And we knit on…
The Earth Charter
“We stand at a critical moment in Earth’s history, a time when humanity must choose its future. As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future at once holds great peril and great promise. To move forward we must recognize that in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny. We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice and a culture of peace. Toward this end it is imperative that we, the peoples of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations.”
From The Earth Charter Initiative
I recently stopped in our university library to grab a cup of coffee. The cafe is in the middle of the “leisure” book collection so I always pause for a moment, grab a book that calls to me and peruse the pages. That usually starts a chain reaction that only ceases several books later. So, it’s safe to say that I have no idea what book I picked up when I discovered The Earth Charter but only know that this passage spoke to me in multiple ways. Most importantly the phrase ”culture of peace.”
What would it look like to create a culture of peace?
How could we foster that culture?
My thoughts moved from one idea to the next always coming back to the need to honor not only ourselves but our home, this planet. This beautiful planet that gives and gives and gives… In the U.S. a climate change report was just released demonstrating that indeed our “future holds great peril.” We must act now to shift from a perilous future to one that “holds great promise.”
That future with great promise is achieved with choices right now, today. Experts from all around the world talk about strategies to reduce carbon footprint, minimize greenhouse gases, preserve water, create new crops to combat the elements… my mind begins to swirl… let’s bring this back down to the ground… what simple action items can we do… what are our seeds?
Partake in active transport… if you can take the bus or train just think of all that extra knitting time?
Walk to work… connect with nature providing time before work to collect your thoughts and after work to decompress.
Be aware of your choices… are reusable grocery bags the ‘right’ thing to use? should you use your own to-go cup? Here’s a great article that brings awareness to the implications of our choices.
As knitters, what can we do to specially work to protect our planet?
The power of your purchase plays a pivotal role… what are the “consequences” of your purchase. Think of all the amazing ways you can make a positive statement… support a local shop, a local shop with an online space, the independent dyer, the farmer, the mill, the pattern designer, the tech editor, the graphic designer, the folks at Ravelry…
It isn’t to say there’s one best approach, only to be aware of the message you are sending with your purchase.
Coming back to this idea of climate change… and certainly this post isn’t all about the science behind climate change rather to bring awareness that our world and climate is constantly evolving. I recently overheard a conversation between two friends “climate change has always happened, this is nothing new…” Perhaps it’s nothing new, yet it’s now pivotal that we, the people of this earth begin to realize that our choices have consequences for our planet… regardless of what it's called, how long it’s been occurring, and how many people want to debate whether it exists.
Shortly after the first Project Peace, I received an email describing the most intriguing project, The Tempestry Project… a way to use knitting to visualize the changes in temperature over time for any location in different times. For example, utilizing Emily and her team’s approach, you can knit the daily temperatures for a location, let’s pick Steamboat Springs, CO (the place I grew up) and any years you like, e.g. 1968 and 2018. It let’s you visualize a shift over half a century… warmer or colder. Below, is a multiple year comparison… notice the change over time to more red and orange reflecting a greater number of hotter days.
Deception Pass, WA from 1950-2014. On display at Museum of Northwest Art in LaConner, WA, through January 5th. Visit the Surge Climate Art Exhibit if you are in the area.
Peace seed #19.
Protect our planet. Make space today for peace. As you knit (or walk, reflect, etc), ponder one action item you can implement to be friendly to the earth…
Perhaps follow one link provided above and read about The Earth Charter, the climate report, learn more about the implications of our choices or The Tempestry Project.
Give-away #3.
Emily, Justin and Marissa from The Tempestry Project have graciously contributed a custom kit.
Here’s what you need to do to be eligible to enter. Leave a comment (or email me if you aren’t able to post on the blog) in response to the following question:
Now on Day 19 of Project Peace… which daily post has resonated with you the most and why? Leave a comment before midnight on Friday December 21 and I’ll announce the winner on Saturday the 23rd. There will be one final give-away revealed on Friday!
Today, make space…
~Christina
P.S. Even if you aren’t the lucky recipient, Emily writes “we will be holding our 2nd Annual New Year Sale for the whole month of January. This is 10% off of Tempestry Kits specifically for 2018, as the full data becomes available 1/1/19, and for 1968. We had a lot of people last January order kits for 2017 & 1967, and it was a great way to see temperature comparisons over the span of half a century so we will keep up this January tradition.”