Dona Nobis Pacem 2025 ~ We All Speak Together

 

 

The theme for this 20th anniversary Blogblast for Peace is SPEAK LOVE. 

I had to dig deep for this one as it's not been a year that spoke love, personally or globally. I lost contact with loved ones this year due to their disapproval of my views on politics and life choices, I'm in danger of losing my home and community due to things beyond my control, and the news from all around the planet is utterly dire. 

How do we Speak Love when our hearts are tired and our optimism eroded away? How do we even begin to believe we can make a difference when we are so few; a scattered handful of bloggers and peace lovers?

And then I saw him on a meme, the most ridiculous of creatures - a lone frog standing down a row of men with riot gear and guns. It was absurd, ludicrous, and a bit horrifying when you watched him being pepper-sprayed. I mean, seriously, an inflatable frog?  

But then, the very next day, there were three more frogs! And then a panda, several cartoon characters and a unicorn. Over the next days the menagerie grew until, finally, MORE frogs in a completely different city, dancing with Baby Shark and a T rex! 

I was curious... who was this masque'd amphibian? I found him being interviewed about his reasons. It's worth listening to, but if you want the quick route, I've quoted Seth Todd, the Portland protest frog, below.  

"We are humans and we're not supposed to be treating other people unfairly just because we have the power to do so."

Oh my dear frog, how beautiful your words were to my tired heart. You summed up everything Peace stands for: not to treat others unfairly simply because we have the power to do so. 

And you reminded me of a deeper truth, that speaking love can be scary and even dangerous, because at its core speaking love means standing up to that which is cruel, that which is unfair, that which hurts or harms the innocent or vulnerable. 

There are more ways to speak love than merely say words out loud; you can write love, mime love, dance or sing love, paint it into a picture or gift it in a smile and a hug. 

Or just maybe, you'll show your compassion for others by dressing up as a frog. After all, it was frogs who first taught me how wonderful things can be when we all stand together.

Win or lose, sink or swim
One thing is certain, we'll never give in
Side by side, hand in hand
We all stand together

Play the game, fight the fight
But what's the point on a beautiful night?
Arm in arm, hand in hand
We all stand together

Love
Keeping us warm in the night
la la la la love 
Walk in the light
You'll get it right!

Dona Nobis Pacem ~ Hold the Light

I am out of words this year, so I'm using some lovely lyrics from a song by a very talented duo called Our Atlantic Roots.

 

 

 

 

 With thanks to Debbie Edwards for the lantern lady artwork. 

 

 

Dona Nobis Pacem ~ Freedom is an Illusion

This year,  the theme for Blog for Peace is No Freedom, No Peace

"It's hard to remain unbound
when the world wants to keep you in chains. 

 Are you free? And if you're not, what is holding you back?
I am convinced that no amount of peace can spring from even a sliver of bondage.
Figure it out. What is keeping you bound? 

When you fight for your freedom you are fighting for your peace.
When we fight for OUR freedom, we are fighting for our peace.
That's everything."

I must admit, this one stumped me. Am I literally free? No. What keeps me bound, what is holding me back? Lack of money. Can I fix that? Unlikely.

Then I thought about the gloriously ironic problem facing the mega-rich preppers. It seems many super-rich are building survival bunkers, in case of the collapse of civilisation due to an apocalyptic event or 3rd world war. Thing is... once the world falls apart, money ceases to have meaning. These darling rich dumbos have realised, after carefully constructing the ultimate luxury survival bases, that those people they take with them as bodyguards and servants won't see any salary as worthwhile once money has no worth.  And then? What if the bodyguards just kick you out and take over your secret blankie fort?

In a post-apocalypse world, money will have no power.
Money as freedom will be an illusion. 

Such a hilarious conundrum! 

Are the mega-rich paranoid? Are we seeing the collapse of civilisation?  It's possible. Many modern nations possess weapons capable of destroying entire cities or small countries. The modern nuclear bombs are 80 times more powerful than those used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. How much land can you destroy with a bomb 80 times bigger?

