"A lovely thing about Christmas is that it's compulsory, like a thunderstorm, & we all go through it together."

-Garrison Keillor

Enjoy this holiday season. We'll be back in 2011!

Love, Lisa and Elizabeth

doing

"Life's most urgent question is: what are you doing for others?"
~mlk jr.



::elizabeth::

Last week at a healing waters ceremony, I stood in a circle with 8 other people. We leaned in towards the center with our shoulders so close they touched. We closed our eyes and began walking in a circle. The support of each person was complete. As a unit we circled with faith. Eventually the concentration required to walk in this way eased and we began humming, chanting and singing. It was a truly beautiful experience…a heaven on earth experience.

When everyone is equally supported, there is no lack, no weakness, no needs unmet. When everyone is supported equally, we transcend this earthly plane to one that allows everyone to experience joy, freedom of spirit, harmony, and grace. How could this possibly be extended to include all of Humanity? It begins by releasing our fears, surrendering to Spirit, and trusting in Love one step at a time.

::lisa::

I think as a mother, this is a hard question to answer. Most days I feel like I do nothing but things for others, for my family of course. But I think I can take this question much deeper. Recently, I heard a spiritual leader talking about what we can choose to do for others, while putting our needs, wishes, wants, and desires aside. And about how powerful it is to put the needs of others before ourselves. This can be a tricky concept though. I mean, as a strong hearted woman, how will I know where the balance lies? This person was speaking of true non attachment. In way where whatever anyone else says, does, or acts cannot touch us when we are truly in connection with what is. I honestly do not think many of us are there. I would like to say that even though I know I strive to be there intentionally, I am not. My husband drives me crazy at times, as do my children, and the actions of others. Finding that sweet spot within ourselves where we can sit back and let go can be tough. In the long run, I am not sure if we can truly answer the question of what we are doing for others until we are very in tune with what we do within ourselves and learn to let go of everything. This may be different than putting ourselves first. Instead it could be putting the needs of others first, while taking the time to go within ourselves and nurture the feelings that arise until they shine peace.

Debbie from The Loving Path: piece together peace guest post

Today we have Debbie who blogs at The Loving Path sharing her words and experience from early October and the wisdom she gleaned from it.

In Debbie's words:



This past week and a bit has been nothing short of crazy. We spent an over-night in the ER, a morning at the walk-in-clinic, and plenty of hours where we should have all been fast asleep – wide awake. Isaac has been quite sick but is finally on the mend. In the meantime Fred and I are trying to catch up on missed opportunities to rest and rejuvenate. It’s hard to remain present to the needs of those around you when you yourself are so over-tired and stressed with the illnesses of little ones.



It is times like this when my mindful parenting takes a small nose-dive; where I struggle to remain present for my little son and instead become caught up in the nightmare that is “lack of sleep.” Still it is something that I’m deeply aware of and working on. Because no one deserves to feel worse when all they want is to feel better. And of course I want to parent from a place of peace, no matter how exhausted I am.



I mean, it’s not Isaac’s fault that he caught a cold and that it decided to go into his lungs. It’s not his fault he can’t breathe. And while I recognize my humanness, I also want to strive for better in these stressful situations. I want to be peace in those moments where I find it incredibly challenging. Because only then will my peace become my sons peace. (Or so I hope.) Children learn not by what we tell them, but by what we do. If I am stressed in a moment where he needs me to be present, then what am I teaching him about how to handle stressful situations? I think we all know the answer to that.



So I’m making an intention; I putting “out there” my intention to live my peace, today.

Lisa and Elizabeth of Threading Light have started a Piece Together Peace campaign. What is it that we can do in this moment to be our peace? What can we offer to others so that we are living our peace? It doesn’t have to be a huge change – it’s the little things that count. It all counts. For me, it starts within. When I am running on empty and don’t feel that I am the mother I wish to be, I want to offer myself love; to forgive myself for being human. And when that is said and done I want to be able to use words that comfort. I want to dig down, deep inside and find my piece of peace and share it with my loved ones. I want to be my peace; for myself – and for all of those around me. This is how we start to change the world.

*******

Thank you so much Debbie for taking the time to share your words with us in this space.

be thankful

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something.
It gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations.
They give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge.
They will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary
Because it means you’ve made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.

GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles
and they can become your blessings.

~Author Unknown

Valerie from Poetic Chronicles: piece together peace guest post

This week we welcome Valerie, who blogs at poetic chronicles. In her words:



The piece together peace project is a nice opportunity to think about something we don't always have time to focus on, and what a shame we don't!

