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Sunday, November 3, 2013

Dona Nobis Pacem ~ The Woman Of Leaves

Welcome to Blog4Peace 2013! This is my peace post. Please leave your links in the Mr. Linky  section below so that others may visit your blogs and pages. We love your comments as well! Tag me on FB or post your globe on your profile page, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. Blog for peace wherever you are online. You can see a steady stream of  peace globes streaming live on my FB wall @ AND The BlogBlast Facebook Fan Page. What a beautiful sight to see! It's going to be an amazing day. I can't wait to see your peace globes and read your powerful words.
Dona Nobis Pacem ~ Blog4Peace 2013
The Woman of Leaves

I was sitting under this tree you see...when it all came flooding back. The plow. The dirt. The potatoes. The tiller. And Papa.

It was the strangest feeling. One minute I was sitting in the sun. The next I was sitting in a shadow. Two o'clock this afternoon. On a sunny autumn day full of color, the brilliance of orange and red, yellow clusters of joy hanging from leaf-leaving branches preparing their limbs for winter. Me? I was preparing for the muse. I needed to write a peace post.

There is some kind of magic that happens in Bloggingham on the Eve of BlogBlast For Peace. A story unfolds, pieces of puzzles fit I never knew were missing, ghosts appear, pansies are potted, dolls are unearthed and Papa....he is here too. Tomorrow would have been his 97th birthday, but lets not worry about Papa's age. He is about to take you - and me - on a ride.


I am worried that one night the world will simply go to sleep and never wake up.
 Someone, somewhere, in a fit of hateful violence will decide to blow up what's left of all the places not already blown up. Because one by one, nation by nation, we are losing ground. And space. Rivers and mountains and clean drinking water. And peaceful places to sit in the world.  We need trees and oxygen, nature and creatures running amok. That's the way the world was created. Now we have created something else. We are losing perspective and respect for the sanctity and the dignity of human life. We find those things in Art. In dance. In music. In poetry. In nature. In faith. And here's the redemption: we find it in each other.

  Why do we run away from our own salvation?


Sometimes I don't know if I shake the tree or the tree shakes me.
 But I do tend to stay in leaves. 

It is no secret I talk to trees. My most trusted trees have already told the whole of Bloggingham Forest (you just can't trust trees these days...) and those trees have spilled it to the squirrels and they run endlessly back and forth with the nuts of the world. I tell you it's stressful keeping up with all the tree drama.

But they are such good listeners. And today they got an earful.

 I remembered the things in my life that mattered. I could hear them whispering in the sunny breeze; the memories and the voices of people who love me for me. The people whose tethers of truth are strongly rooted in my very heart and will not let me go. The experiences that really shape a person's life are either one of two things: moments of love or moments of pain.  Each place leads to a ledge of vulnerability. I get to choose how each dangling space of time will affect my life and therefore, how it will affect those I love and how it will be applied to my actions in the world at large. So do you.

 I realized I'd become a woman of leaves.
 Because all those who came before left me with exactly  what I needed. 


When I was a little girl, my Papa had a garden tiller that plowed the little field next to his little house. I always wanted to be where he was so he built a wooden seat in front of the handle bars of that tiller, strapped me in with a soft leather harness, and let me ride with him. I remember his laughing face as he tried to catch kisses in the garden while he plowed, bouncing along we'd go through the cucumber path. The dirt would fly up in his face and his over-sized crippled feet would stumble on rocks and uneven ground. I don't know how he managed to steer the old tiller and keep me from falling. But I didn't care how dirty I got or how rocky the ride. And he didn't care that it was difficult. All that mattered was that we were together. It was safe and unsafe, bumpy and glorious. Turning over potatoes and tomatoes, dirt and love.

 During those rides he was sowing seeds of relationship and connection. Had I not been baptized in that unconditional love of his, I know my life's journey would have been incredibly different.  I got to ride on a cucumber plow with Papa! There was no finer place to be.
I wonder where love that deep comes from....


Today my world doesn't feel safe. Does yours?
I want that elusive world peace just like you do. But it's not going to happen in my personal village of trees unless I make the right choices. So.
I will choose to plow uneven fields with as much love as I can muster. I will carve out safe places for people who need it. I will try to love my neighbor and follow the Golden Rule. The materials I need are not hard to find. I already have them. And I won't need any money. All I have to do is plow up the ground and plant.