And even before we get to that stage (which seems more and more possible, recently), there's the other problem so many places are facing - internal disintegration. I'm watching my American friends online talking about the polarisation and paranoid hate of their opposing political parties. There's mass-hysteria and paranoia everywhere I turn. I'm seeing it in news and family/friend stories from Africa, Asia, Europe, Britain... our old political systems are collapsing. They will go extinct, same as any other dinosaur, but until that is over our lives are all affected. We are living in a time of flux and change. We cannot stop this; it is inevitable. And that is scary, but also exciting. 

The positive thing about the mega-rich realising money is an illusion is that it shows us where the power actually lies. Real power is in your hands. It always has been and always will be. Power comes from people working together. Freedom comes from realising there is no "YOU vs ME", only "US".

We are all one species on a planet that could very possibly tear itself apart. The only way we can get through that, and thrive rather than merely survive, is by realising we are all one. No countries, no races, no ridiculous prejudices based on inconsequential man-made things like politics and religions. We are ONE species, quite as capable of extinction as any other. But we need to wake up and realise that.

Ultimately, the only freedom you have lies within you, not around you. Your mind is your freedom. Your soul/conscience is your freedom. You are as free as your thoughts, when you decide for yourself rather than allowing others to influence or manipulate what you think. You are as free as your integrity, when you base it on your spiritual connection to Creator/Creation rather than the morality of other peoples' ideologies. 

Freedom is an illusion until you claim your core freedoms.

And that Peace cannot be taken from you.

 

I've chosen a quote from one of my books, this year. It sums up my personal opinions as well as the opinion of my book character. 

One world - one species. 

We are all brothers and sisters. 

Are You part of the Solution or part of the Problem?

 

For this special edition of Blogblast for Peace, I'd like to focus on one question: 

Are you part of the solution or part of the problem?

For me, the conflict in Ukraine is shining a huge spotlight on all the things that need to change before humans can ever hope to have world peace.

It's impressive how many countries are offering homes to Ukrainian refugees, but also completely  hypocritical. The UK voted for Brexit in large part to stop the influx of migrant workers and refugees. They have even tried to make it illegal for ships to rescue refugees at sea. In the USA, Americans who voted for Trump wanted pretty much the same - no more refugees, no more illegal immigrants. Build that wall! Similar in Australia, with their refugee detention centres.

If you are completely behind your country allowing in Ukrainians, but not willing to speak out at those refugees dying in oceans and trucks, still held in detention centres, then you are part of the problem. 

By Adam.J.W.C. - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14985392

 

If you think Putin should be tried for war crimes, for invading Ukraine, but are not also lobbying to see Tony Blair and President Bush stand trial for lying about Sadam having weapons of Mass destruction in order to invade Iraq... you are part of the problem.

A 2016 study by Carnegie Mellon University professor Dov Levin found that the United States intervened in 81 foreign elections between 1946 and 2000, with the majority of those being through covert, rather than overt, actions.^[91][92] A 2021 review of the existing literature found that foreign interventions since World War II tend overwhelmingly to fail to achieve their purported objectives.^[93]

If you truly stand for Peace, for justice and a better way, you cannot pick and choose which country you support. That's how world wars start, when others "pick a side".

If you cannot be objective - you are part of the problem.

Wars and conflict do not start in a vacuum; they tend to erupt after unresolved issues are ignored for decades and/or when other countries intervene... and other countries do not intervene unless there's something in it for them. Humans as individuals can be caring and altruistic, but world governments are rarely into self-sacrifice for the Greater Good. Governments do what is best for themselves and their country first. All of them. And as such, their participation in any conflict is at best "dark grey" vs "light grey".

If you see one side, in any conflict, as "Good" and the other as "Evil" - you are part of the problem.

We now know that there were several German resistance movements who fought against the Nazis, but back in WWII the whole attitude was that EVERY German was evil. Britain rebranded products to remove any trace of Germany. So German Biscuits became Empire Biscuits and the British Royals dropped their German titles. And now I see people online talking about hating Russians, because of Ukraine. That they're not drinking Vodka any more because it is Russian... seriously?

Have we learned NOTHING?

