“Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.”
~ W. Clement Stone
“Peace Moon” / 52 Weeks of Peace [squared]: Week #66 / © Patricia Saxton
Here’s to May ~ my favorite month of the year. So with a re-posting of 52 Weeks of Peace / Week #35, I lift a virtual glass and say… here’s to springtime! Here’s to new dawns, to growth and rebirth, to bright fertile dreams and the sprouting of fresh possibilities…
52 Weeks of Peace recently hiked the Grand Canyon, relaxed by the sea, warmed by a Virginia fire, went to work, and showed up “after the party”.
Thank you so much for these wonderful shots! ~ and helping to share our mission to inspire individual peace in everyday ways.
Friends brought Peace along for their week-long hike in the Grand Canyon
Peace rides shot-gun. (or maybe as a back-seat driver?!)
Chillin' fireside in Virginia
The party's over, but peace carries on...!
Fun in the sun at Florida's Cocoa Beach
Where to next?
ps: you can see all “where in the world is peace?” images compiled on our special “where in the world is peace?” page. Our book is on Amazon, our totes, mugs and things are available here. Send your own pictures to 52weeksofpeace@gmail.com or post them on our FaceBook page. Let’s see where peace goes!
How did I miss this? It’s wonderful. If you haven’t already seen this terrific piece, I dare you not to enjoy it and take away some inspired thinking (as well as an appreciation for some pretty darn good whiteboard drawing!). If you have seen it, enjoy it again. : )
If you’ve been following for a while, or if you have the 52 Weeks of Peace book, you’ll know that Week #34 was created just for this day. : ) Happy Earth Day! Here’s to Earth’s many blessings, her nourishment and sustenance.
We should love Mother Earth every day, but since we’ve got “Earth Day” designated on the calendar, and it’ll be here tomorrow (April 22), I figured I’d offer a new bit of peace for the occasion, with this thought-wish:
May peace blossom in your world, with luxuriant petals that fall in soft, lovely patterns reminding us that both peace and the planet are endlessly beautiful. Tend them lovingly ~ for if not me and not you, then who will nurture all that is good and glorious in this world?
I woke this morning wondering why I’d been so surprised by the artwork at the Air Force chapel.
Art ~ some of the most beautiful art, in fact ~ has been intertwined with faith and patronized by religions for centuries. Stories have been painted for eons. Some quite famously.
And then I reflected that many church structures are architectural works of art themselves, often filled with exquisite artifacts and outstanding craftsmanship.
And then, of course, I was forgetting that so much of art is spiritually inspired to begin with. Not necessarily a religious inspiration, but artists are often moved by spirit. And by that I mean that there is something that happens during the artistic process that transcends the every day “here and now” reality.
Whether the subject matter is divinely inspired, or the physical act of creating a work of art feels almost like an out-of-body experience, there’s always a point (and who knows how long before one becomes aware of it) where you realize it’s not your conscious mind guiding your hand, but more a partnership of heart and spirit. Call it what you will, there is something else going on besides you, the paint and the canvas.
Considering all that, I don’t know why I felt “surprised”. Maybe I expected something less grand because it was a military-based chapel ~ you know, as if it should be sparse, regimented, orderly, practical ~ until I realized that faith and war have also gone hand in hand. Soldiers need a sanctuary, perhaps more than anyone. A God to call upon, an angel or two on their shoulders ~ a way to feel there is something greater, larger, more knowing and filled with light to look to when their own feels dim.
And now that I have this all worked out, I think my reaction was more about the art itself. While biblically based, the art wasn’t what one might think of as typically “churchy”. And maybe the fact that the paintings were framed, much like they might be in a livingroom, made them feel accessible as opposed to otherworldly. Or maybe I just really liked their contemporary style, and their presence in a chapel simply set their reverence apart.
So I guess there really shouldn’t have been any surprise. But there was an unexpected appreciation.
I expected to see fighter jets and smartly clad cadets during a recent visit to the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
I didn’t expect an intriguing, architecturally and symbolically impressive chapel, and I definitely didn’t expect art ~ especially the kind that’s inspiring. What a delightful surprise I was in for!
The works below are 7 of the 9 paintings created by Polish born artist Shlomo Katz permanently displayed in the Jewish synagogue area of the Academy’s chapel. (There are individual Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Buddhist chapels, all self-contained under one amazing roof of the chapel building).
Katz painted all nine pieces in a 9-month period, which is pretty incredible in and of itself. Each piece tells a biblical story, created with oils over a gold-leaf base. The effect is truly beautiful ~ enhanced by a marvelously rich color palette, wonderful artistic styling and a terrific sense of design.
I guess the only thing that wasn’t a surprise was learning, after the fact, that these pieces of art are considered a national treasure. They really are stunning.
With a Rocky Mountain backdrop, tall pines and splashes of giant red rock, 52 Weeks of Peace traveled west this week, under the big skies of Colorado’s Front Range. (And a little fun was had setting the stage at the famous Red Rocks Amphitheater!)
Mountaintop in the ranching community of Livermore, Colorado
the camera lens was blurred, but the sentiment is clear. 🙂
Red Rocks Amphitheater, near Morrison, Colorado
arranging the bags for a long-distance shot
two more get into the act of arranging
the stage is set!
"Peace on the Rocks"
Northern Colorado. (This bag weathered a bear attack in Pennsylvania before traveling back to Colorado. It's cleaned up, but you can still see a smudge from the bear's paw on the bag's lower right corner!)
Where to next?
ps: All “where in the world is peace?” images are compiled on our special “where in the world is peace?” page. Our book is on Amazon, our totes, mugs and things are available here. Send your own pictures to 52weeksofpeace@gmail.com and we’ll also post them on our FaceBook page. Let’s see where peace goes!
Week #31, “52 Weeks of Peace”… Happy Easter!
