Project peace 2.0: walking the path...

“Remember... do this, don’t let you and your expectations stand in the way. Don’t let you and your fear of being wrong, making mistakes stop you. SURRENDER TO YOUR MEDIOCRITY”

— Cheryl Strayed

Hello… it’s been a long while.

Where has the time gone?

Here…that’s where I have been.

How is the here of where you are?

Time has a way of slipping through our fingers like fine sand on a beach…

Here we are on the last day of November, a special day in my books as it is the day my first born came into this world. Today he turns that age he can no longer be on my health insurance… and so it begins, a(nother) new chapter in our lives.

It’s also the day before what has been the beginning of Project Peace… an annual offering I began in 2016 to bring a little bit of positivity to the world.

A time to

knit for peace…

reflect on peace…

embrace peace…

embody peace.

And then, life seemed to catch up with me… wearing the multiple hats that so many of us do… for me that’s mother, wife, daughter, employee, friend, creative, wanderer, an empty-nester, and a woman carrying a lot of grief over the loss of her father plus a list of friends that seems to get longer each year.

Something had to give… and in the last two years, a lot has been released into the compost pile. Some to give back to the Earth, others to be reimagined. I truly had to turn inward and finally, after two years of a lot of reading, writing, time in Shetland, lots of walks in the woods, and a few key friends, it’s time to emerge.

Project Peace was one of those things that had to be set aside. Although Project Peace was shelved, my work in the sphere of peace continued. Inspired by so many of you and your engagement in what peace means in today’s world, I’ve taken my work with peace to my day job… I now actively study and explore the intersection of food and peace. Presentations, a manuscript, a “peace educator” award, and a book… all inspired by our time together during Project Peace.

Yet that little voice in my head keeps whispering … rekindle Project Peace… let it have new life. As this voice got louder, so did my fears of “what do I have to say?” “what if I am out of ideas?” “what if it’s no good?” And then an email with a nudge from one of you… please, can we try this again?

And then I found this quote by Cheryl Strayed

Oh, Cheryl … you called my bluff.

You saw my need for perfectionism…

You reminded me that silence is not the answer…

The fear of saying the wrong thing

at the wrong time is not what

this world needs right now…

“surrender to mediocrity”

So, here we go…

Project Peace 2.0… reimagined… at a time when the words don’t come easy but I’m going to dig deep.

Our theme… pathways of peace.

What can you expect?

Each morning I’ll post on the blog by 7 am (central time). You will receive an email that will link you to the website.

There is no Project Peace knitting pattern this year… I will leave it to you to decide what project you want to knit (if that’s for you). I will, however, suggest a couple patterns… first, there are former Project Peace patterns that might be suit your needs, search “Project Peace” on Ravelry). A pattern I discovered last year is at the top of my list to knit during this month… it’s a straight forward knit that doesn’t require a lot of attention plus the final product is easy to wear. It’s the Anica shawl. Take a look on Ravelry.

A couple of years ago, I encouraged everyone to leave a comment following each daily post. This seemed to work well and created a sense of community. I would love to promote this again… and for every person who posts each day for the 21 days, I’ll do a random drawing and send you some yarn to use for an Anica shawl. Plus, I’ll do something (to be determined) for every person who posts daily.

My intention is to create a little place of refuge for you during the next 21 days. A way to slow down, bring some stillness into your day regardless of whether it’s winter or summer for you. I’ll provide some musings about peace, a practical tip for the day, perhaps a prompt, a recipe, a link to some music…

I’ve definitely learned that carving out a little time in the day whether it’s early morning before the break of dawn, an intentional step away from the computer if you’re at work, or in the evening when the dark descends… that I must make the time. It doesn’t just happen. You pick the length of time… 15 minutes? 30 minutes? 60 minutes? Maybe it’s time you spend with your knitting, or reading the post and then writing, or even sitting in the quiet with your feet firmly planted on the ground allowing the stillness to envelope you.