Finding peace is not a concept, it is a goal, a dream, a philosophy, a life-saver, an ideal, a way of living...

Last month, I used gardening as a support for thinking about peace, and as a peace-generating activity. I came to the conclusion that peace starts within oneself, thanks to a conscious effort to live in harmonious agreement with the environment (physical, biological, mental, spiritual environment), by accepting what we are and what we do.



So for this month, I'm going to make the following effort: generating peace within myself. To make this more concrete, and thus realizable, I will force myself to let go (funny it is the last thing I read about on Threading light!). I will try to let go of other people's negative attitudes.

As a sensitive person, I tend to be really affected by negative people: forgetfulness, rude behaviours, selfishness, petty reactions, indifference, lack of understanding... What are all those, in fact? Surely nothing important. Surely something we all have to deal with, at various levels and various moments of our lives. Yet being affected by them, paying attention to them, surely leads me to be less peaceful. By focusing less on negative people, I'll focus more on positive people/things/actions, I'll be able to generate more peace inside and outside. This is something I've actually been trying to do for ages ;)

I'll double my efforts and let you know if I've been able to let go of the rude, the oblivious, the greedy, the indifferent. And I'll let you know if this has left me more energy, space and time to focus on other things. In short, I'll make an effort to forget the bad in order to see the good. I'll tell you (because that's what matters!) what good I've found.

:::

Thank you so much to Valerie for sharing her words in this space and and to all of you who have joined in on the piece together peace project. It is never too late to jump in, even if only for a month or two. Stop OVER HERE to add your December intention.

glorify

"Glorify who you are today.

Do not condemn who you were yesterday.

Dream of who you can be tomorrow." -Neale Donald Walsch

::elizabeth::

If I really put my energy into glorifying who I am each day, I wonder what my life would look like. Would I make the same choices? Would I be happier? Would I finally achieve a permanent state of inner peace? How would I glorify myself anyway? What would that look like? I wrote ‘if’ because if I am really being honest with myself, I have spent most of my life condemning, done quite a bit of dreaming and not so much glorifying over the years.

But there are passages into now-time that I have discovered.  And when I can successfully slip through, the chains that bind me to the past loosen. And there are times that I can actually slip my hands through and experience the real freedom of being present, and the illusion of time simply fades away.  The dreams that come from this state are of a different variety than the ones I typically have because I am living in them as I experience them.  That is a glorious thing.

::lisa::

Things often get in the way, like our thoughts, to do lists, and the mirror. Once we find the space to let go of everything that we really truly just cannot be in control of, which is pretty much everything, we can begin to see what is right in front of us...ourselves. Each day we learn something new. Today we are here, as we are, and now we can work on creating the change we wish to see. We are given the opportunity to expand who we are to be. We are amazing just how we are, who we are, and what we might someday be. Every person deserves a huge celebration for just being themselves. Let’s celebrate together. Life is such an amazing journey.

piece together peace project: december intention

Please post a link to your december peace intention for the piece together peace project.  Remember to grab the button and use it to help us spread the word and the peace.  Thank you for all the inspiration and keep it coming.  We will be posting some highlights on a regular basis now.  You can link follow up post here as well.  Thank you for being a part of this project...may the peace be with you especially during the joyful busyness of the holidays.

Walk the walk.

Be peace.

Be the piece.

Together...let's piece together peace.

Courtney from Easton Locavore: piece together peace guest post

This week we welcome Courtney, who blogs at Easton Locavore. In the beginning of November Courtney posted a little recap about her endeavors from her October intention in finding peaceful ways within herself, her daughter, and at homework time.

In Courtney's words:


In October, my intention was to get through homework each night without losing my patience.

I'm pleased to say that this worked better than I ever could have imagined! Whenever I felt myself getting all tensed up in reaction to my daughter's amped up behavior, I called on this intention to bring me back to a quieter place where I could help her in a more kind and gentle manner. Since I wasn't getting upset, I found that she got less upset and could 'power down' a little easier. Homework is still no picnic, but it is MUCH better. I'm going to continue to practice this consciously peaceful behavior during the homework hours from now on, because it's just better for us.

I also started bringing us to the couch, away from the kitchen table where the homework is done, when she starts freaking out. Once we're on the couch we can touch, she can sit in my lap, put her head on my shoulder and we can just get back to how much we love each other. It takes the 'sting' out of her mood and we can get back to doing our best at the homework table.

Our home is more peaceful now because of this and we're happier. Phew!

:::

Thank you so much to Courtney who shared her wonderful discovery of how important it is to find that close connection with our children, in all of life's situations, homework time included!