What can I do? …We always say ‘start with a corner…

Today I invite you to join me in spreading peace into your own corners,

in the heart of your homes.

I had a whole other blog planned for today but then life intervened. I don’t usually get all personal on this blog (Maybe we should? Maybe you’d like us too?) but today at 832am mid getting dressed I found myself was sitting in the stairwell-cum-bomb-shelter with my 9month old son, waiting for a bomb siren to stop whining and the sound of a bomb being imploded over Tel Aviv.

We’re OK, really.

Perspective is always fleeting, at least for me. I live in Tel Aviv and this is the price we occasionally pay. And I never know how to deal with it because I’m some who likes to improve things and find solutions, and I have solutions for dealing with it other than being practical, safe and offer thanks and gratitude for what I have…and ask for Peace

…and then I was taken back to 12/12/12 when the same thing was happening here (sirens, bombs over Tel Aviv)…and the teeny idea I called Peace Pots and long since forgotten came rushing back.

It’s called Peace pots and it’s about inviting peace into a corner of your home – not with a promise, but  with a physical object, a plant, so that you take care of it…in the physical. (Well you know we’re big on doing things in the physical space here ;).

I so often wonder, not just what’s happening here but about things that happen in other far off places – “but what can I do?”. There are many other places in the world on fire and like for most of us, unless it’s on your doorstep it’s easy to ignore…I certainly do. How can we grapple with things we can’t help?

…and that’s where the pots come in. Below is what I wrote then, the same applies today. If it resonates with you in any way, I’d love you to join in.

The Story
My friend Marge told me a story about how she was running a workshop on peace with kids and they asked them what they wished for. One boy answered “peace in the classroom”. His teacher said “don’t you mean world peace?” “No,” he said, “I can’t do that. But I can help make peace in my classroom”.

What’s a Peace Pot?
A peace pot is just that. An opportunity to invite peace into your home & your neighbourhood.

How do I make one?

Plant it with rich earth, add something living, pretty & green. Or buy a lovely plant. Label it.

Place them in your homes. Gift them to your friends. Or a stranger. Feed it water and love. Let it grow.
…We might not know how to make world peace, but we can definitely add some to our own little corners of the world, our homes. And maybe, if we fill enough corners. Well, you just never know.

xnat

ps the photo above is a pot I literally just bought today and have placed in our home.

I’d love to invite you to do the same.

images: 1 / 2