Day 12... a path

Camino de paz… a path to peace.

Won’t you build me a path so I know where to go? … like the hiking trail through the forest. Someone else who has been here before is showing you the way…

What if the path is not visible?

What if the journey is filled with doubt and confidence, joy and sorrow?

What if each one of us is to create our own path?

What if everything you once knew to be true was suddenly changed?

Your way of doing is disrupted…

How will you shift to a way of being and not doing?

As I write this, the first snow has fallen and the night is giving way to the new day.

Madruga (n): the moment at dawn when the night meets the day.

This moment in time with coffee in hand, the snow on the trees, covering the garden, the wind navigating it’s ways through the woods… this is peace. One I’d like to bottle and save forever. It feels like this must be a resting point along the path of peace.

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn. No links provided. Please consider purchasing from your local and/or independent book store.

And what I’ve written thus far, feels like a lot of “what if’s” and a description of the pandemic which is certainly not my intent with this musing. Rather, today is focused on a specific book… The Salt Path by Raynor Winn.

The book begins with a map.

Sometimes losing everything … you find your way.

“We stood at the front door, the bailiffs on the other side waiting to change the locks, to bar us from our old lives. We were about to leave the dimly lit, centuries-old house that had held us cocooned for twenty years. When we walked through the door, we would never ever come back.

We held hands and walked into the light.” ~Raynor Winn, The Salt Path

The Salt Path is a memoir of a couple in their 50’s who lost their home, all their savings and the husband, Moth is diagnosed with a terminal illness. While it sounds tragic, the story is one filled with hope, love, and peace. About finding themselves when all seemed lost.

When there is no home and everything you’ve ever known is gone… you walk and walk and walk for no other reason than it’s the only way forward. At least this is how Raynor and Moth chose to face their predicament.

Raynor and Moth walked 630 miles along the rugged South West Coast path, redefining what home means, ultimately finding peace in place. Wherever that place may be.

Peace is here in this moment, in the tiny space of nothing and everything all mixed together. This moment is the place of peace, not a destination, perhaps the Camino de Paz is filled with a collection of moments that ultimately define peace.

like a trail lined with rocks… a sequence of moments,

or a cairn… a stack of moments.

Peace tip #12

Take some time today to read a book. I highly recommend The Salt Path. I resisted reading it for some time however, once I began, I was mesmerized.

Do you have a good fiction, non-fiction, or memoir book recommendation that is focused on peace? Please share… let’s create a peaceful reading list.

Update

Our next wonderful give-away will begin on Day 14… and the gift is a lovely Shetland themed collection.

Oh, the map comments were incredible!!! The magic of maps. I’m so happy that people chose to write about some wonderful memories and people in their lives. Isn’t it amazing how maps truly connect us, in so many ways.

As a reminder, I’ll be providing an extra special give-away at the end of the 21 days. If you submit a meaningful comment each day (or email it to me), you’ll be eligible to have your name in a drawing. I’m doing this because it truly helps us build community, a vital component of peace. Also, your ideas and suggestions may be just what sparks and idea for someone else. Thank you! FYI… I’ve decided to do this based on the honor system. At the end of the 21 days, I’ll provide some additional details.

It’s never too late to participate in the knit-along. It’s so fun to read how people are using their peace shawl (or other knitting project) to center themselves and reflect on peace. Knowing that 100’s of others are knitting the same project as you around the world in the name of peace is a powerful thing. The pattern is available on Ravelry and The Healthy Knitter website.

Day 11... a map

stars in the deep blue skies…

to guide us…

look up and stray from our downward focus.

landmarks provide context…

an arrow…

points us in the right direction.

A pile of stones …

guides us…

a gift from someone who was here once before.

Where a path may not exist, the stones show us the way...

On the ascent of Ben Nevis, Scotland, UK

A cairn is a map, a collection of stones piled one atop of the other, from the ground up, largest to smallest. Since prehistoric times, people have used cairns as a way to mark a path… a guide… a map for others to follow. Cairns have also been built to honor a place of great wonder and reverence as if to declare, in a quiet way the beauty of it all.

I always envision that the path of peace would be lined with the most magnificent cairns pointing the way.

Examples of maps abound from the stars, to landmarks, to cairns, yet today, I’d like to talk about good old fashioned maps, the paper kind.

A guide to show you how to get where you want to go,

full of details…

without losing sight of the big picture.

A place where one’s mind can wander, imagine, explore… new adventures start with map. And when one feels lost, a map can put you back on the right track.

But can you read a map? Is the ability to read a map slowly vanishing from our human skill set… have we come to depend on Siri to guide us on our journey?

What happens when we’re lost and Siri is not there?

Who will put us back on the path?

Coast of Maine

Peace tip #11

If you have a physical map in your house or car or tucked away in an attic box, go find it. Pull out the map and explore the place described by the map. Where are the rivers, cities, towns, historic places, parks? How would you get from your location to a specific place on the map? Follow the route with your finger. If you have a country atlas or a globe, take some time to ponder where you might like to visit… look at the location in the context of where you currently reside.

It’s gift-giving season. I can tell you from working with college students that reading a map is not in the tool box (aka skill set) of many young adults. Consider gifting a map this holiday season or even providing a lesson on how to read a map. Perhaps the map might spark the exchange of some wonderful stories.

Stars, natural landmarks, rocks, and physical maps… are all examples of guides. How have any of these maps guided you to a place of peace?

Updates

Our next wonderful give-away will begin on Day 14… and the gift is a lovely Shetland themed collection.

Thank you to everyone that is taking the time to engage in this process… 21 days to intentionally focus on peace. What a gift to yourself and those around you. We’re just shy of half-way… here’s me cheering you on as you make space for peace in your day.

