Hello snow moon...

“Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.”

— Maya Angelou, Excerpt from "Still I Rise"

Approaching fullness…

RHYTHM…

The rising and setting each and every day of the sun and the moon. Never faltering.

Always showing up… has the moon ever said “not today…”

Oh, how that beautiful orb in the sky reminds me to keep showing up…

with each

breath,

stitch,

step,

word spoken or written.

Today… the full snow moon won’t be visible as we are in the midst of a delightful snow storm. Yet, even with her invisibility, she is still there, rising in her glory, fully effaced and beaming.

What a reminder to believe in the unseen, trust in the not knowing, embrace the mystery… must everything be visible, understood, and comprehended to be true? Lots of goodness emerges from the darkness…

Take snowdrops, for example, daring to emerge during the tenous threshold time of winter into spring. It’s a risky endeavor to be a snowdrop…dormant for months, dweller of dark spaces, yet still pushes through and brings forth the promise of a new season.

A RHYTHM of the seasons… seed planted, emergence, blooms, released

February snowdrops…

Similarly the moon can guide us with a RHYTHM to follow over her 28-day (ish) cycle…

New moon: seed

First quarter: emerge

Full moon: bloom

Last quarter: release

We find ourselves now in the “bloom” phase of this first lunar cycle of the year…

What rhythms have you noticed in your daily life?

Inhale & exhale… a rhythm

Work & rest… a rhythm

Sitting & moving… a rhythm

Thinking & mindfulness… a rhythm

As we move through this year focused on cultivating peace, it seems the foundation must be grounded in this concept of a RHYTHM. We can’t always be on (nor off), we can’t always be doing (for self or others)…

At the beginning of our lunar cycle, I asked you to reflect on the word RHYTHM… as you considered this word in the context of peace, you were planting seeds… your own personal peace intention about how “RHYTHM” is showing up in your life.

Following the bloom of the full moon, we shift into a phase of release… what is it that we need to release, in the context of RHYTHM and peace?

I recently read Chris LaTray’s newsletter and was struck by this particular sentence…

“Why would I want to cede any kind of emotional sovereignty to anyone in the ceremony of my everyday life?”

(from James Vukelich Kaagegaabaw)

Eureka! Exactly… why am I spending so much of my day thinking about all the things that could and are going wrong… whether that’s in my day-to-day life, at work, in the country, or the world. I spend a lot of time letting all the life stressors dwell in my being, mentally, emotionally, and physically.

And you know what, it’s not working out very well… mentally, emotionally or physically.

I need to restore that RHYTHM in my day-to-day life.

So, here’s what I did…

I made a list of what I wanted to be part of my “ceremony of everyday life!”

My list included my morning coffee watching the night give way to the day, a tea break in the afternoon (a pause to balance the work), time outside each day… even if it is only a couple of minutes, and some sort of daily movement. These are my daily ceremonies to bring RHYTHM into my day. Grounding me in ways to keep showing up like the moon…

How might you honor RHYTHM and create a “ceremony of your everyday life?”

As always, please leave a comment to co-create our peace-centric community.

peace,

Christina

snowy wander

New moon, new year...

“Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risks
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm
for your soul senses the world that awaits you.”

— John O'Donohue, "For a new beginning"

Sunset reflections…

Hello… as I sneak back into your inbox. I know it’s been awhile and what a year it has been. So much has transpired in my own life, our nation, and the world…

ups and downs,

sickness and health,

a threshold time.

And while it’s a time like never before,

perhaps all times since the beginning

have held the tension

of light and dark.

Misty winter morning…

Thank you to all who have reached out… to check in. The emails, cards, Instagram messages have all been appreciated, whether I was able to respond or not.

In November, I came to the realization that I needed to release any expectations of writing for peace in December… I chose to dwell in the darkness, to shelter, to allow myself the space to rest. Even writing here to say “fear not, I’ll be back” was more than I could muster.

I set some dates for myself…

write to everyone on solstice

on the last new moon of 2024

the first day of the new year

a full moon would certainly bring the needed energy to reach out…

and yet, each of those milestones came and went…

Knowing that if the first new moon of the year, the beginning of the lunar year which happens to be today, was not inspiration enough, I would then have my answer.

You ask, but what is the question….

should I continue to write for peace?

should we continue this community committed to peace?

given the state of the world, does any of this matter?

stillness at the lake…

During my days of relishing the dark days of December…

rising early to sit in stillness and

watch the night give way to the day,

I sat empty,

void of expectation…

open to possibility.

And today, on this day of the first new moon of the new lunar year,

I am here.

“Hello to here…”

Swirls at dusk…

With each daybreak arriving just a bit earlier…ushering in more light, I knew it was time…

John O’Donohue writes “soon you will be home in a new rhythm”

And with this new moon, it’s a new rhythm I offer to all of you.

Project Peace this year will look different… I’m calling it project PEACE 2025…

it’s for anyone… yes, knitting will still be present and I have plans for a new pattern (or maybe two) yet my musings coupled with photographs will focus on ways to cultivate peace in our daily lives.