If you think Russians are responsible for their leader's choices, then should those Americans who disliked Trump claim full responsibility for the things he did, even though they never voted for him? And do those Americans who did vote for Trump now feel they have to shoulder the responsibility for whatever Biden chooses to do? I doubt it. Everyday people have very little control over what their governments and leaders decide to do. 

If you see ANY country's population as completely culpable for what their leaders/military do... you are absolutely part of the problem!

I know, because I lived in a country, tagged by many as "evil" - Apartheid South Africa of the 1970s-80s. I know how complex and many-layered the truth of a country can be, then watch how it is over-simplified by the world news in order to stir up emotional interest. South Africa has 11 official languages, 6 major religions and, pre-1990, a racial classification system of THREE segregated racial types.

I know how it feels to have strangers hate you simply because of the country you live in, not bothering to find out your opinions on that country. I recently posted an article on Farm murders in South Africa on Facebook. A British friend wrote back that he would not try to raise help and support because the farmers were "white" and (his words), "Well, what can you expect? Apartheid." Except this is now 30 years after Apartheid ended, and so those young thugs torturing and murdering people have never lived in anything but a free and completely equal society.

If you see any group as deserving death, pain and suffering... you are part of the problem.

I have no grand solutions to offer here, beyond this fact - we have to change how we deal with each other, or we will eventually destroy each other and our planet. Repeating the same old mistakes isn't good enough any more.

Dona Nobis Pacem ~ Turn, Turn, Turn

For two decades (how did the time go by so fast?) I've taken part in Blogblast for Peace, every November. I've watched it continue to grow, steadily spiralled outwards as we draw, write and create in the name of Peace. But this year I'm turning around and following the spiral back to the centre. 

It's time to turn. 

Because no matter how much of a difference we might make in fighting for world peace, there is no greater battle, nothing ever more important or courageous, than ensuring your own personal peace. Your well-being has to come first. 

Your mental and emotional health,

                 your sense of spiritual or ethical integrity,

your self-respect, 

                                                                    your personal sovereignty,  

your inner peace. 

Because when there is no peace within... there can be no peace without.

 As wonderful as it is, to belong to a large group all battling for positive change, I'm also seeing a lot of burn out. People who are saying they feel exhausted; long past running on empty. So this season of Peace, I'm asking you to turn the spiral inwards. I want you to check your inner core; is it steady? Is it calm? Is it a sanctuary? Are your boundaries clearly marked and are you brave enough to hold them firm? Because it takes tremendous courage to stand up for yourself whilst still staying centred in peace and love.

The hardest thing to do is to love yourself and treat yourself with kindness, because the world will fight you on that. Our society prefers people who are obedient to others. It ridicules those who choose to put themselves first. But the boss who implies you are lazy or not pulling your weight if you ask for sick leave... will he be there for you when your health collapses? The "friend" who calls you selfish or unkind for refusing to constantly help... will they be there for you when you collapse from exhaustion?

It's not your duty to take care of everyone on the planet as well as fighting for Peace and the planet itself.  That burden is too great; no-one can carry that much. You will burn out. 

For two decades we have all cried "NO MORE" for world peace; now we must do it for our selves. No more giving without receiving back. No more draining yourself dry in the hope that somehow, some day, all that sacrifice will be appreciated and recognised. No more giving parts of your self away. No more self-destruction and lack of inner peace. 

Turn, turn, turn ...

Blog for Peace 2020 ~ Perfect Vision

When I first sat down to write a post for this year's event... words left me. There was no room for them. All the space inside me was taken up with emotion.

This has been an exceptionally emotional year on a global level. We started with devastating fires in Australia (how we worried for friends and family over there!) and went straight on into Covid19 with its assorted political chaos, worldwide protests and then even more climate disasters. We have been inside a storm, not for days but for months. All of us. Everyone. No one is untouched by this year's events.

Canberra, Orroral Valley, January 28, 2020. New research suggests the recent record-breaking heat in Australia, which is linked to climate change, helped increase the region’s fire risk by at least 30 percent.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/australia-wildfires-climate-change Nick-D/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

All of this has taken its toll. I'm seeing more angry people than ever before. Because fear makes people angry, it's a natural survival mechanism. Fear makes us feel out of control - rage gives back the feeling of control. Rage helped us fight off the predatory beasts when we were a young species still throwing rocks and sticks.

