The planet does not need more successful people. The planet needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers and lovers of all kinds. Dalai Lama
One of the first keys of learning how to get along here unusually well is to remember, whether you like it or not, manifestation is going to occur. Gregge Tiffen (Learning Without Experience Is A Bell Without A Clapper – September, 2008)
Autumn, the season of harvest, is upon us. Fall arrives around 4 pm Eastern time here in the U.S. tomorrow, September 22. My heart is heavy that much of our harvest is that of natural disasters. When will we come to understand that every thought, word, deed matters in ways far beyond our immediate reach?
What chaff do I need to release in order to contribute only peace to our planet? That is the question I take into my quiet reflection as I welcome the new season. ‘What habits do I carry forward?’ I ask as I walk the labyrinth as the sun rises over the mountains this early morning.
Today is International Peace Day, a day to celebrate the possibility of peace, and first declared by the United Nations in 1981. This year’s theme: Together for Peace: Respect, Safety, Dignity for All. May we harvest peace whenever we can and may we daily plant seeds of peace in our thoughts, our words, our actions. On Tuesday the moon entered a new phase in the sign of Libra, a sign that emphasizes greater cooperation and graciousness. Each new moon represents a time of new beginnings. In the midst of threats of destruction by world leaders, I found the irony of this timing stunning.
This week also finds two of the world’s religions beginning celebrations. Navrati, the nine-day Hindu celebration of the Goddess Durga, the divine feminine, begins today as does Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, celebrating ‘the head of the year’ with the belief that “just as the head controls the body, our actions on Rosh Hashanah have a tremendous impact on the rest of the year” (Chabad.org).
Religious and spiritual celebrations are important times of reflection. What reflections will you bring to this time of harvest?
