oodles of thanks to the everyday peace ambassadors in Arizona, Indiana, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio… love the sharing of peace! Where to next, I wonder?!
(By the way, all “where in the world is peace?” images are being compiled on a special “where in the world is peace?” page, here. Totes, mugs and things are available here.)
proactively punctuating life with the plausible, powerful possibilities of positive thought presented through a plethora of “P’s”.
Just seeing if you’re paying attention. : ) …
Patricia [puh-trish-uh]: a female name of Latin origin, derived from the Latin word patrician, meaning regal or “noble”. It also indicates someone who likes to write, draw, paint, swim, and wear cowboy boots to business meetings.
“storms make trees take deeper roots.” ~ Dolly Parton
Impending east coast storms have me thinking about the power of nature… and for some reason, a drawing I did many years ago came to mind. It’s quite large for a pen and ink, and took a long bit of time. I had been in a very meditative place, and became lost in the leaves and bark and majesty of the tree; the strokes of the pen were both welcoming and healing… and it remains one of my favorites.
"Old Tree" / © Patricia Saxton
Remember, all you need is a “52 Weeks of Peace” totebag (if you don’t have one yet, you can get one here) and a camera.
Take a picture of your “52 Weeks of Peace” tote in various locations, send me your images with a note about location (ie;, Colorado, Paris, South Africa, Quebec, New York City). I”ll post them here, and on my “52 Weeks of Peace” facebook page. No names or addresses, just pictures will be publicly posted~ & as long as you’re okay with that, please send them in!
Let’s make peace fun, and let’s see “where in the world” peace goes…
proactively punctuating life with the plausible, powerful possibilities of positive thought presented through a plethora of “P’s”.
Paper is a wonderful thing. So practical and so versatile!
Needless to say, paper has been a key player in my life as artist and writer, so my appreciation might be over the top.
You see, paper isn’t just a vehicle for grocery lists or movie tickets or plain paper towels… a crisp, blank piece of paper is a breath of fresh, new air, an open field to run through, a drawing or a story waiting to spring to life between each finely woven fiber. Wonder and possibility lurk on every piece! … I love paper.
Paper, by the way, has been around since dinosaurs first recorded their alphabet on a sturdy, if not leafy paper known as jurassicyrus ~ more commonly called dinopyrus. Dinopyrus preceded the use of the more well-known Egyptian papyrus scrolls by several million years.
After the dinosaurs, history is more clear. Papyrus, a thick paper-like product made from the flower stem of the papyrus plant, pressed together and dried, first appeared in Egypt around 2500 B.C. Papyrus had a good, long run, but was replaced at some point around the 2nd century B.C. by Greek and Roman parchment, a thinner sheet made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin. Later, in 105 A.D., Chinese inventor Ts’ai-Lun was credited with the first papermaking process, creating paper by pulping rags, cotton, hemp and and other plant fibers.
It wasn’t until 1838 that paper was made from wood pulp, a discovery by Canadian farmer Charles Fenerty. But Fenerty never patented his process, so that German inventor Fredrich Keller, who did patent a wood-pulp papermaking process around the same time, is often considered the original inventor.
And there you have it. Hope you’ll have a new respect for paper. Don’t waste it ~ but do appreciate it!
Okay, so I got this crazy idea.
(and I give an award of brilliance to my daughter for the headline!)
The message of peace can have many forms, and be shared in many ways ….. in fact, a friend of mine brought a “52 Weeks of Peace” journal to someone in Nepal, which gave me an idea: Let’s have a little fun with peace!
All you need is a “52 Weeks of Peace” totebag (if you don’t have one yet, you can get one here) and a camera.
Take a picture of your “52 Weeks of Peace” tote in various locations, send me your images with a note about location (ie;, Colorado, Paris, South Africa, Quebec, New York City). I”ll post them here, and on my “52 Weeks of Peace” facebook page. No names or addresses, just pictures will be publicly posted~ & as long as you’re okay with that, please send them in!
