© 2008 Karen Van Fossan
I've heard it said a dozen times, a hundred times, a thousand times. As Cookie (age 7) said the other day, A million times. A google. Pretend I just said infinity. In other words, I've heard it said an infinite number of times:
Imagine peace. But I've never known for sure, what do other people imagine? Buffalo storming the prairie once more? Voices always singing? Streets remade into long community gardens?
Probably, we all have our recipes for peace. Christian's (age 10) goes like this:
1. Join the peace gang.
2. Stop mean people.
3. Love!
Most of the time, I use recipes for something yet to come, a dish I plan to make. Something in the future. Still, sometimes a recipe will be rooted in the past. I'll prepare a dish first; then I'll try to figure out how it happened. So here are some of last week's ingredients of peace...
Sunday:
Casting the only no vote in a roomful of yeses, and still feeling heard.
Monday:
Brushing my furry dog (very!). Watching wisps of fur fly. Imagining birds who will claim it for their nests.
Tuesday:
Gathering up the compost. Stink!
Wednesday:
Laughing nicely about being nice girls while pushing each other (nicely of course) at Dragon Jane rehearsal.
Thursday:
Reflecting on words of wisdom I've gained from Ferne (age 99). Then hearing Ferne ask me, What are your words of wisdom?
Friday:
Shaking a maraca in the Band Day Parade with Urban Harvest. Being a Sky Fairy with Aria (age 6), bringing enchantment from the sky.
Saturday:
Waking up to purring cats pressed against my side. Feeling as if my own body is purring.
Sunday:
Having this phone conversation...
Happy Mother's Day! I say to Ramona.
Knowing I want to adopt but don't have the funds yet, Ramona replies, Happy Mother's Day to you, too!
Thanks, I say, laughing, I think.
Then Ramona says, We're all mothers, aren't we?
I like to see my week written down this way. It makes me want to ask you, How was your week? What was your recipe for peace?
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6 comments:
My recipe for Peace....
Take a handful of Peaceful friends, add Peace music, stir in Peaceful water (with a kayak of course, and simmer.....
Thanks for the chance to read your blog! I love it!! See you soon.
That is a lovely way to think of your week. Lately, at the end of each day, I've been writing one sentence that summarizes something I've learned that day, which frames every day as a great learning opportunity. And I love learning. I love peace a lot, too.
This week I insisted on peace when Cookie brought home 2 plastic army guys from a birthday party. I told him that I couldn't allow him to play with them, because war is not a game and violence should never be entertainment. And then we threw them in the garbage.
Were they recyclable???
Recipe for peace...let's see...good friends, great blog to read once a week, music, art , dance, animals, love...of course, this one is a raw recipe...
What a world of peace we would have if everyone's shelves were well-stocked with these ingredients! Add a dash of humility, understanding, and a large dose of compassion. Karen is the best chef around!
jeez people! your making me feel hopeful about the world. quit it i'm not used to it
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