Part I: Reflection
The world is a challenging place right now, twinkly lights and pretty decorations and all. This piece isn’t about that - not necessarily.
I have vowed to make this a peaceful, encouraging, and intentionally kind corner of the internet. We all need to breathe (Unclench your teeth here and take a deep breath with me…)....so here we all are. On this challenging planet - what is there to do but breathe? So much, but this isn’t that piece.
Instead of a piece on a particular conflict, a war, or all that many other more profound and educated and downright badass people have spoken already, I’ve crafted a new hope-imbued poem inspired by peas, some cool peace initiatives, and my love for all artistry from the creatures on this planet (have you ever REALLY looked at a spiderweb? Spiders are great artists!).
That’s all. Peas. Just peas. Yummo, delicious peas - have you ever had fresh peas in a salad? My mom made me some this year and I’ll never forget that salad. Peas as an analogy, yet peas nonetheless. Wahoo! Let’s make peas, not war.
Also, I’m striving to make this space more interactive. Substack has loads of bells and whistles these days, and I’m mindfully starting with the writing, then adding the comments section, then mindfully considering other ways of interacting with all of you wonderful people.
So, feel free to share your experiences with the reflective questions - I finally have a set I dig, that I riff on for each post. The prompts for the reflections are different, so read carefully if these are something that look familiar to the regulars around here.
Regulars. How humbling and wonderful to have you here with me for this endeavor.
Thanks for being here!
Mindfully,
Amber Brown
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Poem: Peas into Star-shares by Amber Brown
Swords into plowshares
Guns into garden tools
Can swords make sculptures?
Carving clay
Whittling wood
Used once for fighting
Now used for artistry
The pure mystical magical
Process of reclamation
Encouraging wonderful wonderment
Minting kind and gentle redirection through relief pieces of art
Crafting in a non-violent resistance, as one would weave a tapestry
Can bayonets build beautifully, too?
Resisting forces of oppression and violence, besting bayonets
Is art ever a violent act?
Perhaps it’s not the piece
It’s the intention behind it
Peas on a child’s plate
Shuffled around into a star
Reminding us that children are still here
Preaching through being young and creating sweet art!
All-stars creating stars like the ones wise men followed
Piece by piece we build the sculpture or relief image of our lives
Fingerprints and imperfect beauty molded into the piece, the peace
Peas we grow, pieces we build, peace we create
With love, with action, tossing in thoughts and prayers like sea glass shards
Peace and art-making is hard
Sword turned into relief - wood, plaster of paris, shards of sea glass
Relieved when, sometimes, it makes sense
It always makes sense to create art in a world that knows so much pain
String, anchors, nets for the fishes and for catching pieces of peace
Let’s not fish for people, but peace
Let’s not create art for people
Actually, let’s.
Let’s create art, a beautiful piece
Nourishing hearts with our art, a huge relief
For people, for peace, for the next generation
And all of them after that
Let’s plant peas, for peace’s sake
Let’s plant peas, earthly art for the next generation of star children
Using our magical mystical shiny swords
Chopping down peas, not peace, making our future possible piece-by-piece
~*~*~*~*~*
Part II: Themed mindfulness/spiritual activities for your week
Some of these stay the same but prompts for reflection can change, so read carefully please. Wouldn’t want y’all to miss a prompt.
1. Listen! Find a song that gives you personal peace. Go to your music-listening device and find some space for mindful awareness in your living quarters. Turn on some bird sounds or some nature sounds - any good ones will do. Close your eyes, take some deep breaths and listen. Just be present for a few moments of nature sounds. When you’re done, give yourself a gentle hug and thank yourself for taking time for this practice.
2. Get out into the world! Journey outdoors to a safe, soothing, peaceful space or your own yard and take some deep breaths. Listen for the sounds of the season your area offers - whether your area offers a cityscape or a view of the country. Take off your shoes if you have some nature under your feet (grass? Mud? Whatever you’ve got - this is YOUR practice! Just not snow, not always…especially if that’s too cold for you!). Close your eyes if that’s comforting and try to find two distinct sounds in the vicinity. Take some deep breaths and give yourself a hug - send yourself some gratitude for today’s practice.
3. Move! Moving mindfully makes for a precious practice. If you grow a garden, think of your daily watering, weeding, planting, harvesting practice as your mindfulness practice for today. If you don’t grow a garden, find a movement practice that works for you - dance around your living room or backyard, move around your neighborhood. Do this while mentally sending gratitude to the earth for all it offers us. When you’re done, take some deep breaths and send your body gratitude for what it can do.
4. Create! Break out those markers, colored pencils, watercolors, collage tools, etc! Create an image with the prompt “What can I do to bring about a more peaceful world?” Go where the journey takes you and mindfully create a journal entry, drawing, painting, collage. You are welcome to share what you created by responding to this email or commenting on the page. When you are done with this practice, take some deep breaths and give yourself a hug, sending your body some gratitude for getting creative!
5. Enjoy! Today, take some time to mindfully prepare a meal. Just add peas, if you aren’t allergic to them! Breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack will do. You could also brew some tea or coffee - in the slowest way you can. Make a short or long production of it - notice the smells, tastes, sounds, thoughts that roll through your mind. Eat or drink mindfully - taking time to notice a few of the sips or bites. Chew many more times than you would normally, especially the peas (it may feel silly, but it always makes me think about how quickly I generally eat a meal!). Notice. Listen. Breathe in as you cook, eat, drink. Then, when you are done, do that cleaning up practice mindfully, too. Be aware of the feel of water on your hands, smell of the dish detergent, or something else you notice. When you’re done, give yourself a pat on the back and go back to your day!
6. Reflect! This is a straight-up journaling practice. Break out your pen/pencil and journal or piece of good ol’-fashioned paper - I recommend this over typing it out, unless there are accessibility issues for you with paper/pen. Settle in with your iced tea or coffee or whatnot and write for five, ten or fifteen minutes about your week and journal about where you find personal peace, someone who inspires you with their peace activism, and/or one thing you can do in the world. End it all with a deep breath or three and give yourself a hug.
7. Just Be! On this last day, take time to just be. Pray or meditate or sit and focus on your breath - inhales and exhales. Do this for a few minutes or as long as it serves you to do so. At the end of it say something meaningful...for example...I am present, or I am love, I am enough, or I am more than my labels. Take a few more deep breaths. Come back to the present and give yourself a hug - celebrate your wins this week! You are amazing!