Peace of Mind… (blog)

I am heartbroken by the news of the suicide bombing in Istanbul today. There are no words to express the sadness, pain and profound grief people are experiencing in yet another part of our world as violent, separatist actions kill and injure again.

While I do not pretend to have the solution to the violence, hate and extremism we are experiencing over and over again right now, I do feel compelled to act.

For me, this means that I speak for Peace in conversations with every person I meet. If I am in the grocery store or at the doctor’s office, I will be Peace and I will talk about Peace. If I am meeting folks for coffee, I will speak about Peace. When I am feeling unsettled, I will reach out to people in my life who help me find Peace again and seek help in getting there. I will gather people together to speak about ways to grow Peace. I will encourage Peaceful activism within communities I visit. And, I will be a voice for Peace in every way that I can.

How will you help grow the energy of Peace in your life and your community?

 

Thank you to everyone who responded to my request for ways that you find Peace and the people you share it with. What a lovely way to connect with you all! The messages came via e-mail, text, FB posts and comments on the blog, and I received them all day long. I felt such a sense of Peace with each response, which was absolutely lovely to receive.

As I read the things people shared, I was aware of how grateful I am to each of you for taking the time to write it down and send it to me. And, it made me curious. I wonder what would happen if I asked another favor…So, here goes:

I am asking each of you to reach out to someone in your family, community, school, workplace, etc., and tell them about the Walk for Peace. Ask them if they would be willing to say how they find Peace and who they find it with and then share it with me – even they might not know me. Then, give them my email address or the website address or the FB page info., and ask them to post it. Let’s continue the conversations for Peace, and let’s reach out with Peace as our common purpose.

For every person I hear from, I will share a story of Peace I’ve experienced.

Let’s work together to spread Peace – one experience, one person, one step at a time.

 

On this 98th day on the Walk for Peace, I have a request:

Sometime in the next 24 hours – reach out to me and share one way you experience Peace in your life, and one way you are sharing Peace with another person in your life.

You can share it here in the comments, on Facebook, or through an email to me at aryonmelcher@gmail.com

I look forward to hearing from you!

Peace…

A couple of days ago, Kelli took a fall as she was heading up the steps at the back of her house. She hit her head hard enough in two places to cause swelling and bruising. Today, she was feeling worse than yesterday, including some tell tale signs of a possible concussion. After a short talk, we agreed that the best course of action would be for Kelli to be seen by a doctor. The results? Unfortunately, Kelli has a concussion. Fortunately, it is not severe, and with rest and time, she will recover fully. And, seeing the doctor gave Kelli some Peace about what she was experiencing.

As I watched the exchanges between Kelli, the doctor and the nurses, my heart felt happy to see the respect and kindness that flowed between them. And, while a Traumatic Brain Injury such as a concussion is a serious matter, there was also room for a little lightheartedness to enter the conversation. You see, everyone involved was interested in the same thing – determining what was wrong and developing a plan for Kelli’s recovery.

Later in the day, I went to a gathering where there were about a hundred and fifty people. I knew some of the folks, and not others, but we were all there for the same purpose. Ordinarily, this group of people would very likely not get along. However, because of having a common purpose, we were all able to get along and to be in community together for the afternoon and evening.

As I watched the first scenario and participated in the second, I was aware of a lack of judgement in both instances. And in this lack of judgement, there was room for vulnerability, assistance, recovery and quite simply, to Be.

These are the types of interactions I have had and am continuing to have on the Walk for Peace. When I am at the beginning of  1conversation for Peace with someone, I make it a point to connect with the person/people I am speaking with by making eye contact, holding them with respect and without judgement, and by being vulnerable. In this way, I invite 1conversation for Peace with an open and Peaceful heart.

I awakened this morning with a heavy heart – thinking about what the next step is for taking care of my knee, and truly wishing I could just blink and have it be fine again.

Unfortunately, that is not the case. I can still feel instability in my knee, and do not feel able to be walking long distances without knowing what is wrong.

Fortunately, I have many ways of taking care of my heavy heartedness, like chanting and meditation, both of which I used this morning. By acknowledging the feelings and being with them, they flow through me, which almost always makes me feel better.

And, when I am willing to walk through my feelings, I never have to experience them in the same way again. Even if the same issue arises, I experience it differently because I have been through it before.

In the late afternoon, I went to a meeting at a friend’s house. My friend is recovering from spinal surgery, which has her pretty much home bound for the time being. There were twelve people there, and we sat outside in the garden sharing with one another in community, love and support of someone we all care about.

After our formal gathering, several of us hung around and told stories that actually had many of us (myself included) laughing out loud. It was really lovely to feel the levity and the true sense of community surrounding our friend.

This metal peace sign garden stake was in my friend’s yard, and I found myself smiling broadly when I saw it…knowing the photo I took of it would be the picture for my post tonight.

As I complete this day, I am grateful to be able to experience so many feelings in one day. I am grateful to know that I can choose to take care of myself, with healthy actions. I am grateful for the opportunity to reach out and show up for a friend who needs help. And, I am grateful for the Peace I feel in my heart.