Let’s make peace fun, and let’s see “where in the world” peace goes…
If you look, you can find peace almost anywhere .. and it’s there to be discovered, nurtured, given room to breathe in your own soul. Peace really does “start here”, with you, and with me.
Excitement! The “52 Weeks of Peace” book is almost ready…!
In the meantime, we’ve established a 52 Weeks of Peace / Peace Starts Here facebook page ~ please come on over and join in, “like” the page, let your voice be heard, spread some peace, share the love… see you there!
proactively punctuating life with the plausible, powerful possibilities of positive thought presented through a plethora of “P’s”.
Mom always said to stand up straight. And at some point in the awkward growing up years, I realized she was right (of course). Standing “straight and tall” looks better, it feels better (when you get used to it), and it’s good for you.
Your posture speaks volumes without saying a word ~ not only projecting confidence outwardly, but inwardly. You can stand straight, head high, belly in, shoulders back and relaxed, or you can slouch in varying degrees of slump-dom… just know that how you choose to carry yourself matters to both your physical and mental health, ultimately affecting your general well-being.
And while you’re busy sitting up a little straighter, remember: the same benefits hold true for how you posture your thoughts. Are your thoughts life-affirming or life-diminishing? Do they reach up or look down? Are they strong or limp, flexible or rigid? Are they aligned with your actions? Aligned with your heart?
What we think, and how we think it, has enormous influence in the well-being of a moment, a day, a year, a lifetime. As Buddha said, “What we think we become.”
And what’s really cool is that the simple act of “standing up straight” helps the positive flow of the thoughts we think ~ and vice versa. So it’s a win-win.
Mom sure was smart.
clearly, i need to pay more attention to P #32, because i’ve heard myself use the phrase “nose to the grindstone” on a daily basis for quite awhile.
Nose to the grindstone in and of itself is not “bad” (one must make hay), it’s the whole notion of “moderation in all things” that’s buzzing around my consciousness, suggesting that when one’s nose is always poised at the grinding stone, one isn’t necessarily experiencing balance, moderation or fun.
To be fair and honest, yes, I did “unplug” for nearly a week in order to rejuvenate, and there were moments of fun. Yet, while a temporary respite can have great restorative value, it really was just a hiccup of time. So that my nose, well accustomed to the grindstone, fell easily back into position upon my return.
What then, I wondered, is a grindstone and what does my nose have to do with it?
I understand the phrase to mean staying intently focused on work at hand. In other words, all work and no play. But curiosity got the better of me and I had to know know (you know?) what the phrase originally meant.
This old-timey photo was the best I could find ~ and though it looks like a prank (since they seem to be having a laugh), the meaning is not lost. According to varying sources, “nose to the grindstone” literally means one of two things:
1. A European millers’ guild expression to remind the miller that he must maintain a flow a grain between the mill stones, which were traditionally set one above the other. Without any grain between them, the weight of the top stone would strike sparks on the bed stone, and the smell, know as “brimstone” was a warning, that if not heeded, would likely result in an explosion that would kill the miller. Thus, to keep your nose to the grindstone meant to pay close attention, not to work hard, but diligently, and had nothing to do with sharpening tools on the other type of grindstone. (Although some folks agree with this explanation, doubters claim it’s untrue because millers used millstones not grindstones.)
2. 5000 years back (traced by the etymological research department of UCLA), carpenters had made a startling finding about the sedimentary stones and stone, and began using it solely to make the grindstones that sharpened their tools and other items. The nose-to-grindstone term then originates from knife grinders bent over the stone or laid flat on their fronts, with their faces near the stone. (Those in favor of the tool sharpening derivation say that early notes also refer to holding someone’s nose to the grindstone as a form of punishment, which is more in keeping with continuous labor and “being strapped to one’s bench” than it is to the sniffing of ground flour by a miller.)
So there you have it. Your choice. (And just so you know, when I use the phrase, my nose is not coming in close contact with knives, stones or ground flour. In case you were wondering. Which your probably weren’t, but thorough as I am, gotta cover all the bases.)
