“I hope for youthe fires of transformationthat burns away the dross of egoleaving oneness, grace, and light.
That you may breathe the winds of beingWith wings of an eagle to soarSowing life into each otheropening hearts and doors
For you are a spring of heavenA breeze in the desert of lifeGiving hope to the hopeless and brokenBringing grace, and peace, and light.”-Bob Holmes, “Ode to a Mystic”
“Happiness, not in another place but this place…not for another hour, but this hour.”
-Walt Whitman
“The old threads are unraveling,
Get your needles ready.
We are stitching a new quiltof Humanity.Bring your old t-shirts,worn out jeans, scarves,antique gowns, aprons,old pockets of plentywho have held Earth’s treasures,stones, feathers, leaves,love notes on paper.Each stitchA mindful meditation.Each piece of materialA story.The more colour the better,so call in the Tribes.Threads of browns, whites,reds, orangesWomen from all nationsstart stitching.Let’s recycle the hate, the abuse,the fear, the judgment.Turn it over, wash it clean,ring it out to dry.It’s a revolutionof recycled wears.Threads of greens, blues, purplesColourful threadsof peace, kindness,respect, compassionare being stitchedfrom one continent to the nextover forests, oceans, mountains.The work is hardYour fingers may bleed.But each cloth stitched togetherBrings together a community.A world, our future worldUnder one colourful quilt.The new quilt of humanity.”-Julia Myers
“It’s just me and my breath and nature, in peace and it’s beautiful.”
-Katherine Matias
“We shall find peace. We shall hear the angels, we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds.”
—Anton Chekhov
“Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice.”
—Baruch Spinoza
“Peace has never come from dropping bombs. Real peace comes from enlightenment and educating people to behave more in a divine manner.”
—Carlos Santana
“Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people.”
—Jawaharlal Nehru
“You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.”
—Malcolm X
“If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.”
—Moshe Dayan
“Every day we do things, we are things that have to do with peace. If we are aware of our life…, our way of looking at things, we will know how to make peace right in the moment, we are alive.”
—Thich Nhat Hanh
“First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others.”
—Thomas Kempis
Carmel at the Santa Lucia Preserve, an idyllic retreat among lichen dripping oaks, green slopes, vistas, birds, deer, and coyote. The alive ecosystem of the coastal environment is present in a vital way to this tired body. Yesterday’s wedding already a fading memory. The Barn, the view of the mountains for the ceremony, the relaxed vibe, all a part of me now, but I’m present in this moment without reflection on yesterday.
It’s all about the trees here. The way they stand in artistic poses and profound presence. They are peace and calm.
And the quiet! It seems they are thinking deep thoughts, still becoming more. It is a vital pervading mood that permeates – introspective and wise.
I am out with the trees now. Sweet soft breeze. They receive what’s offered with such grace. Later there will be a wild wind and a hot sun, and they will provide respite for some winged ones. They will shelter dozing deer, and yawning coyotes. They will talk to their brethren and commune with the others. Later still they will enjoy a moon bath and stellar sparkling light on their leaves. Their roots will reach deeper into the earth and their crown to the heavens with their hearts wide open to all that is. These trees.
“When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be.
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the dry-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.”
-Wendell Berry
Let the magic, perfect inclusion, balance, beauty and peace of the forest heal you. It is always there providing sustenance, support and Love.
(two lovely video links are listed below if you can’t get out into the forest in person)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6VXaBdOvFg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-wHq6yY2CI
These snow days are sweet with wonder. The white carpet ensconces us warmly, allowing a deep simmering. The simmering distills to peace.
A soul distilled from simmering shimmers with radiance reflecting the peace within.
Sweet, soft glow across the snow. Oneness of white.
Time stills.
“There is no other time when the whole world seems composed of one thing and one thing only.” – Joseph Wood Krutch
“Lo. sifted through the winds that blow, Down comes the soft and silent snow, White petals from the flowers that grow In the cold atmosphere.” -George W. Bungay
“If you mind is still…you can sense the peace that emanates from the earth.”
-Eckart Tolle
