your virginiacreates September calendar, enjoy!

Happy September!
Hope that what ever transition or adventure you may have this month goes smoothly and safely!!

peace



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Today, remember the power of LOVE ...

One words frees us of 

all the weight and pain of life: 

That word is 

LOVE.

Sophocles

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may this dress remind us to sow the seeds of nonviolence ...

in honor of St. Patrick's day I am highlighting one of MANY strong and courageous Irish women.

Mairead Maguire (born 27 January 1944), also known as Mairead Corrigan Maguire and formerly as Mairéad Corrigan, is a peace activist from Northern Ireland. She co-founded, with Betty Williams and Ciaran McKeown, the Women for Peace, which later became the Community for Peace People, an organization dedicated to encouraging a peaceful resolution of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.^[7] Maguire and Williams were awarded the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize.^[8]

In recent years, she has criticised the Israeli government's policy towards Gaza, in particular to the naval blockade. In June 2010, Maguire went on board the MV Rachel Corrie as part of a flotilla that unsuccessfully attempted to breach the blockade.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mairead_Maguire

MAIREAD MAGUIRE

Northern Ireland, 1976

After three of her sister’s children were killed during the violence between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, Mairead Maguire organized massive demonstrations and other action calling for a nonviolent end to the conflict. Along with Betty Williams, she is the co-founder of Peace People, and together the two women won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976. She has spent her life since then to bearing witness to oppression and standing in solidarity with people living in conflict, including most in Syria.

Together, they co-founded the Peace People, a movement committed to building a just and peaceful society in Northern Ireland. They organized each week, for six months, peace rallies throughout Ireland and the UK. These were attended by many thousands of people – mostly women, and during this time there was a 70% decrease in the rate of violence. Mairead currently serves as Honorary President.

Since receiving the award, Mairead has dedicated her life to promoting peace, both in Northern Ireland and around the world. Working with community groups throughout Northern Ireland, political and church leaders, she has sought to promote dialogue, nonviolence and equality between deeply divided communities.

A graduate from Irish School of Ecumenics, Maguire works with inter-church and interfaith organizations and is a councilor with the International Peace Council. She is a Patron of the Methodist Theological College, and Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education. She is also the author of  The Vision of Peace: Faith and Hope in Northern Ireland.

"If we want to reap the harvest of peace and justice in the future, we will have to sow the seeds of nonviolence, here and now, in the present."

https://nobelwomensinitiative.org/laureate/mairead-maguire/

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May this dress remind us that we are the masters of our fates ....

We are not victims of our genes, 

but masters of our fates, 

able to create lives 

overflowing with 

peace, happiness, and love.

Dr. Bruce Lipton 

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May this dress remind you of your right to vote, GO VOTE!!!

Voting is the expression of our commitment 

to ourselves, one another, this country and this world. 

Sharon Salzberg

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Today, may this dress bring us peace within ...

May today there be peace within. 

May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others.

May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content with yourself just the way you are. 

Let this knowledge settle into your bones.

Let it allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. 

It is there for each and every one of us. 

Mother Teresa

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Today practice peace ...

Every day brings a choice: 

to practice stress or to practice peace.

Joan Borysenko

Stress breathing in turn stresses your body, causing it to release hormones that make it harder to concentrate and more difficult to remember things. (No wonder I was running around the house that morning wondering where my keys were, only to find them in the refrigerator next to the juice!) Studies show that frequent stress breathing raises heart rate and blood pressure, triggers anxiety, and even changes blood chemistry in a way that makes your platelets stickier, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Joan Borysenko

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Today let us believe "that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word."

'lilith contemplates sanctuary ...' (2015) rockport, ma 

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... 

I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. 

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Let us honor those who have given their life, their mind, their body and their being 

so that we can have our freedoms!

 Let us also remember what those freedoms are, 

and never take them for granted,  

and let us make sure they are available to ALL!! 

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Remember, to be present of this miraculous moment, right now! love, mom

“If you choose to see everything as a miracle, 

then where you are right now is perfect. 