If I could choose to become a woman who only runs to the safety of quilts instead of a bed of leaves, I would choose the latter and leave the pretty patchwork behind. 
Because there is no more beautiful place in the world than to understand that it is not about the leaving behind of my comforts anymore, it's about how much of myself I am willing to scatter around in that pile of kaleidoscope leaves. There is beauty in the unknown. There is joy in the cobwebs of Earth. There is freedom in giving. And there is no safer place than to wallow around in a boudoir of acorns not knowing which nut you might find, but knowing you'll be OK if you do.
The safe place is not a place at all. The safe place is me

Find your tree.
Make a stand.
You'll be alright.
Because your safe place is you

And I need you.
That is why we are here.


Please leave your link in the Mr. Linky below. You can even put your FB profile link in if you don't have a blog. Thank you for reading my words. Thank you for blogging for peace. Thank you for sharing your powerful words with the world. You are an amazing community of writers and artists. I am honored to know all of you.
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Blog4Peace 2013 Participants
1. Mimi Lenox
2. Sweet Purrfections - Dona Nobis Pacem
3. Cate
4. The Best Parts with Ferd Crotte
5. My Siamese-Dona Nobis Pacem-2013
6. GLOGIRLY: Dona Nobis Pacem
7. Lets Give Peace a Chance (Kalyan)
8. Janice/Chasing Myself
9. Judy
10. Diane Hsz
11. Sachiko Ueyama ~ Blog4Peace Japan
12. The Island Cats - Dona Nobis Pacem
13. Diane Hsz/ Music for peac
14. The Maaaaa of Pricilla
15. CAT Wisdom 101: Cats #Blog4Peace
16. Ken Smith
17. nelson
18. Blog4Peace Facebook Fan Page ~ 21,000 peace bloggers. Join us!
19. inigo
20. Jae in South Korea
21. Ken Smith
22. Smidgens, Snippets & Bits
23. Blog4Peace The Official Site
24. Gemma Wiseman
25. Julie Schultz
26. Gattina in Belgium
27. Trav's Thoughts ~ 100 Reasons To Blog For Peace
28. Travis ~ 30 Days of Peace Quotes!
29. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 3
30. Thomma Lyn Grindstaff
31. Grumpy Cat Purrs for Peace
32. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 4
33. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 5
34. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 6
35. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 7
36. Rascal and Rocco- Simple Ways to Have a Peaceful Day
37. Clooney's Num-Num Fund - Dona Nobis Pacem
38. Michelle of Crowsfeet Blog
39. Charlie Rascal - Dona Nobis Pacem
40. Flynn: Dona Nobis Pacem
41. Sometimes Saintly Nick
42. Akelamalu
43. Jennie Marsland
44. Bing Yap (PinkLady)
45. Sue Greer-Pitt
46. Friends FurEver - Dona Nobis Pacem
47. Sue St Clair - Toronto Canada
48. Shelter Cats - All we are saying....
49. Laura Hegfield
50. EileenTrainor aka Cybercekt
51. Alasandra, The Cats & Dogs
52. EileenTrainor aka Cybercelt
53. DrillerAA
54. nonamedufus
55. Forty Paws - Dona Nobis Pacem
56. Janice D'Agostino
57. Tink
58. Travis Cody
59. Dawn
60. Vinny Bond
61. Faith Suley
62. Daryl
63. Houe of the Mostly Black Cats
64. Glenda Gilbert Clarke
65. Savannah's Paw Tracks: Dona nobis pacem
66. Animal Shelter Volunteer Life
67. Laurie Blackhall
68. Goodnight Gram
69. Ann Tracy
70. Abby Angel & ManxMnews-- Blog4Peace 2013
71. Speedyrabbit
72. Mama Pajama
73. jansfunnyfarm - Dona Nobis Pacem
74. Deb Montague
75. Screaming Me-Me!!!
76. T. L. Cooper
77. Marilyn
78. The Screaming Pumpkin
79. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 8
80. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 9
81. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 10
82. Max the Psychokitty
83. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 11
84. Buddah Pest
85. Karen A. Thompson
86. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 12
87. sherry blue sky
88. Julia Phillips Smith
89. CherryPie
90. Welshcakes Limoncello
91. Jessica
92. Barbara Shallue
93. rose
94. The Gal Herself
95. Rumpydog
96. Michelle Culp (ndpthepoetress)
97. Knitnana Meezer & Tonk
98. Prudence and Theresa
99. Mary Jane Holmes
100. Shannon
101. House Panthers - Dona Nobis Pacem
102. Mickey's Musings - Dona Nobis Pacem
103. A Tonk's Tail
104. Sans Pantaloons
105. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 13
106. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 14
107. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 15
108. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 16
109. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 17
110. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 18
111. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 19
112. Lui
113. Sweepy
114. HoundsInHeaven
115. Paula
116. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 20
117. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 21
118. Teri and the cats of Curlz and Swirlz
119. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 22
120. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 23
121. Diane Hsz/ Music for peace 24
122. Sandra Hammel
123. Frank Sirianni
124. Rallentanda
125. Kjelle Bus ~ Sweden
126. Rosidah, Indonesia
127. ChrysalisAngel
128. Zoolatry with Ann Adamus
129. Browser Life
130. Salix's Art Nook
131. It's All About The Whimsy!
132. Karla Jackson
133. Sanni Jansen and Family in Germany
134. Jim's Little Photo and Poem Place
135. Tami Caskey Brown
136. Jobi Harris @ Ask Fisher
137. Cate in New Zealand
138. Music Of My Life ~ Indonesia
139. Curlz and Swirlz
140. Ned Hamson
141. Binding Ink With Humanities
142. Security Is For Cadavers
143. Nanna Aldrich Murakami
144. Long Hollow
145. Pikku Punapippuri in Finland
146. Community Mediation Center of Calvert County Maryland
147. Silvieon4
148. OneSpoiledCat
149. Hutch A Good Life
150. RennyBA's Terella in Norway
151. Brian's Home
152. The Cat On My Head
153. Beaded Tail
154. Bertram's Blog
155. Skywriting ~ South Africa
156. An Unfittie's Guide To Adventurous Travel
157. Grace
158. Mouse Droppings
159. Runaway Sentence
160. Oran's Well
161. Shay's Word Garden
162. Verse Escape
163. Confessions Of A Laundry Goddess
164. Coco The Couture Cat
165. Jessica Obsenschain
166. Cate
167. The Best Parts
 168. Lavender Luz & the Singing Peace Globe 
168. Living with Lou Lou