Anger can be very useful as it gives us the courage to face our demons, but it has to be wielded with calm and a clear mind. Thoughtless anger is chaos. It's the mob burning innocent women as witches and the person refusing to wear a mask during Covid19 because they are secretly, deeply, afraid. Terrified that the virus really exists, so they pretend it's a hoax. Terrified that if it is a hoax some secret and even worse harm is being done to them, such as taking away their personal power and freedoms.

Terrified.

Just as you have to turn and face the wolves on the path, you have to face what you fear. You cannot fix the problem, or slay the demon, without first understanding the fear beneath your anger.

For me, it's been the realisation that I get most angry when I see people being irrational. Why? Because I fear they might do/say things they will regret once they've calmed down enough to see the truth. My rage is based on my fear of them doing terrible harm: to me or to others, to themselves and to their countries or our planet. But to find that truth I had to step back and see with my heart.

What secret fear drives your anger? 

Turn around and face it.

Find the truth in your heart.

Then take that truth and reclaim your power.

The phrase "2020 vision" means to have perfect eyesight; to see with utter clarity. Could there be a better wish for this 2020 year than that? To see clearly, from the heart? 

This is my hope and my prayer...

 

If being separated from each other during Covid19 has only one positive result it should be this: that in being forced apart we finally realised we are all in this together. One planet and one humanity. 

Dona Nobis Pacem... in 2020 vision.

Haunting Faces; Haunting Stories

Several years back, my dad was given copies of several old family photos. We never knew who they were, but yesterday a cousin managed to put names to the faces and a history I was absolutely not expecting. 

I've been on quite a journey lately. I took a DNA test and found some mind boggling facts about where my ancestors came from as well as a new cousin who was given up for adoption over 50 years ago. In piecing together how everyone fits, the extended family on my father's side came together to discuss this photo...

I knew someone in this photo was supposed to be my dad's grandmother (Heila Theron), but that was all. This is the side of the family that connected me through the DNA test to an already known cousin and a new one. But who were these women and how are we connected through their stories? I had no idea until yesterday when the cousin I already knew recognised her grandmother in the woman on the left.

We think the woman on the right is probably my great grandmother. Both sisters were adopted by their older sister (most likely the woman sitting in the middle) when their mother died. How do we know this? Because it's listed in the information from the Mafeking concentration records. They were both in their early teens when they were imprisoned. Their older sister was 27. 

WOW... that was a shock! My dad's family were Rhodesian so I truly was not expecting to ever find some of my family spent time in the concentration camps. When we studied the Anglo-Boer war in high school history it seemed as remote as the Napoleonic wars. And the story is a very tragic one. The oldest sister lost three of her own children in that concentration camp. How much pain was she holding in her heart... I can't even begin to imagine how it felt to watch your children die that way.

To put this into perspective for people who don't know South African history (this quote is from sahistory.org.za) ...

"Boer women, children and men unfit for service were herded together in concentration camps by the British forces during Anglo-Boer War 2 (1899-1902). The first two of these camps (refugee camps) were established to house the families of burghers who had surrendered voluntarily, but very soon ... the camps ceased to be refugee camps and became concentration camps. The abhorrent conditions in these camps caused the death of 4 177 women, 22 074 children under sixteen and 1 676 men, ... notwithstanding the efforts of an English lady, Emily Hobhouse, who tried her best to make the British authorities aware of the plight of especially the women and children in the camps."

  Photo of Lizzie van Zyl who died in the Bloemfontein camp

 

I've always been anti-war and this just added another reason for my firm conviction that we have to find a better way. This is also why I promote the white poppy as well as the red. Because it isn't just soldiers who die in wars... it's families. 

Dona Nobis Pacem ~ Think for Peace

This is my tenth anniversary of taking part in Blog for Peace.  Ten amazing years of creating a global community all focussed on one topic - peace. We are huge, on every continent including Antarctica, but have we made a difference?

That has bothered me lately, as I look at the chaos on media news. If so many people worldwide want peace, why are we still so far from our goal? It took some arguments on Facebook, an ancient maxim and a song to make me realise what I'd been overlooking: that we need to THINK for peace.