Please, join me for the next 21 days as we explore pathways of peace…

I hope to see you “here” tomorrow…

peace xx

Winter's rest...

“I would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding.”

— John O'Donohue

the dark of winter

a hidden moon

a frozen river

And beneath the surface,

not visible to the eye is a process vital to all

rest, reset, renew.

Winter… a season to embrace the opportunity to retreat and restore.

New moon… a moment to pause and gather the energy to grow yet again.

January 1… a day on a calendar to mark the beginning of something new.

Whether you identify with the season, the moon, or the calendar, we are at an intersection with the gift of a fresh start… a shift in perspective perhaps.

A chance to pause, reflect on where we’ve been, where we are, and perhaps where we might want to go. And like the river, perhaps it’s to “go with the flow” and meet life’s surprises as we encounter them…

and let life unfold.

Winter river…

“You have to pick the places you don’t walk away from.”

— Joan Didion

Thank you to all who posted a comment on the December 1st blog post, sent an email, or a card. Without the attention of Project Peace, December was definitely a different experience. The bright spot was spending each morning in stillness watching the dark night give way to the light of the day. For those of you who also lit a candle each morning, I hope you enjoyed the practice.

Yet with this practice also came the need to confront some bigger questions…

As I rested from the intense semester and pondered the direction of the upcoming year,

I made a list

then I read a book about time management

which prompted me to remove most items from said list.

In the discomfort of my awareness on the finitude of time, I also found solace…

To identify what is so valuable that I won’t walk away from it, yet allowing life to unfold like the river described by John O’Donahue.

I realized this: Project Peace will continue with a new format… it needs to unfurl in new ways that have yet to be realized.

I’ll also be doing this: spending 5 weeks this summer in Shetland and Fair Isle for creative explorations and an immersion in the study of peace and the food system (provided the pandemic allows such an adventure).

I’m allowing the rest of the year to wax and wane like the moon and meander like a river. Of course, I’ll be stitching it all together with knitting and taking photos everywhere I go.

Cultivating peace in our lives whether it be through knitting, food, relationships, and care for the Earth is that river to me… my journey with peace continues to unfold in surprising ways. Peace to all during this season, the presence of the new moon, and the beginning of a new year.

A few things:

• the book I mentioned above is called “Four thousand weeks: Time management for mortals” by Oliver Burkeman. I’m halfway through and it’s been a valuable read thus far.

• I also recently read “Small Things Like These” by Claire Keegan. A quick read about speaking up when it means possibly losing all that matters to you. Set in Ireland in the mid-80’s.

• You might enjoy listening to a conversation with Krista Tippett from Onbeing, Vivek Murthy, and Richard Davidson on the Future of Well-being. I loved this… So inspiring.

peace from the trees in deep winter… grounded, resting, and wise

Letting go...

“Just as one candle lights another
and can light thousands of other candles,
so one heart illuminates another heart
and can illuminate thousands of other hearts. ”

— Leo Tolstoy

And here we are on December 1.

A day filled with so much meaning.

Today would have been the 1st day of Project Peace 2021, the 6th annual.

Yet, I’ve been quiet. Wanting to say “yes.” I’ve created a pattern, identified a theme, had the artwork designed, and yet, the ability to pull off this huge endeavor has not arisen. It’s not that my heart isn’t in it…

I don’t write much about my day job as a professor at a large university. I teach nutrition to seniors and graduate students who aspire to become future dietitians. Last year, the shift to online teaching took a huge amount of effort and was taxing on students and faculty.

As the pandemic lingers, the toll this is taking on our educational system is immense. We hear a lot about the impact of the pandemic on the health care system and the food system but the long-lasting ramifications to the educational system feels like the elephant in the room.

My energy and attention this fall has been almost entirely on adapting my teaching approach. The transition from online, back into the classroom was not as easy a shift as most of us anticipated. We have not returned to normal.