There is nowhere to run to; 

there is nothing else to do except

be in this moment and allow what is to be.” 

Mastin Kipp

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what is your little thing??? here's Wangari Maathai's little thing ...

It's the little things citizens do.

That's what will make the difference. 

My little thing is planting trees. 

Wangari Maathai

Remembering Wangari Maathai, First African Woman to Win Nobel Prize



Wangari Maathai was an amazing woman who did amazing things just following her heart, doing what she knew in her heart was the right thing to do.  She empowered women and fought for the environment.  I highly recommend that you learn more about her and her work, the Green Belt Movement!
love, mom

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and in case the above video isn't working ...

We are how we treat each other and nothing more .... this is my religion.

I loved this song the first time I heard it and with the insanity of the leadership this week I needed to share it.  And, as happens so many times when I research different items for this blog, I learned that this song was created for the organization Newtown Kindness, an organization borne out of the loss of Sandy Hook first-grader Charlotte Bacon. The group is committed to promoting acts of kindness and encouraging children to become lifelong contributors to their communities.
(click here to read more)

I HIGHLY suggest that you listen to this song and to its words.  In this dangerous time where human rights and basic dignity is taking hits from people in positions of power and leadership, I believe it is our personal duty to be kind to each, respect each other and that our behavior, the way we act, speak and behave is a reflection of who we are!!
this is my religion!

The Alternate Routes- Nothing More  Live on Craig Ferguson

Nothing More

The Alternate Routes

To be humble, to be kind

It is the giving of the peace in your mind

To a stranger, to a friend...

To give in such a way that has no end

We are love

We are one

We are how we treat each other when the day is done

We are peace

We are war

We are how we treat each other and nothing more

To be bold, to be brave;

It is the thinking that the heart can still be saved

And the darkness can come quick;

The Danger's in the Anger and the hanging on to it

We are love

We are one

We are how we treat each other when the day is done

We are peace

We are war

We are how we treat each other and nothing more

Tell me what it is that you see

A world that's filled with endless possibilities?

Heroes don't look they used to, they look like you do

We are love

We are one

We are how we treat each other when the day is done

We are peace

We are war

We are how we treat each other and nothing more

We are how we treat each other and nothing more

We are how we treat each other

love, mom

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may this dress remind us to stop and pause ...

... pause to remember our blessings and to remember those who are not as fortunate as ourselves. 

Pause and enjoy the love and joy of family and friends and to carry these feelings beyond today and into the new year.  

Wishing everyone a joyous and peaceful holiday!!

dresstag left in China in 2013 - story below 

Christmas gives us the opportunity to pause and reflect 

on the important things around us -

a time when we can look back on the year 

that has passed and prepare for the year ahead. 

David Cameron

In 2013 some friends were traveling abroad and took some of my dresstags to place during there visit, here is the story about todays' photo:

Today's dresstag photo comes from  Guangzhou, China!!!!thanks to the wonderful and so talented Clara Bohrer.  She offered to take a few dresstags with her to China and last night I got this photo!! As I read her email I was bathed in a sense of amazement and wonder!! Besides the thought of my dresstags on foreign shores, I was bathed by the wonders of life!! 

"The dress on the photo was left at a market in GZ, with the delicious dragon fruits. I left there and some 10 minutes later, when we walked back to that area, the dress was already gone and a young woman, that I think works there, was looking at us with a very big and friendly smile!!!!"

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Celebrating the wonders of snow ...

December Moon

Before going to bed

After a fall of snow
I look out on the field
Shining there in the moonlight
So calm, untouched and white
Snow silence fills my head
After I leave the window.

Hours later near dawn
When I look down again
The whole landscape has changed
The perfect surface gone
Criss-crossed and written on
Where the wild creatures ranged

While the moon rose and shone.

Why did my dog not bark?
Why did I hear no sound
There on the snow-locked ground
In the tumultuous dark?

How much can come, how much can go
When the December moon is bright,

What worlds of play we'll never know

Sleeping away the cold white night

After a fall of snow. 