I’ll write about creativity (knitting for sure!), food and health, some mystics, and travel… using my encounters with the ordinary and extra-ordinary as writing inspiration. I’ll be headed to some familiar and new island spaces this year that might be of interest to you.

And yes,

thoughts, words, actions of peace

they matter.

Peace for self, families, communities, the land and sea

they matter.

I’m craving a new rhythm in my life…

the opportunity to expand and contract,

to ebb and flow,

to wax and wane.

The moon is our inspiration as she’s been doing just this since the beginning of time.

Will you join me?

Are you ready to focus on cultivating peace in your daily life?

Peace for self, others, and the Earth?

Partly cloudy… partly clear

The moon will be our guide.

With each new moon, I’ll send an email with a word and a link to the blog post that sets the intention for the lunar cycle. I’ll provide a few prompts with each post in case you are inspired to journal and keep a log on your thoughts and actions pertaining to peace in conjunction with the new, full, and final crescent moon

Perhaps you’ll want to watercolor or make a paper collage, or embroider…

Or maybe it’s just a comment here for others… to co-create this community of peacebuilders.

A bit like the days when we had 21 days of Project Peace in December… and now it’s expanded to bring our attention to peace throughout the entire lunar year.

And as we proceed, perhaps I’ll post more frequently, or create a peace intensive during the summer months, and maybe the 21 days of December…

for now, let’s see how this unfolds.

Here is this month’s peace word:

RHYTHM

Prompts for reflection:

How might the moon inspire you to find a new rhythm that fosters peace in your daily life?

Describe how a practice of ebb and flow during your day might cultivate peace?

And as a reminder, our working definition of peace is “to cultivate right relationships with self, others, and the Earth.” ~ The Earth Charter

Peace… with each stitch, word, and step…

Christina

PS - As always, Please leave a comment to share with others to co-create our community of peacebuilders

PSS - if you are interested in having a lunar calendar as a way to enhance your connection to the moon, a google search will provide lots of options. Here are a couple of suggestions:

All sorts of sizes with lots of detail downloadable copy for a nominal fee.

A poster-sized lunar calendar made by friends Anna Brones and Roshni Roberts

Free links with lots of information about the new and full moon and day-by day details

Day 21... zen

“To go in the dark
with a light
is to know the light.
To know the dark,
go dark.
Go without sight,
and find that the dark,
too, blooms and sings,
and is traveled by dark feet
and dark wings.”

— Wendell Berry

Reawick beach, “dark beach 1” October 2023

Winter solstice… a turning point from darkness into the light. I’m always sad when this day arrives… I’m not ready to move on… “let me linger in the darkness, a place of refuge and rest. Please, don’t ask me to move forward into spring… Can’t we pause, replenish, recharge for a wee while more?

Reawick beach, “dark beach 2” October 2023

And so it is with our 21 day walk with peace… can’t we stay here just a little longer? What if we don’t feel ready quite yet to emerge and blossom into the spring time of peacebuilding.

This may be the end of our 21 day peace journey and yet, just like the solstice, this day is a turning point… the beginning of what’s to come.

Reawick beach, “dark beach 3” October 2023

It’s been said here before, “peace is a verb.” Peace is action… to be incorporated into our days with intention.

And/both… peace is a way of being, a noun. Some might call this zen… perhaps it’s thought of as ease… maybe it’s all of this and none of it all at the same time.

And perhaps peace just is…

because life is complicated and messy and mixed in with the “rollercoasters” of life…

and yet peace is all the wonders we have explored in the last 21 days…

Reawick beach, “daybreak” October 2023

Peace is embedded in the minutia of our lives… and as expansive as the cosmos.

Peace is the web of life… where all is interconnected…

and never, ever underestimate the power of one person… to be and do peace… and for that peace to ripple out… extending your reach beyond what might be fathomable.

Leaving Shetland. October 2023

hello to here

hello to the here of far, far, away

hello to changing our perspectives

Aberdeen, Scotland. October 2022

and don’t forget your compass as you continue on the path of peace…

“We go down
into the heart of earth
to learn to love
and be heart-free.”

— John Dunne

Aberdeen, Scotland. October 2022

Peace nugget #21

At the beginning of Project Peace, I mapped out some topics for each day… I’d said yes to writing in December, picked out a theme yet no solid plan for what I’d write about each day had emerged. I’d committed but now what?

So, I just started… and hoped it would come together. Day 1… peace in action. Hmm, tomorrow, I’ll write about birds… and then I saw a pattern … “a,” “b,”… tomorrow will be a “c” word.

Eureka!

A path forward! I created a bank of words… somedays had plenty (hello “w”), others are still a bit of a mystery (hmm, to “x”), yet some letters had topics so big they’ll have to wait (yes, I’m looking at you “s”).

My original word for “z” was zine (prounounced zeen). And when a few people yesterday recognized the pattern and followed that up with “and I think I know your word for tomorrow,” I was compelled to change my word. There’s no way anyone was guessing “zine.” So, I went with zen…

I originally picked zine so that we could end with a little activity. So let’s make a paper zine as your own peace journal… instructions for folding a paper zine can be found here (watch the first 7 minutes) and here.