And so, my wonderful, inspiring, peaceful friends, I had to chose.

We need peace

for ourselves,

for each other,

for the Earth.

We need each other.

I’m hopeful that the seeds we’ve planted over the last 5 years of Project Peace will now be able to grow. There are over 100 Project Peace blog posts from the past 5 years filled with suggestions and ideas. I’ve created a little list of some ideas (see below) in case you have reserved the month of December to intentionally focus on peace.

Please know that this is not a decision that was easy to make. I kept hoping the day would come when I’d say “yes, I can muster the energy to do this.” Yet with each passing day, I knew that it would not have been the right choice. I needed to let go…

Yesterday, I found the Leo Tolstoy quote which spoke to me quite deeply. Perhaps Project Peace, thus far has been a candle that lit many other candles. And now, I ask all of you to be that one candle that lights the candles of peace for others.

This is not the end of Project Peace. Perhaps this time of resting, reflecting, and recharging will lead me to the next chapter of Project Peace.

Some peace tips:

• Create a peace ritual… mine involves making my morning coffee, lighting a candle, and sitting in the dark as night gives way to the light of day. I’ll be lighting a candle each morning from now until 12/21. Will you join me?

• What 5 things do you want to accomplish today? After I finish my peace ritual, I write down 5 priorities for the day. If a priority is not completed I can then reflect on why. I’ve found this to be a very peaceful activity.

• Invite some friends to share a meal or afternoon coffee/tea (pandemic appropriate). Peace is all about sharing food.

• Write a hand-written letter to a friend or family member. I recently returned some handwritten comments to my college seniors and many of them said “I can’t read cursive.” Let’s keep penmanship alive!

• Watch the moon each morning/night. While I didn’t do a great job this year posting with each new or full moon, I was still attentive to her daily presence and changes. I’ve found a lot of comfort in connecting my day with the ebb and flow of the moon.

• I know that several people from previous years have started their own peace group. Some groups send a daily message to participants whereas others meet weekly, some face-to-face, others via “zoom.” Why not create your own peace tips to share with others… music suggestions, quotes that inspire, books that you’ve read and enjoyed, etc.

• My delightful and inspiring friend, Dotty from The Net Loft has been leading free watercolor journaling zoom meetings all year. She even offers a free workshop on how to get started. There’s one happening this Saturday. Learn more here.

• Also a friend, Anna Brones, is now on her 5th year of writing a daily note during Advent. It’s called the “24 days of making, doing, and being” digital advent calendar. It’s filled with inspiration and delivered to your inbox each morning from December 1-24. It’s $5 and you can sign up here.

• A podcast that I very much enjoy is OnBeing. You can find more details here.

• Make time to be kind to yourself.

• Take a walk or sit outside and say hi to all who dwell outside… the birds, the flowers, trees, etc. Why not start up a conversation?

• I just love this version of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Listen here.

Please use this space to share peace tips with one another if you wish.

May you have a December filled with presence, intention, and kindness.

I’ll be sitting by my candle each morning at 6:30 am for anyone who wants to join me in spirit. I welcome the positive, peaceful, collective energy.

Peace be with you.

Peace… one breath, one stitch, and one step at a time.

~Christina

It's a new moon...

“Rise

said the moon

and the new day came”

— Rupi Kaur

Sun giving way to the moon… truly the golden hour.

The new moon… a time for new beginnings and fresh starts; providing us with a clean slate to begin again.

It’s been 2 full moons since I’ve said hello. And as I’ve become more attuned to the lunar phases, I’ve been able to learn more about myself. When I set out this year to post with each full moon, it felt tangible and came with a focus. How I’ve come to love watching the moon wax in the night sky building with anticipation… when she reaches her fullness, it’s a time to celebrate.

What I also noticed is that I found it hard to find my rhythm with respect to posting something on the blog. Coming to say hi to all of you in the midst of the lunar cycle felt a bit of an intrusion… as if I was stepping into a social gathering feeling quite awkward. What to say? How much to share? Why did this feel so unnatural?