May Sarton

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Let the light bring peace ... Happy Solstice.

'red alert cocktail dress ...' (2006)

If there is light in the soul,
There will be beauty in the person.
If there is beauty in the person,
There will be harmony in the house.
If there is harmony in the house,
There will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation,
There will be peace in the world.
Chinese Proverb

Here, in the Northern Hemisphere, today is the Winter Solstice ~ the shortest day of the year and the longest night. It is the point in the year at which the days begin to lengthen and the light begins to weave its way back into our lives. It's officially the first day of winter and one of the oldest-known holidays in human history. Anthropologists believe that solstice celebrations go back at least 30,000 years, before humans even began farming on a large scale. Many of the most ancient stone structures made by human beings were designed to pinpoint the precise date of the solstice. The stone circles of Stonehenge were arranged to receive the first rays of midwinter sun.

For me it is the December holiday that feels the most authentic as it has been celebrated for thousands of years by many people all around the world and stems from the cycles of Mother Nature. As our lives are more and more connected to and dependent on technology and electronics I feel there is this dire need to reconnect with the cycles and wisdom of nature.

The Winter Solstice is a celebration of light going back thousands of years when people were not sure if the sun and warmth would come back, a time before scientists explained the earth's orbit. So they lit huge bonfires to tempt the sun to come back which lead to our tradition of decorating our houses and our trees with lights at this time of year.

The Winter Solstice can be traced back thousands of years and is associated with numerous religious and philosophical beliefs:

• In ancient Japan the winter solstice was believed to be the time when the sun goddess Amaterasu emerged from her cave bringing light to the darkness. 
• The Incas held winter solstice celebrations in honor of Init, the sun god. 
• In ancient Egypt and Syria, people celebrated the winter solstice as the sun's birthday
• In Germany, the winter solstice was a time to celebrate Hertha, the Norse goddess of light. 
• In ancient Rome, the winter solstice was celebrated with the festival of Saturnalia, during which all business transactions and even wars were suspended, and slaves were waited upon by their masters.
• The Roman celebration of Sol Invictus, the Roman deity of the sun, was held on December 25th and represented the rebirth of the sun. 
• Interestingly, there are many parallels between these celebrations and Christmas. Traditionally, Christians celebrate Christmas as the day of the birth of the Son of God while other traditions were celebrating the rebirth of the Sun. (interesting play with phonics).

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Go out beyond and I'll meet you there ...

Out Beyond Ideas

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,

there is a field. I'll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass,

the world is too full to talk about.

Ideas, language, even the phrase each other

doesn't make any sense

Rumi

This poem has been banging around my head today, and even more so when I saw these blossoms ... I saw a meandering path beyond. 

And i've always been captivated by the idea of going beyond the ideas of wrong and right, beyond judgement and criticism. 

So today let us quiet those inner voices assessing all of our 'doings', and let us lay down be in the deep, lush green grass of just being! 

This is my religion! 

love, mom

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today, find peace 'Someway, Someday, Somewhere, Somehow' ...

My Dream: A Vision Of Peace 

by ToddMichael St. Pierre

Where the mountains touch the sky,
Where poets DREAM, where eagles fly,
A secret place above the crowd,
Just beneath a silver-lined cloud.

Lift your eyes to a snowy peak,
And see the soon-to-be we seek.
Whisper DREAMS and let them rise,
To the mountains old and wise.

Climbers climb, it's time to try,
Where the mountains touch the sky.
Take me there. Oh take me now,
Someway, Someday, Somewhere, Somehow.

Where the ocean meets the sky,
Where mermaid dance, where seagulls fly,
A place in DREAMS I know so well,
The sea inside a single shell.

Far across the living sea,
A pale blue possibility,
Beyond the castles made of sand,
Tomorrow in a small child's hand.

Only DREAMERS need apply,
Where the ocean meets the sky.
Take me there. Oh take me now,
Someway, Someday, Somewhere, Somehow.