The arguments came about due to my friends being a very varied bunch of people. I've learnt so much from them, especially the ones whose politics, culture or religions are very different from my own. I'm ok with differences, but there are many who aren't ok. I have friends who openly fear "those people" who are also my friends. Worst of all... because they fear each other, they begin to resent or even hate each other. And that's when I remembered that ancient Roman maxim: DIVIDE AND RULE.

It's a very simple technique that was used in warfare and is now used in business and political strategy. Here's the basics of how it works:

• create or encourage divisions among others to prevent alliances that could challenge the balance of power
• foster distrust and enmity
• encourage meaningless expenditures that reduce the capability for others to rebel

...and those last words triggered the memory of a song: "Work For Peace" by Gil Scott-Heron.

The Military and the Monetary,
get together whenever they think its necessary,

they are determined to keep the citizens secondary, 

they make so many decisions that are arbitrary.

The only thing wrong with Peace,
is that you can't make no money from it.

 

There it was - my missing link. World powers and big business do not want peace because there is no money to be made from it. So they talk a lot of words about peace, but they foster the old maxim of divide and rule.

How many news items have you seen this year where the message was that the other side is not to be trusted?
How many internet sites have sent you information on why you should fear people who are different to you?
How many times has the military and the monetary tried to force us apart?

I watched a TV movie a few months back. It was a sci-fi thing about aliens invading the planet. Young soldiers were given special goggles through which they could see these "invisible aliens" in order to hunt them down and kill them. But one young man loses his goggles and realises that they're actually killing human beings. The battle isn't about aliens, it's about the government wanting to cull over population. There was no enemy; no alien invasion. Only divide and rule.   

What if this were the truth right now? What if there were only a handful of genuine "bad guys" and those allowed to flourish in order to keep us all so afraid we toed the line and obeyed all the rules? What if we stopped thinking for ourselves and let THEM think for us... 

Is it that far fetched? I don't know. All I know for certain is that my Facebook wall is made up of THEM. My friends are black, white, Asian and Native American. They are Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Atheist, Hindu and Pagan. I have witches chatting to church-going good folk on my Facebook wall. I have a Kosher vegetarian and a Halal vegetarian. I have an atheist vegan and a meat-eating Hindu. I have politically Left friends wanting the world to be a better place... I have politically Right friends who want the same.

They may have different things they believe and ways of living, but all of them want the same basic things: a decent salary, a nice home, safety for their families, healthy food, clean water and a better world for their children.

THEY. ALL. WANT. THE. SAME. THINGS.

Let that sink in for a moment, please and then... THINK.

Think before you allow random (and often fake) news to fill you with fear. 

Think before you allow others to tell you who to hate. 

Trust your intuition or trust in your God.

Keep calm and think for yourself.

THINK.

I based that design on a British World War II poster made to help people cope with the ongoing stress and fear of war. The message is just as important now as it was then. Keep calm and carry on. We absolutely cannot achieve peace by becoming angry or fearful of each other. We have to find ways to communicate, to share our similarities as we balance our differences.

Work for Peace

It's a month before Blog for Peace, so I'm setting the mood with an old song that has been haunting me lately.

"Work For Peace" by Gil Scott-Heron

Americans no longer fight to keep their shores safe,
Just to keep the jobs going in the arms-making workplace.
Then they pretend to be gripped by some sort of political reflex,
But all they're doing is paying dues to the Military Industrial Complex.

The Military and the Monetary,
get together whenever they think its necessary,

They turn our brothers and sisters into mercenaries, 

they are turning the planet into a cemetery.
The Military and the Monetary, 

use the media as intermediaries,
they are determined to keep the citizens secondary, 

they make so many decisions that are arbitrary.

The only thing wrong with Peace,
is that you can't make no money from it.

The Military and the Monetary,
they get together whenever they think its necessary,
they've turned our brothers and sisters into mercenaries,
they are turning the planet, into a cemetery.

Got to work for Peace,
Peace ain't coming this way.

We should not allow ourselves to be mislead,
by talk of entering a time of Peace,
Peace is not the absence of war,
it is the absence of the rules of war and the threats of war and the preparation for war.

