here’s some ideas.

• host your own personal peace party. Light a candle, put on your favorite music, pour yourself a wee cuppa and knit. With each stitch, focus on peace. Treat yourself to this time of knitted reflection.

• invite your knitting group to your home… gather, chat, light a candle for peace, perhaps share a way a peaceful act you will do in the New Year. Have everyone at your party, add a pin on the global knit for peace map on Ravelry (see info below). Maybe even create some peace-related party games… create a peace gratitude jar… gift swap with peace gifts…

• Chat with your LYS about organizing a get-together. Our local shop, Knitting Next Door hosts a function each year with yummy treats and some door prizes. Sharyn from the YarnScout is hosting a function at their local “pay what you can restaurant.” She’s sponsoring that night’s meal, inviting knitters to join for dinner, pay what they can and even bring a knitted item for the local shelter. What a beautiful example of knitting for peace to support the community.

• Perhaps you want to knit in public on that day… chat with people when they ask you “what are you knitting.” Tell them “I’m knitting for peace.” Or if you want to be extra bold, make a sign for your table “I’m knitting for peace, ask me about it.” Gather at a coffee shop, a library, local restaurant… share with others what it means to knit for peace.

• contact your guild. Tell them about “Worldwide Knit for Peace Day.” Ask them to share with members or to host a gathering. Perhaps the guild might like to organize a drive to collect knitted hats, mittens, etc to give to a local shelter.

• If you are a blogger, have a podcast or know of someone that does… ask them to share.

I know this creative group can generate many more wonderful ideas…

Leave a comment on how you plan to knit for peace on December 21 and I’ll consider it an entry for our current give-away (by tonight at 11:59)… and if you left a comment yesterday, I’ll count today’s comment as a second entry.

I often get asked “why December 21st? It’s such a busy time of the year, can’t you do this on another day.” Every day is a busy day… we have to make time for peace. If we are trying to find the perfect day or one that conveniently fits works with our schedule it’s kinda missing the point. That’s my answer every time.

Make time for peace. Don’t just pencil it in somewhere that’s convenient.

Pin your location on the global peace map.

We have over 600 pins on our global peace map... if you haven't had a chance to pin your location or leave a comment with your location, please do so. It's a powerful way to demonstrate our commitment to peace. Let's cover the world with peace!

Can we reach 1000?

This map is documentation that we, knitters from around the world, are united for peace.
Go to The Healthy Knitter Ravelry group and leave a message with your location in the World-wide knit for peace day (12/21) thread... let's cover the globe with pins representing knitters for peace.

With each stitch… peace.

~Christina

Day 13. Permission...

You’ve heard it before… just say “no.” One of the most popular time management tools is to say “no.” Stop taking on so many responsibilities to minimize the overwhelm, overload, overstimulation; feelings that are the antithesis of peace.

This past summer, while visiting The Net Loft, I was chatting with Dotty, the shop owner, about Project Peace. As an aside, Dotty happens to be one of the most inspirational women I’ve ever met (more about this later in Project Peace). Dotty handed me a greeting card and said “I think the message on this card is important to share during Project Peace.”

As she stood there quietly reciting the words, I felt this wave of calm ripple through my being. Whether it was the content, her soothing voice, or the awareness of being present in that very moment.

YES.

The secret isn’t saying “no” to everything…. it’s YES to all the possibilities!

It’s about saying “yes” to the good things.

Brilliant.

Peace seed #13.

Today, give yourself permission to say “yes.” Say “yes” to the good stuff.

I asked Dotty if she would paint one of her beautiful watercolors for today’s seed. Below is an image of the painting… cranberries, spruce sprigs, and a dove. If you click on the image, you’ll be able to print a page filled with 8 of these images. I printed them on regular paper but you might want to print on cardstock for even better resolution of the painting.

Print the cards, cut them apart, and take a moment to write down what you say “yes” to… but wait there’s more!

Giveaway #2.

Dotty has been journaling along with us during Project Peace and hopes others might do the same… perhaps after the New Year if now isn’t the right time. In my correspondence with her the other day she said “I’d like to provide a watercolor set, a linen covered journal, pen and carrying case as a give-away as a means of encouraging people to continue reflecting on the topic of peace.” Thank you Dotty for this generous, heart-felt gift!

To enter, leave a comment responding to the following prompt:

In regards to cultivating peace, I say “yes” to…

I’ll accept comments through 11:59 pm on 12/14. I know that not everyone is able to leave a comment on the blog and I’ve yet to identify why that is… so, if for some reason you can’t, send me an email with your comment.

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