Photo taken in Grand Rapids, MI by Kathryn, a Project Peace participant
It’s been 5 days now since we celebrated Worldwide Knit for Peace Day and the culmination of the 3rd Project Peace. What a success I would say.
People knitting all around the world for 21 days with the intention to create more peace in their daily lives…
Knitters gathering specifically on the 21st to proclaim, yes, we knit for peace...
Over $3000 raised to support the promotion of peace (with additional matching dollars from Seeds of Peace so really it’s $4500 contributed)… Helping our youth from around the world learn how to engage in healthy conversations despite differences and providing nutrition education, food and gardening skills to families in Rwanda to prevent malnutrition, a known predictor of violence through Gardens for Health.
and seeds of peace were planted… if anyone is looking for evidence that knitting can create peace, look no farther than the comments left on Day 21. Talk about inspiring, uplifting, and an affirmation that making space for peace can be just what’s needed to cure what ails us.
Wrapping up Project Peace.
On Day 2 of Project Peace, I asked you to describe peace using words that began with the letter “p.” It wasn’t my intention to have every post begin with the letter “p” but I soon realized that every pre-planned blog post topic connected to a word that begins with the letter “p.” So I ended up with a bowl full of “p’s” or is that peas? or peace?
For all of you,
a path to follow… peace is a process, not a destination,
to be present in your day,
to make a pilgrimage, walking that path of peace,
to allow small, repetitive tasks infuse a bit of positivity,
incorporating some breathing activities to permeate your being,
contemplate your life’s philosophy and to pause and watch the geese in the sky (pearl),
to notice through precipitation that great powerful and positive change can be made with the collective action of peaceful individuals,
to practice patience,
to pass on distractions,
give yourself permission to say yes to the good things in your world,
to plan a party to celebrate peace,
to see things in a new way, it’s all about perspective,
to understand your own version of commu”knit”y and finding a way to participate given your circumstances,
to pen a letter to a friend,
planting seeds of peace wherever you go…
cultivating a commitment to our home, protect the planet we proclaim,
to play with a little pretend time,
and to make a promise to self on how you might continue to make space for peace in the upcoming days, weeks, months, and year.
I’m so grateful to all of you for engaging in peace… for knitting for peace these past 21 days.
I’ve learned that Project Peace is a path for all of us but also reflective of my own journey with peace. At the beginning of this year’s Project Peace someone wrote (my apologies that I’ve lost track of who this was) that this was her 3rd year of following Project Peace… in year 1, she read the blog, in year 2, she made a public post of some sort and this year she’s speaking to everyone she knows about peace. As I reflect on the blog posts for the three years, I also see how each year has taken a bit of a deeper dive into this topic… this path of peace.
So, I’m not sure what this means for next year. I’m feeling a bit exhausted and have no idea of what I might say again next year. I’m sure with some rest and getting over this nasty cold I’ve developed that I might find my voice (and theme) for next year’s Project Peace.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m inspired and have lots of ideas for knitting and peace… and I can’t wait to get started. I just don’t know what it means yet for Project Peace. If you have ideas, feel free to comment or drop me a line. Your feedback is always welcome and while I might not always respond, I’m certainly reading, thinking and reflecting.
Project Peace 2018 ebook. The patterns in the ebook are forthcoming… the end of the semester, holiday planning and Project Peace became all-consuming. Look for the patterns to begin arriving in January.
Peace and walking. I began The Healthy Knitter as a way to inspire knitters to adopt some healthy habits. And that is still one of my aspirations. I’m committing to walking a certain number of miles in the year 2019. My miles will be intentional miles not a cumulative number of miles per day. I began a thread 2 years ago for all of us to log our miles in a thread on The Healthy Knitter Ravelry group. It took us 2 years to walk around the earth… a fantastic commitment to those involved. I’d love to challenge us to walk around the earth in ONE year. Can you help us meet this goal? I’ll begin a new thread titled “Peacewalkers 2019.” Let’s start on January 1… walk what you can, just keep logging each week throughout the year.
Giveaways announced.
The winner of the Tempestry Project kit is Rosemary Dixon. She wrote the following via an email in response to Day 20:
Rosie wrote: Oh dear lord - todays blog. I am a meditator, a knitter, a lover of native plants, a hiker and and an activist. I also turned 90 this year. I have been looking for a project that I can do with my diminished physical abilities. The tempestry project really is it. I can’t wait. I want to do ALL 50 years. What a wonderful idea. Thank you for helping to make peace a focus of peoples lives.
The winner of the final prize is Robin Strong. I was moved by everyone’s post and how much Project Peace means to all of you. I felt Robin’s post reflected a true example of seeds planted in multiple places and the power to affect so many others in just a simple way. Personally, this response spoke to me in a way that provided me with a path forward… where do I take peace from here. Thank you for the spark Robin and please email me)!
Robin wrote: This morning, I'm taking your peace pledge to our 6th graders in homeroom. Thank you so much! We'll begin the conversation and set our intentions for being peacemakers in our school. Then after winter break, we'll come back to our pledge ideas, write them up in an artful way, and begin our time together in January with the intention to take every step in peace. I'll share with our teammates as well, and perhaps we'll plant even more seeds of peace among our students. Thank you!
Peace begins right here, right now,
it's a choice...
one that we must make space for in our lives.
May you find peace in each stitch, each step, each breath...
You are a seed of peace...
~Christina