So this is a song about tomorrow and about how tomorrow can be better. 

If we all,
"Each one reach one, Each one try to teach one".

Nobody can do everything,
but everybody can do something,
everyone must play a part,
everyone got to go to work, Work for Peace.

Spirit Say Work, Work for Peace

Stronger ~ Dona Nobis Pacem 2017

I've been doing Blogblast for Peace for nine years and this was the first time I felt like quitting. Why? Because I felt a complete lack of hope. Let's face it, 2017 has been a year of stark revelations. Our climate is going crazy with fires and floods, our media is full of stories of abuse, lies and corruption and too many of our world leaders have turned into petulant toddlers.  

But then the most unlikely event brought me back - a complete lack of hope. 

You see, one of my dearest blog and internet friends died this Nov 1st. "Tint" had been fighting cancer for several years and I do mean fighting quite literally. This was an epic battle, but Tint was never a quitter, no matter what life threw at her. I haven't one single memory of her acting negative or defeated. She tackled every setback with cheerful determination. Tint had a rainbow aura, full of joy, humour and kick-ass hope.  I've never seen a photo of her where she isn't smiling or laughing.

I've spent this past week in a chat room vigils with Tint's friends and loved ones, all of us waiting and waiting.... We were gathered together by Tint's daughter and we have stayed there in love and support, but in the full knowledge that there was no hope of a last minute miracle.

No hope. 

Now I'm sitting here writing this and thinking.... It seems to me that all of us who want Peace and a better world have been just the same, constantly setting out with cheery optimism and hope that change is possible. But what do we do when there is no hope? What do we do when a war is inevitable, violence explodes around us and the world staggers towards hate and fear? What do we do when we lose hope?

I think I know. When you lose hope... you find Grace. 

Hope is wonderful, there's no denying, but it can also be a burden. It implies that failing is bad or wrong; that we didn't try hard enough. Truth is that sometimes we can try as hard as possible and still fail.  So here's the thing, dear Peace bloggers and world-changers. We may never stop war entirely. We may never see humanity reach a stage where there aren't some still capable of violence and destruction. We may never save every species from extinction or save every child from trauma and tragedy. 

The loss of hope does not automatically mean failure. Tint's death has shown me that. Her life was a rip-roaring adventure, full of unexpected twists. She lived it to the full and left a legacy of friends all over the world whose lives are changed for the better for knowing her. And she leaves behind a daughter who is one of the most lovely young women I have ever been honoured to know and a new baby grandchild who shows every sign of growing up to be as wonderful as his mother and grand-mum.

When Hope leaves... love remains.

Love doesn't bring about miracles, it is the miracle. Nothing is stronger than Love. The greatest gift we have is this connection to each other. The love found in friendship is a miracle we often take for granted. I have spent this past week in vigil for my friend Tint with the most amazing bunch of men and women. I am now asking you all to join me and hold vigil for our planet. Do we have hope? I don't know... and maybe I no longer care. We have each other and we have love. That is enough.  

For you, Tint, see? pink hair! <3

Dona Nobis Pacem 2016 ~ Butterflies Cloaked in Blue Fire

I've used this photo from NASA in my 2016 Blog4Peace globe design. Isn't it stunning? All those stars... 

Did you know that astronomers estimate there may be 100 thousand million stars in the Milky Way alone? How vast this place we call reality is... and how utterly small and insignificant our world events seem by comparison. The violence, wars and politics that rip our lives apart here on Earth fade to nothing when seen beneath the light of 100 thousand million suns.

All that light and energy swirling around us... it reminds me of a photo I've seen of the great visionary inventor and scientist, Nikola Tesla. Here he is, sitting with his "magnifying transmitter" in the Colorado Springs Laboratory.

Tesla performed many experiments at his Colorado Springs lab, including ones to investigate atmospheric electricity and lightning.

The Fantastic Inventions of Nikola Tesla by Nikola Tesla, David Hatcher-Childress

I knew about Tesla's experiments, but it was only recently that I discovered he was passionately anti-war. That's why I decided to use a Tesla quote on my Peace globe this year:

"Peace can only come as a natural consequence of universal enlightenment." 