Possible items to include in your zine:

• some quotes or phrases that captured your attention throughout the 21 days

• pick a few of the daily words and write down what they mean to you

• doodle the words

• dedicate a page for your own “peace commitments;” day, week, month, season, year

• include your wishes (“journey”), mantra (“k is for knitting), and what you’d like to manifest (“m”).

What will you carry forward with you as we turn into this new season (of peace)?

Other

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. This has been a hope-filled journey… and while I am tired, you all have provided so much to this experience.

Your engagement has built a community grounded in peace…

Your willingness to travel with me and explore abstract ways of identifying peace in our lives … for this I am grateful.

If you posted every day, send me an email (thehealthyknitter at gmail dot com) with the following information:

• title the subject of the email with “Project Peace 2023 daily commenter”

• in your email tell me your biggest take-away from participating AND your favorite day with an explanation

• provide your full name and address (see explantion below)

If you read every day and did not post a comment, send me an email (thehealthyknitter at gmail dot com) with the following information:

• title the subject of the email with “Project Peace 2023 daily reader”

• in your email tell me your biggest take-away from participating AND your favorite day with an explanation

• include your full name and address (see explanation below)

Send this email by December 27, 2023, 11:59 pm central time. For those who posted daily (and reside in the U.S.), I’ll randomly draw a name and send a yarn related surprise. For all others, I’ll be sending you a note and tiny peace=related item in the mail (hence the need for your address). I won’t be doing anything with your addresses other then sending you a letter…

I’ll post again on December 28, the full moon, with the name of the recipient.

And so my peace friends and fellow peace walkers… I leave you here to carry forward new and different ways of seeing, being, and living peace in our world. Happy solstice, holidays, and full moon.

Day 20... Yes

“What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

— Mary Oliver

Shetland pony. Near Gloup, Yell, Shetland Isles. July 2023

A call to say “yes.” The power of possibility… what is it that pulls at you… to say yes! Not the dragging yes of responsilibility or the “ok, sure…” but the yes that seems to be dwelling deep in the eyes of the pony. Oh to the yes.

Did you know that there are over 158,000 5-letter words in the English dictionary with about 9,000 acceptable in the game of Scrabble. Yet this one word, “peace,” is so complex and multifaceted… so misunderstood… and oh so powerful, for better or for worse. Is there any other 5-letter word that is more well-known? There are dedicated scholars, programs, departments, centers, institutes devoted to this word… in the pursuit of…

Bog cotton. Eshaness, Shetland, UK. July 2023

I now look back and realize that in 2015, I entered into a relationship… with a word, “peace.” The irony… to be in relationship with a word about relationships… and while it hasn’t been all “peaceful,” which so many equate with “easy,” I have clung to this word through the ups and downs. Just like the bog cotton growing in the peaty, soggy ground of a cliff next to the North Sea… holding on in the intense summer wind. Finding beauty in adversity… as a result, the relationship has deepened.

A commitment to cultivating healthy relationships with self, others, and the Earth is my “yes!”

The land of rainbows. Reawick, Shetland. October 2023

The Summer Day by Mary Oliver

Who made the world?

Who made the swan, and the black bear?

Who made the grasshopper?

This grasshopper, I mean—

the one who has flung herself out of the grass,

the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,

who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down—

who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.

Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.

Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

I don't know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down

into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,

how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,

which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?

The question that Mary Oliver poses… what will you do with your life? She has such a way of removing the pressure of trying to “figure out,” “solve,” “make happen,” in regards to ones life’s plans. This poem highlights the beauty to be found in the simple… what matters seems to bubble to the surface.

Hello to here…

and yes to peace…

a potpouri of actions, birds, colors, doors, gates, here, islands, journeys, knitting, language, manifestos, nourishment, organizing, pauses, rememberances, understanding, and the letter “w”… yes to all of this and so much more.

Evidence of peace in our world exists in the most random places… we have only to look around us… even in a community of people connected through the “internet” gathering in the darkest of months (in the northern hemisphere) to contemplate and incorporate acts of peace into their daily lives.

“I am extraordinarily priviledged in nearly every way, but what I’m most grateful for now is my parents’ belief, passed down like any other inheritance, that there’s more beauty in the world than horror.

This optimism gives you license. It’s a kind of audacity and it can work like an all-purpose key to the locked doors of you dreams. “Why not you?” it whispers.”

— Laurel Braitman, What looks like bravery: An epic journey through loss to love

An old kirk, Skeld, Shetland, UK. October 2023.

Peace nugget #20

A few reminders… hello to here… mending what is within our reach… what is your yes when it comes to “peace?”

Pick a line or phrase from today… what makes your heart sing?

Other

It’s been quite the adventure… 20 days thus far, exploring so many facets of peace. I am still amazed that I said “yes",” in response to an email nudging me to “do” Project Peace this year. What a powerful reminder… yes to the power of peace.

Have you noticed the pattern of the daily prompts? I’m so curious to know if and when you might have recognized the pattern. And what could tomorrow possibly be… have I saved the most challenging letter for last?

peace,

Christina