“I’ve got peace like a river in my soul”
Although I do mantra and dream practice daily, and make new moon intention ritual monthly, at least 4 times a year, preferably with the changing of the seasons, I like to try to find an elder to sit in ceremony with. On one of these more significant ceremonies, I realized that pregnancy had really activated the "holding" aspect of the feminine in me, but that the only time it's really appropriate to be holding onto everything is when there is another life that is depending on you to retain every scrap of nutrition you possibly can so that it can grow. From the moment they come out, the work changes to that of letting go. At this time, my son was 3, and it's like I still hadn't got the memo that it was time to let go. I was still thinking of him an angry baby, even though he had long since outgrown that brief phase. I got so excited about letting go of things, I began to wonder if it was ever appropriate to hold onto anything. By the end of the night, I realized that on a deep level, there is very little in this world that belongs to us or can ever really be possessed anyway. That peace was real, and love was real, but that they are not values believe in, but rather real, living energies that are asking to be embodied. When it came time to share, all that I could say was that I had realized that "My true name is Peace, and my true home is the present moment".
This is how the idea for the “Peace River” collection was born. It’s not a new idea, but with so many really great things on the table in life, it can feel hard to know what to quest after that might actually be sustainable or worthwhile to "have". Peace seemed like one of the few things worth trying to hang onto, and I have been lucky enough to find my way to a group of artists who are making spaces in which to play and see what we can co-create together, people who where willing to say “ok- yes- let’s take a minute and revisit this Peace thing together”
The Peace River collaborative collection debuted on June 12th at The Platform, a San Diego gallery space co-owned by Tend Living, Jetter Green, and JXL Studios alongside new work from Breadwhiskers and Mr. Blueskye. Gnome Juice was served and records where spun, with the night culminating in a local designer goods raffle (shown left) where we raised money to donate to Bay NVC, a California organization that teaches Non-Violent Communication skills to underserved populations.
Non- Violent Communication, or Compassionate Communication as many now refer to it, is a method of dealing with conflict that is based on a philosophy that understands that all people have the same basic needs, we just go about trying to get them met in different ways based on our different life experiences. Although it has been criticized for feeling forced, in crisis situations, and when exercised skillfully, it is one of the best tools I have encountered for returning us from separation and otherness back into harmony and oneness. To learn more about NVC, click here.
( P. S. The event started off with everyone in different outfits, but after a few too many mugs of Gnome Juice, we all ended up going home in one of Rachel's kaftans! )