When I first read that quote, I wondered... are humans capable of reaching a state of universal enlightenment? I look around at the world and it seems like the more we try to make a difference and bring peace the more things refuse to change. Generations of people talking, writing, creating art and protesting for peace and yet too many humans still see the use of force as the only solution to any problem. 

What chance do the peace makers have of making a difference? We are a scattering of people on a little planet floating in a galaxy of 100 thousand million stars.

... and then I remembered Tesla's butterflies, haloed in blue fire.

Tesla showed the world a new way to see and use energy. He even put forward the concept of the Earth having its own resonance - it's own vibrational secret song. Can we learn from that? Can we use his discoveries in other ways? 

What if enlightenment was something you created through energy rather than action? 

What if it wasn't the effort we put in, but the resonance we send out 

that made the world change?

There's another famous butterfly in science - the butterfly effect. It's the theory that a small random thing (such as a butterfly) can ripple out to create a much larger effect.What if every human heart was merely a peace butterfly waiting to be set free? Holding in its radiant blue peace fire, simply waiting for the right moment to change the world. No more fighting for peace or struggling towards it... just letting it resonate in our hearts and letting that longing free...

like butterflies cloaked in blue fire. 

Could we burn the world free from out-dated political systems and old-fashioned mind sets? I think we could... no wait... I KNOW we can.

It's time.

Dona Nobis Pacem 2015 ~The Power of Love

When Mimi declared this year's blogblast theme of Peace and the Power of love... my mind went blank. So many famous people have written or spoken on this topic. was there really anything new I could say? I couldn't think of anything to write, but then someone sent me this quote:

“Everyone says love hurts, but that is not true. Loneliness hurts. Rejection hurts. Losing someone hurts. Envy hurts. Everyone gets these things confused with love, but in reality love is the only thing in this world that covers up all pain and makes someone feel wonderful again. Love is the only thing in this world that does not hurt.”

Meša Selimović

Mesa was Bosnian-Serbian. His most famous book, Death and the Dervish, is based on his failed attempt to save his brother from execution during WWII. His book deals with the cruelty and injustice of war, which makes his quote on love all the more poignant.

 

Mesa was right - love never hurts or harms; only the lack of love can do that. And that includes self-love, because if you cannot love and respect yourself you will never be able to show it to others. Statistics show that humans are becoming less violent. 

But there's still a lot to be done. 

Statistics also show that children from peaceful loving homes are far less likely to become involved in violence. We teach our children by our actions, not by our words. 

To put it plain and simple:

We create our future society based on the way we raise our children.

And that means ALL children. 

This is the greatest challenge humanity faces, as our planet hurtles towards and unknown and seemingly unsettled future. We need to teach our world's children how to be peaceful; how to love themselves and others. 

Never be afraid to love. It is the greatest gift you have to share. It knows no boundaries of species, space or time.

When everything else fails... love remains.

What a Year!

I was just looking back through my calendar and thinking what a strange year this has been.

I published a second book (WISDOMS OF THE LIGHT) in December-January and I joined the Visionary Fiction Alliance.

In February I gave an author interview for a book blogger and she kindly made my book covers into bookmarks. :-)

From March I was pretty quiet on my blog, because mid-year was taken up with other people's books. I did a few reviews, I helped a friend by proofing her book for publishing and I helped someone else ghost-write another book. And in between we had another friend come stay with us for a week's holiday! 

In April one of my poems went to LA with a photography exhibition by Katherine Cooper...

In May another lovely lady (Oribel) made one of my poems into an inspirational video...

...and for a brief while the e-book of FIRST LIGHT was number one on amazon.com! 

In June I published a little book of my poetry and blog stories for friends and family. Including all the poems that had a very busy 2015. ;-) In July we dashed about Scotland with our friend, so there are no July blog posts, but loads of August posts of the photos we took that wonderful summer. 

 

September was a whirlwind of emotions and happenings as I took part in the "60 ways to Peace" and Scotland steamed towards the independance referendum. I can sum up both of those events with a poster from the referendum.

