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

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