A common ground for one and all,
Behind the crystal waterfall,
Where Peace flows like a mighty stream,
Like Dr. King I have a DREAM.

Imagine such a goal in sight,
For red and yellow, black and white…

New Delhi, Beijing, Kenya, Rome,
Earth is the place that we call home.
Baghdad, Belfast, Tel Aviv,
One race HUMAN, we still believe,
Come DREAM with me...

Where the forests reach the sky,
Wake to DREAMS, and don’t be shy.
We’ll DREAM the world a thorn-less rose;
We’ll plant then watch it as it grows.

We’ll conquer hate with DREAMS of hope,
We’ll DREAM one big kaleidoscope.

Whisper now; let the DREAM begin,
It's time to trust the truth within.
This is where we seek and find…
A place called PEACE for humankind.

DREAM on DREAMERS, hopes are high,
Where the forests reach the sky.
Take me there. Oh take me now,
Someway, Someday, Somewhere, Somehow.

Now, listen close, the future calls...
'Build your bridges and tear down walls! '
For time has taught and so it seems,
Realities are born of DREAMS!

Whisper DREAMS and let them rise,
To the mountains old and wise.

ToddMichael St. Pierre

love, mom

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Today, find the peace of wild things ...

this is my religion ... 

hot rock dress, dover, ma ... july 2013

The Peace Of Wild Things
When despair grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Wendell Berry




More and more I turn to this poem and remind myself of its wisdom.  In fact last week I seemed the peace of wild things in the glorious mountains of  Vermont, where the wifi is bad and the peace is very good.
So remember girls, when life gets overwhelming and times seem dark, to go to nature!! (I tend to also make a dress, while out in nature, click here to read more about the creation of my 'hot rock dress ...' :)


love, mom


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happy solstice ... love the light

“I will love the light for it shows me the way, 

yet I will endure the darkness 

for it shows me the stars.” 

Og Mandino

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day71: the power of love

"One words frees us of 

all the weight and pain of life: 

That word is love." 

Sophocles

dear girls, the results of the 2016 presidential election shattered me!! for so many, many reasons, but the biggest reason is what it means for you two, my most amazing and loved daughters.  this is not the state of the world that i would have EVER wanted for you, for ANYONE! but alas, here it is ....

it has taken me days for me to figure out how to continue my '100days of motherlove' to you.  each time i start a post it turns into a 'rant' which is not what i want these posts to be.

however, the truth is that our world has been changed drastically, and not in a positive way.  humanity and basic human rights took a major hit.  i believe that we are now need to step up, to be vigilant, protecting our beliefs that all humans should be treated equally and with respect and dignity.  this is not a new concept for this blog.  however, after election day this message feels so much more urgent and critical that i was paralyzed for a bit, but it would not stop me.

yet with so much to say, to do, to grieve, to mourn, to rally for, to rage against, where to begin??? well ... I decided to begin with what gets me up every morning, what I believe in, whole-hearty ...
today I am beginning with the power of LOVE!!!!

LOVE a simple short word that is so powerful and transformative. it is both verb and noun, an action and a state of mind/heart/soul/spirit.  I firmly believe in the power of love and for today I wish to reenforce the power of that belief to you both!

last night i was part of a peace rally here in natick, in response to nasty things that have been happening since the election.  of course our dear friend heather was there, and we started to singing the chorus of 'all you need is love' by the beatles.  it moved me to be singing a beatles song, as i held my rainbow peace flag high.

two members of the beatles, john lennon and george harrison, were very vocal about peace and love and created many beautiful songs celebrating the power of these forces.  since i have shared lennon's 'imagine' on this blog many times, today I turn to the beautiful George Harrison, who left this world with many messages about the power of peace and love. i ask you to take a moment to sit and listen to this song, it has given me a sense of hope, see what you think
.... love, mom

click here if video link isn't working: https://youtu.be/fLsKWWF94cw



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today may we imagine ...

"Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace"
John Lennon

peace ... peace ... peace ... peace

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