      

46 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://infinitesadnessorhope.wordpress.com/2013/11/04/dona-nobis-pacem-2013/

Diane/DancingStar said...

Beautiful...3721ramaz

Ferd said...

Peace and love, Mimi!

http://thebestparts.net/2013/11/03/dona-nobis-pacem-2013/

Gemini and Ichiro said...

In gratitude for the peaceful energy spreading about the world.

The Island Cats said...

We wish you peace...today and everyday. =^..^=

Unknown said...

Thank you for doing this and promoting peace!

GLOGIRLY said...

Thank you so much for creating this amazing event of peace. We are joining hands and paws with our friends across the globe. (((purrs)))

~GLOGIRLY - Tails of Two Cats & Their Girl

Ken said...

Thanks for organizing this, Mimi and to everyone who adds their voice today and throughout the year!

--Ken

Gemma Wiseman said...

So many lovely thoughts in your writing. They swing from beauties of the past to questions of the present so freely. My favourite thought must be:
"how each dangling space of time will affect my life..."
A wonderful post for this special day.

Layla Morgan Wilde ( Cat Wisdom 101) said...

Peace, love & purrs!

Michelle said...

Ditto on everything, Mimi. The longing for that better world is what will pull us to it. I do believe that, but oh... what an ache it is!

Best Peace blessings. xx

Kjelle Bus aka Charlie Rascal said...

Thanks for organizing this, Mimi !
PEACE , LOVE and (((Purrs))) <3

Akelamalu said...

Beautiful post Mimi. Peace to you and yours. xx

Jennie Marsland said...

Peace to you and yours, Mimi. A beautiful post.

ChrysalisAngel said...

Hi Mimi, I couldn't seem to post on Mr. Linky, so I'll put a raw link on here. Wishing you all the best.
www.chrysalisangel1.blogspot.com

Laura said...

Mimi, this is exquisite… thank you for hosting, for gathering us together to sing our song of peace in magnificent harmony.

Please consider yourself officially invited to participate this year's 5th Annual Gratitude (word) Quilt. Instructions (it is very simple) and a link that explains the origin of the word quilt can be found at the top of my blog. In past years there have been participants from every continent except Antarctica. I hope you'll join us:-)

nonamedufus said...