To add to this, I began wondering about the names of the moons. It seems each full moon has a name depending on geographic location and/or culture. And that led me down a rabbit hole of questions…

does that name apply from the previous full moon to the next?

or from the current full moon to the one 28 days from now?

or is it a name for just that moment, when the moon is full.

I began digging and found out that the name of the full moon is really the name of the entire cycle - new moon waxing to full and waning again…

And then I found my rhythm… the new moon is the beginning, a time to set intentions, start new projects and to say hello.

Hello new moon… the September moon… the harvest moon as many call it.

Hello to all of you…

What I also came to realize is that the names of the “full” moons weren’t resonating with what was occurring in my own life. For example, in July, I named the moon “water” as this was greatly on mind. I was near a body of water but also surrounded by numerous forest fires and smoke due in part, to a lack of water.

At the peak of the “water moon…”

In August, my focus was on the prairie so I named her the “prairie moon.”

At the end of the “prairie moon…”

And for September, I’m choosing to name her the “cleansing moon” as I’m needing to remind myself to clean up many aspects of my life. I’m scouring the house as well my body… it’s a time to be intentional about work, home, and projects…

On my drive home from Idaho during the “water moon”… 1500 miles provided a lot of time for reflection. I’ve made this trek back to Iowa many times however, this was the first time that the wide open spaces of Wyoming captured my imagination. Having spent 3 weeks with a smoke-filled sky, the clouds provided the most magical backdrop. It was here, in this vast country, I was able to reflect on how the lunar phases were pulling me to think about productivity in new ways. The ebb and flow of getting things done…

it’s an in and out, push and pull, work and rest.

And these cycles are everywhere: our breath, an hour, the day, the lunar phase, a season…

Perhaps you might like to set an intention for this new moon. What might you want to focus on for this next lunar cycle?

What’s on my needles…

I’ve had Shetland on my mind. It’s been 5 years since I made my first trip to this magical place. I spent some time in August posting a trip down memory lane on Instagram. And that led to some serious “cast-on itis!”

I knit a Hesti hat by Ella Gordon,

a Buness tam by Mary Jane Mucklestone (it’s now finished but I just loved the light in this photo),

and currently the Kuvvel cowl, also by Mary Jane.

Fall Healthy Knitter plans…

Watch for upcoming news regarding a “walk-along” in October. It’s been years since I’ve done one of these. I always used to do them as a mystery until I finally learned that running a mystery knit-along was not my forte. So, I’m updating a pattern you’ve seen before and creating a few new versions. This one is all about colorwork and as colorwork goes, it’s fairly straight forward. Whenever I start to design colorwork patterns, I spend a lot of time knitting the designs of others (hence the reason for the three items in the photos).

Also, if you aren’t familiar with a “walk-along,” no worries… I’ll explain more with the next new moon. Bottom line, it’s a way to focus on some movement as the season transitions… and still have time for some knitting.

Project Peace… yes, there will be Project Peace 2021. I’ve recently changed my idea for the theme but as soon as I have everything settled, I’ll start telling you more. And for those of you who have mentioned you want a project with heavier weight yarn, I really need you to share your favorites when it comes to worsted or bulky weight yarn. I’m working to include your wishes… pop a comment below and share. My intention is to create a pattern that can be adapted to yarn weights at both ends of the spectrum… thin or thick.

What I’ve been reading…

Oh my, I’ve been bouncing around with several different books. Working hard to finish something. I’ll wait to share until next time.

May you find connections with others through knitting and tuning into the moon. We are all sitting under the same moon and have since the beginning of time. I find that thought comforting and extremely powerful… in a very delightful way.

If you’d like, please share your intention for this coming moon cycle. As well as any thoughts on worsted and bulky weight yarn preferences.

Seasonal shift underway…