“We must live in peace with nature and other animals, before we can live in peace with other people.”
Respect.
Perhaps peace is as "simple" as that... respect for our home, both the planet and our bodies.
If peace was a priority wouldn't it be easier to respect the world, both the natural elements and the people?
What if everyone took a moment to go outside and firmly planted their feet in the soil and reached their hands to the sky out of true awe and appreciation for all that is.
Think of the stillness that would occur if everyone stopped and listened... to the birds sing.
If there was respect for the earth, the people, the animals...
then there would be peace.
What if it was that simple?
Sandhill crane migration, 2017, Albuquerque, NM
I'm not a birdwatcher, per se, however I take great pleasure in watching birds and thinking about what they accomplish. Migratory birds fascinate me with their dedication, commitment, perseverance, and effort. Watching the birds interact on the ground it is clear that they are disagreements, however when it's time to fly, they put aside their differences and work together to accomplish greatness. They share the workload communicating along the way to reach a destination often times 1000's of miles away. And they accomplish this year after year despite the fact that their resting grounds are slowly disappearing due to human "advances."
I recently made a purchase from a yarn shop that I discovered on Instagram called The Net Loft in Cordova, AK, a fishing community. Although I have yet to visit, I find the shop owner, Dotty to be inspiration with her thought-provoking blog posts and commitment to revitalizing the connection between fishing and knitting. When my package arrived, there was a 4x6 card describing the Birds by Hand project to celebrate the annual Copper River Delta Shorebird Festival that occurs this year from May 3-6, 2018.
The Net Loft has created the Copper River Delta Knitted Birds Project to celebrate the annual migration of hundreds of 1000's of birds along the Pacific Flyway and invites everyone to join in a knit-along and become a "ornitholoknitter," one who studies or is an expert on knitted birds.
The goal of the Knitted Birds Project is to raise awareness of the value of the Copper River Delta and its rich tidal mudflats in regards to the mass migration of shorebirds each spring. To join the knit-along, all you have to do is knit a bird and send it to Alaska and it'll be included on display in the local museum during the festival. The goal is to collect 1000 knitted birds. All the details can be found here.
As soon as I discovered this project in August, I just knew I had to include it in Project Peace 2017. Just think if we sent 100's of peace birds to the festival. Not only would we raise awareness of the migration of birds and nature but also peace. I'm asking all of you to knit a bird of peace and let it wing it's way to Alaska.
Knitted dove by Nicky Fijalkowska
I set out to find a pattern to include in PP17 and discovered the book Knitted Birds by Nicky Fijalkowska. I reached out to her and she has graciously provided all of you with a copy of her pattern for the knitted dove. You can download the pattern for free now through December 31 using the coupon code PEACE. So please, knit a bird of peace and send it to the Knitted Bird Project.
Perhaps knitting a bird of peace during Worldwide Knit-in for Peace Day would be an extra special way to think about knitted peace. Or ask your local yarn shop to host a gathering after the New Year to knit a flock of peace birds. There are a few "supplies" needed to create each bird so working together in the spirit of accomplishing bigger things like the migratory birds might be most efficient.
Day 15. Peace tip.
Take a moment today to go outside and sit. Close your eyes and listen for the birds. Think about birds and what characteristic of the birds provides you with a moment of awe and wonder.
~Peace in all things
Christina