September ended with me more active in politics than I have ever been in my life and I'm not the only one. The Scottish referendum set the country on fire and the blaze is still burning. It has led me to new friendships and helped inspire my Blogblast for Peace entry this November 4th.

I made another of my peace poems into a graphic for Facebook and blogs.And in October I lived up to that poem by joining several groups and organisations involved in positive change. :-)

In November I finally finished a video for my second book, WISDOMS OF THE LIGHT. 

Here's a slide from that video...

This year has had some lows as well, including the sudden death of a friend and fellow-blogger's husband. 

For Jurgis...

 

 

And for all those loved ones (friends or family) that we remember at this time of year...

Dona Nobis Pacem 2014 ~ Sowing the Seeds

  We're sowing the seeds of love

Did you know that the seeds of the gigantic redwood trees are tiny? Each seed is barely bigger than a match head. You could fit a potential forest into a tablespoon.

 

There's something miraculous about that fact; that something so minuscule has the potential to grow into one of the world's tallest trees. A good reminder to never underestimate the small or seemingly fragile.

Sometimes words can feel as small and insignificant as tiny seeds.

That is especially true this Blogblast for Peace, as we come to the final months of a year littered with humanity's failings; tragedies, disclosures, scandals and lies.

 Without love and a promised land

We're fools to the rules of a government plan

I've seen, or been sent, global examples of TV media blackouts on vital issues. Things such as major protests and marches; from Ireland's tens of thousands against water charges and New York's 400,000 marching for global warming to the most recent appalling treatment of peaceful protesters at London's Occupy Democracy. 

 

 As the headline says you're free to choose

One of these days they're gonna call in the ruse
 

There's been disclosures of voting and election fraud in several countries.

Could you be, could you be squeaky clean

And smash any hope of democracy?
 

Pushed through laws and budget cuts that target the most defenceless: the disabled, elderly and poor...  

 Now what does that remind me of?

 

Feel the pain, talk about it,  
 If you're a worried man then shout about it  
 

 Pollution, big business greed and deception, political avarice and the constant push for wars.

 Open hearts, feel about it, 
Open minds, think about it  
 

Everyone read about it, 
 Everyone scream about it

It has been an exceptionally depressing year. One that has left many feeling bitter, despairing or angry as hopes for a better future vanished.

I spy tears in their eyes

They look to the skies 

for some kind of divine intervention

How does hope rise above all that despair? How does peace stand firm when filled with bitterness or anger? The only way is through love, because love has no time to bother with being disappointed, hurt or angry.

When you're sowing the seeds of love

anything is possible  
 

Just like a giant redwood tree, love soars above such trivialities. 

Love understands that we all fall short along the way. None of us is perfect. Love remembers this and is willing to hold out a hand of comfort and sympathy. Love isn't a fool, but it understands the need for reconciliation, determination and persistence.

Love offers seemingly small gifts: patience, protection, empathy, fairplay; little words of encouragement and understanding. Such things may seem pointless and small, but small words in the hands of love are very powerful seeds.

Everyone read about it, read about it

We're sowing the seeds of love. 

We are facing hard times on this planet. There's no use sugar-coating the facts. Things are bad. And tough times need tough love; real Love.

 And I believe in love power 
(open your eyes)
 

 The kind of Love that stands with dignity and calm in the storms, like a redwood tree.

We're sowing the seeds of love
 

Love offers protection to the helpless, compassion to the weak and a voice to those who cannot speak for themselves. Love persists and quietly insists on being taken seriously. Love keeps standing up, taking part and speaking out.

Sowing the seeds... 

So we hold onto love and we keep talking about peace...

of love power

We keep writing about peace...

We're sowing the seeds of love
 

And most important of all, regardless of religion, nationality or political affiliation... we hold onto that tough love and we rise above the masses like a forest of redwood trees.

High time we made a stand

And shook up the views of the common man

 We have to be leaders rather than followers. Way showers. Light keepers in the dark. 


As Gandhi put it: "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." 

Well...   I've been through the ignored and laughed at. That means I've only got one more stage to get through. I think I can manage that. ;-)

And I believe in love power  (open your eyes)

We're sowing the seeds of love

 

 

 
 Sowing the seeds,
An end to need, 
And the politics of greed 

with Love