Day 7... enough

by Christina

Today marks the end of the first week, we’ve explored ideas of peace related to self, cultivating a “right relationship” with self. We’ve explored defining peace, letting go, our own relationship with food, a softening of the heart, believing in peace, and the impact of plastics to our own health. Tomorrow, we’ll embark on a new perspective, “others.”

Sumbrugh, Shetland, UK

Sumbrugh, Shetland, UK

But first, our last specific topic focused on “self,” what it means to have a life built on scarcity vs. sufficiency.

“We each have a choice in any setting to step back and let go of the mind-set of scarcity. Once we let go of scarcity, we discover the surprising truth of sufficiency. By sufficiency, I don’t mean a quantity of anything...

Sufficiency isn’t an amount at all. It is an experience, a context we generate, a declaration, a knowing that there is enough and that we are enough...

When we live in the context of sufficiency... we engage in life from a sense of our own wholeness rather than a desperate longing to be complete. ”
— Fr. Richard Rohr

Living a life of scarcity, in this context, that way of living that there’s a feeling of never enough, never “being” enough, accumulating more stuff to feel fulfilled, or that feeling of “that’s just how it is.” With this perspective, we breed discontent in our daily lives and perhaps foster an overwhelming sense of inadequacy.

This leads to feeling as if “I am not enough.”

This is not peace.

SHIFT

to a life of sufficiency… that world where you are enough. Where you don’t know everything, nor need to be the orchestrator of everyone’s life, knowing that what you do is enough. To do good… because it is what makes you whole, what completes you.

to be loved for who you are… and to love others for whom they are.

This is peace.

To be whole, complete…

SUFFICIENT.

To walk, to knit, to read, to breathe, to be… you are

ENOUGH.

Daily peace tip #7

make space for peace… for you, not because it will benefit someone else, because it will complete you.

You are enough…

shift.

I am enough…

Sit in a chair, feet firmly planted, hands on your lap, palms up to receive, or palms down to ground.

Breathe in slowly to the count of three, pause, exhale slowly to the count of three.

On the next 10 breaths, while breathing in, repeat in your mind “I-AM-ENOUGH,” do the same for the exhale

Winner of give-away

Wow, I’m continually inspired by all of your voices! What wonderful responses you had regarding the question “what does peace mean?” Thank you everyone for sharing. The winner of the 1st give-away is:

Elise Anderson. She wrote:

First thank you for being here and sharing. I didn't realize you would be posting daily for this Project Peace this year, so I started hunting up the old ones (which I still intend to read). I have appreciated each year tremendously and it's made a life difference of stopping to grasp and lay a hold of peace.
As for peace it is for me finding that quiet place within me. Telling my soul to stop. Drink in the quiet. Taking the time to create inner peace and valuing the time spent doing it.

Elise, please send me an email (thehealthyknitter at gmail dot com) and let me know your address!

Next give-away…

Remember, you won’t be receiving another email announcement in your inbox until Day 14. Make sure you read Day 8 to find out about the 2nd give-away.

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And as you read these posts, if you would please consider leaving a peace-filled comment to share with others… and to let me know you’re here. That would be oh so appreciated!

peace,

Christina

Day 6... plastics

by Christina

Today, I’m introducing a very serious topic… plastics, particularly single-use plastics. Now, first let me share that not all plastic is bad… prior to plastics, we relied on ivory, tortoiseshell, wood, bone, iron, tin, silver, gold, etc to create a lot of the items we now make out of plastic. Products made from these natural resources put pressure on the environment. Plus, many medical advances are made out of plastic.

Plastic is a new invention, really only about 100 years old… with this miracle substance (created from fossil fuels) came great responsibility. And that’s perhaps where we’ve fallen a bit short.

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Some stats…

  • Every year, 8 million tons of plastic waste escapes into the oceans from coastal nations. This is equivalent to 5 garbage bags full of trash stacked high on every foot of coastline around the world.

  • About 50% of plastic that is discarded is only used one time.

  • By 2050, there will be more plastic than fish by weight in the oceans.

But let me add, that today, I don’t want to tackle the topic of plastics as it relates to the damage done to the earth… I’ll get to that later on in Project Peace. I’ve included these statistics to grab your attention.

Plastics are a problem… WE are contributing to this problem. Each one of us needs to reduce our use of plastic… single-use plastics.

What do I mean by single-use plastics?

  • grocery bags

  • ziploc bags

  • produce bags

  • water bottles

  • straws

  • to-go cutlery

Solutions to reducing single-use plastics:

  • reusable grocery bags… don’t go out and buy a new one. Find bags around your house or get one from a thrift store

  • use glass food containers instead of ziploc bags

  • find smaller bags to take to the store to put your produce in

  • skip the straw (unless medically indicated)… don’t even bother buying a metal or glass one

  • keep your own set of cutlery with you so when you are on the go or at the office, you don’t need to use that plastic fork or spoon

  • now, the water bottle… yes, there are emergency reasons to have the plastic water bottles on hand BUT that’s not what I’m talking about here. Invest in a double-walled stainless steel water bottle… keep it for a very long time, they are not cheap but they last!

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Plastics and your health…

Single-use water bottles are made from polyethylene terephthalate. This type of plastic can be recycled but it is NOT to be re-used… this means once you use the water bottle one time, DISCARD IT… the plastics leach into the water over time. If you leave it in your car in the heat, the potential to leach plastics into the water is increased.

Peace is health and well-being. The abundance of plastics certainly has serious environmental consequences but it doesn’t stop there… plastics can also negatively impact YOU, your health.

Daily peace tip #6

Today, keep a log of everywhere you encounter plastic in your life... and I mean everywhere, each room of your house, transportation, every store you visit, outside…pay close attention. Comment below about your discovery. What amazed you the most?

Identify one action item you can implement to reduce your personal exposure to plastic. We are in contact with plastic all the time… we truly have no understanding of the long-term health impacts of this exposure.

If you’d like a little extra information, there is a great new documentary called “Straws.” If you want to know how to access it, google it… you’ll easily find it.

I hope you embrace this opportunity to increase your awareness of plastic in your world. If you truly engage in this activity, I think you’ll be aghast at what you discover.

peace,

Christina