 

 

This morning my friend, Kelli Laton, and I made the hour long (each direction) drive up to Truckee to pick up the records from my orthopedic surgeon’s office. The trip was full of ease, and it felt good to complete a step in this process. I must say, that was the sum total of the work I did regarding my knee today.

I also spent time in quiet meditation; thinking about a friend and her family who, although they were not injured, will be leaning in to help their community as they begin the recovery from a tornado that touched down there last night. It feels as if this type of conscious focus on community and helping one another is another way that I can Walk for Peace.

This evening, I spoke at a meeting, and I got to pick the discussion topic. The topic I chose was “What do you do to maintain Peace in your life?”. It was such a pleasure to bring Peace into the conversation, and to hear the tools other people use to keep Peace in their lives. The energy in the room was very upbeat, and I found myself feeling really happy that I got to initiate and participate in another conversation for Peace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many more phone calls and more red tape sent me outside to regroup myself this afternoon, which turned it to be just what I needed.

As I sat in silence in the chair on the deck, I could hear the birds close by, even though at first, I couldn’t see them. Then, I took several slow, deep breaths, and looked into the dogwood tree in front of me. Lo and behold, I saw two little birds perched close to the center (they are both in the picture).

In those few moments, I was able to ground myself and to breathe deeply, being present to the Peaceful quality of the breeze, the sunshine, the greenery and the creatures – all only a few steps away.

When I am feeling frustrated or burdened by “too much stuff”,  I recover to Peace more quickly when I increase the amount of time I spend on being in presence rather than rushing to get things done. For this Peace Walker, space and time to complete tasks comes easily through presence to Peace first.

Today was filled with ups and downs around the medical system and attempts to get some answers about what is happening with my knee.  Over the last couple of weeks, I have been working on trying to get referrals, medical records, etc., without much success. My medical coverage is in Washington, but I can’t get an appointment for six weeks. The surgeon who did the knee replacement has moved to Nevada – and is traveling weekly between two offices that are a few hundred miles apart (the closest one to me is 230 miles). I can’t be seen here because I’m from out of state and “they” don’t take my insurance. And, the tests I would need to have just to determine what’s going on with the joint are prohibitively expensive. After several phone calls that circled me back to not being able to get help, I have to admit I didn’t feel very Peaceful. I felt cranky, irritated and a little sorry for myself. Part of feeling sorry for myself is because for the past several days, I’ve been relatively pain free. Unfortunately, last night, I had a fair amount of discomfort, and today, my knee was “clunking” and feeling less stable again.

Fortunately, I have learned tools to keep myself in the game for the long haul, by taking care of myself in the short run. The first is to step away from the thing that is causing the dis-ease. The second is shift the focus. The third is allow myself to pout, and have a time limit on it. The way I used the tools today was, deciding not to make more medical related phone calls this afternoon, saying yes when Kelli asked if I’d like to go to the local nursery to look at plants, and giving myself two hours to be in a “bad” mood.

I am fully aware that there are other folks dealing with their own version of “the healthcare system saga”, and I truly hope for each of them what I hope for myself – to receive the necessary care in a timely fashion.

While we were at the nursery today, I found a small display with rocks that had words and designs etched into them, and the picture at the top of the page is of one of the rocks. I was glad to happen upon it, because it is a reminder to me to show up with a Peaceful, open heart. It is also a reminder to me that if I am not feeling that way, the very best thing I can do is to apply the tools I know can bring me back. In this way, I can accomplish what I need to, without making myself or anyone else wrong.

 

During the day today, I received a text message from my friend, Kathi Antonson, with the above picture attached. Kathi photographed this creative window art on Hayes Street in San Francisco and sent it to me.

For the next several moments, I thought about my friendship with Kathi, and I found myself smiling as I walked with her in my heart. For this Peace Walker, taking a moment to connect with someone who may not be physically present is very grounding. It’s a way that I am able quiet my mind and drop io my body – into full presence. This energetic connection with others is another way to keep my heart at Peace.

Later in the day, I had an opportunity to attend a Full Moon Circle with several other women, and as we turned into the driveway where the circle was being held, this was what welcomed us onto the land.

Whenever I see a butterfly, I think of transformation. I think of the possibilities available to me (and to anyone) when I open myself to transformation, and I am excited by them. Sometimes, change and transformation stretch me to my limit, and I think I can’t “handle it”. But when I stay and go through rather than avoid the challenges, it is here that I find transformation. And for me, it is through transformation, that I find Peace.

The conference center where I have been assisting all week has grounds that are covered with myriad variety of plants, including this one. It is called salvia – specifically, “hot lips” salvia. I like this plant because of its simple, yet intricate design. In season, the green plant has little blooms of white with this magnificent pink. For some reason, it makes me think of little kids who smear their faces with lipstick and giggle because they’re “getting away with something”.

On one of the tables, was this arrangement of succulents, which also caught my eye. I’ve always been fond of succulents, and I found this arrangement to be particularly pleasing. Again, I loved the color. It seems to reach out as if to say  “look at me!”

I find that some of the most Peaceful times I experience are those where I am aware of and being in nature. Today, as I walked the grounds of the conference center, I got both.