As a reminder, I’ll be providing an extra special give-away at the end of the 21 days. If you submit a meaningful comment each day (or email it to me), you’ll be eligible to have your name in a drawing. I’m doing this because it truly helps us build community, a vital component of peace. Also, your ideas and suggestions may be just what sparks and idea for someone else. Thank you!

It’s never too late to participate in the knit-along. It’s so fun to read how people are using their peace shawl (or other knitting project) to center themselves and reflect on peace. Knowing that 100’s of others are knitting the same project as you around the world in the name of peace is a powerful thing. The pattern is available on Ravelry and The Healthy Knitter website.

Day 10... disconnect

… to reconnect.

Here we are in a pandemic with so many of us living in isolation or limited personal interactions. Our daily routines have been disrupted and many are spending more time at home in ways that are different than before. It’s the extreme scenario of multi-tasking and even a lack of boundaries. Our homes are now work places, schools, churches, and shelter. We invite strangers into our homes through a computer screen, we parent while we work, and spend many hours with electronic tools to facilitate connecting with others including loved ones.

Even during a pandemic, so many are busier than ever.

It’s just so different. And while I’m aware that not everyone reading this today has the same life situation, the fact remains that our use and need of connecting through electronic means has drastically shifted in the past 9 months.

And yes, there are some huge benefits to all of this… we do get to continue to work from home, our children can still participate in school, there are a plethora of online workshops to take facilitating online learning, and one can even meet new people that live in far-away lands.

yet, the eye-strain is real, the fatigue due to working longer hours than ever, the juggling of parenting while working, the news of domestic and global affairs… the grief from the loss of so many lives.

It can be overwhelming.

Disconnect…

to reconnect.

Peace tip #10

Disconnect: step away from electronic devices today. Perhaps it’s a quiet evening without the t.v. No social media… maybe just for an hour, avoid scrolling/surfing endlessly on the internet. Maybe something comes to mind that’s relevant to you.

Reconnect: Write a letter to a friend (not an email or a DM)… it can be brief, like a postcard. Think of someone that you haven’t said hi to in a while or perhaps it’s a person you don’t even know that well but you’d just like them to know you’re thinking of them. Send them a note.

Connecting with others is a crucial aspect of peacebuilding. Sending a letter is just one way. What other ideas might you have that build connections between people during the pandemic. And perhaps minimize time spent on electronic devices?

Updates

Congratulations to Shelley Lynne the recipient of the Emotion Tempestry from the Tempestry Project. Send an email to thehealthyknitter at gmail dot com and I’ll connect you with the wonderful people from Tempestry. Yay!

Our next wonderful give-away will begin on Day 14… and the gift is a lovely Shetland themed collection.

Thank you to everyone that is taking the time to engage in this process… 21 days to intentionally focus on peace. What a gift to yourself and those around you. We’re just shy of half-way… here’s me cheering you on as you make space for peace in your day.

As a reminder, I’ll be providing an extra special give-away at the end of the 21 days. If you submit a meaningful comment each day (or email it to me), you’ll be eligible to have your name in a drawing. I’m doing this because it truly helps us build community, a vital component of peace. Also, your ideas and suggestions may be just what sparks and idea for someone else. Thank you!

It’s never too late to participate in the knit-along. It’s so fun to read how people are using their peace shawl (or other knitting project) to center themselves and reflect on peace. Knowing that 100’s of others are knitting the same project as you around the world in the name of peace is a powerful thing. The pattern is available on Ravelry and The Healthy Knitter website.

Day 9...belong

Cynefin (n). Welsh. a place where a person feels they ought to live or belong. it is where nature around you feels right and welcoming.

To feel a sense of belonging… to feel included, to be liked, to get along, to be heard and acknowledged.

Haven’t we all been hurt at some point because we didn’t feel like we belonged? Perhaps we’ve contributed in some way shape or form, knowing or unknowingly to allow another to feel they didn’t belong.

Yet to approach such topics and unraveling of these issues regarding “belonging” is far beyond my abilities to address on this early December morn.

What I adore about this word, cynefin (how to pronounce) is that the focus is not on our relationship with others. It doesn’t rely on how we feel with others or how they “make us feel.”

The focus is on place and nature. Certainly, others might be part of that equation for you but the key here is they don’t have to…

To feel welcomed by a physical place,

with the branches of the trees open and ready to embrace,

the mighty seas with their salty spray, soothing and restorative.

Perhaps cynefin is the word that defines peace in place.

Peace tip #9

Today, during your drive to work, walk in the neighborhood, park, or woods, or your time to knit (draw, paint, stitch), contemplate your cynefin... This is purely a place you feel right independent of the other people in that particular place.

Where is your cynefin?

Updates

The first give-away is underway. Leave a post in response to Day 7. I’ll announce the winner on Day 10.

Thank you for all the amazing comments. We have about 80-100 comments per day… this is incredible and I know that others are reading all the comments as well. December is a busy time for so many people. In years past, I’ve been asked multiple times, why not do this in a time of year when people are less busy? I always ask “when would that be?” For peace to be present in our lives, we need to make the space for peace right now… there’s no waiting. So, thank you all for making the space and for sharing.

As a reminder, I’ll be providing an extra special give-away at the end of the 21 days. If you submit a meaningful comment (or email it to me), you’ll be eligible to have your name in a drawing. I’m doing this because it truly helps us build community, a vital component of peace. Also, your ideas and suggestions may be just what sparks and idea for someone else. Thank you!

It’s never too late to participate in the knit-along. It’s so fun to read how people are using their peace shawl (or other knitting project) to center themselves and reflect on peace. Knowing that 100’s of others are knitting the same project as you around the world in the name of peace is a powerful thing. The pattern is available on Ravelry and The Healthy Knitter website.