Congratulations on your efforts Mimi. Peaxe everyone.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Mimi, the day dawns! I posted another globe and tagged and put the URL in Mr. Linky. Somewhere I have 3 other globes, but God knows where.


Sorry to be unhelful, brain fog is a real problem with my disease.

Namaste

Cybercelt

Anonymous said...

Dona Nobis Pacem!
http://mcguffysreader.blogspot.com/2013/11/dona-nobis-pacem.html
Thank you! Peace!

Susan Demeter said...

Beautiful and thank YOU!

Dawn Drover said...

A beautiful and insightful post as usual my friend.
Have a peaceful day ☮

Travis Cody said...

Peace Muse strikes again.

With Blog Blast on a Monday, it's probably going to take me most of the week to get to everyone's post. But I do it every year and I shall do it again this year.

Peace to you and this glorious day!

Vinny "Bond" Marini said...

Year 7 of a wonderful vision

Thank you for being you

Anonymous said...

Hope others will follow on my paw tracks

Unknown said...

This is such a beautiful day, Mimi! Thank you for all you do. Here I am at http://ask-fisher.com/dona-nobis-pacem-2/#sthash.zeTUE2as.dpbs
and http://ask-fisher.blogspot.com/2013/11/dona-nobis-pacem-pt-2.htm
Peace and love, Jobi and Fisher

Tami Brown said...

What a beautiful post. You a truly an inspiration. Thank you for all you are doing! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10201678564437918&set=a.2306058502950.2120288.1593918771&type=1

Little Miss Titch said...

Peace and love to you Mimi,xx Rachel and Speedy

Mama Pajama said...

love that second to last picture - the shot straight up the trunk of the tree! lovely, Mimi, I will have my friend-ravens drop your squirrels an acorn from my neck of the woods, so we can play in the leaf pile together. peace.

Deb Montague said...

Post is up. My cats got involved yesterday by sleeping within proximity of each other. This is a small miracle. There was no hissing. If they can manifest peace, we can, too.

Me-Me King said...

Congratulations, Mimi, what a beautiful day!

http://madmadmargo.blogspot.com/2013/11/dona-nobis-pacem-imagine.html

T. L. Cooper said...

So love the idea of turning our focus to Peace! May peace be upon you today and always!!
Hugs!!

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

A wonderful post for peace, Mimi and a wonderful tribute to your Dad. I'm sure he knows and is very proud of you. What you said about safety especially spoke to me. Thank you. Love from Sicily, Pat and Simi the dog.xx woof!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for doing this again, Mimi! Peace be with you!

rose AKA Walk in the Woods - she/her said...

Such a beautiful post, Mimi. I feel the heart of your Dad beating a rhythm of peace through each and every one of us. What a gift.

Peace.

Prudence said...

Loved your post, thank you!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this! Peace!

Anonymous said...

May peace prevail on earth and in the hearts of all people.

Lui said...

Your words and images are strikingly powerful and memorable this year, Mimi. Thank you for the invitation and yes, you are right. Peace is inside of us . . .

I bid you peace too...

Paula said...

Peace to you!

Jim said...

Hi Mimi (Mrs. Jim is Mimi to the grandchildren) ~~ I loved your writing and could identify with you beyond the name. Mr Dad lived to be 97, he died in 2007.

My second poem today (not written specifically for blog4peace like the first) was about my Mom finding her peace, being escorted to Heaven by an angel. That may be the only peace we will find in our lifetimes.
..

Jim said...

Mr. Linky doesn't like me tonight. So please try this:
"Jim's Blog4Peace 2013 poem link: http://jimmiehov6.blogspot.com/2013/11/angels-on-clouds-blog4peace.html"
..

Teri and her Stylish Adventure Cats said...

Thank you for giving us a voice, for being the voice, and for sharing the hope...

Teri and the Cats of Curlz and Swirlz

Anonymous said...

Visiting from the imaginary garden with real toads, where Kerry O'Connor asks us to contribute. Peace... ~ M

ndpthepoetress Jean Michelle Culp said...

My winter soul has been melted by the colorful touching reflectiveness of past and present in your post, as your resilient efforts to promote Peace throughout the years continues to give me hope that one day there will be Peace! Thank you for you Mimi!

Rosidah said...

Thank you for another beautiful and insightful event, Mimi. Bless your golden heart. Dona Nobis Pacem.

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