SINEWS OF PEACE

 

   I recently read in Heather Cox Richardson's column about Churchill's address in Fulton, Missouri in 1946 at the invitation of Truman where they both were very worried about pushing back against the Soviet Union (which, incidentally, Putin wants to engineer once again.), Churchill used the term, "Sinews of Peace," as he wanted to have strong elements put in place to resist the Soviet Union's influence. 

 This almost seems like a contradiction of "strength" married to "peace." But I bet Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would not find it a contradiction. Isn't that what non-violence is all about?

   I am trying to think of ways in which I can encompass "Sinews of Peace" in my own life, seeing as I am not in Congress or in charge of the Western World, as Anne Lamott always said she should be.. This is not easy, esp. as now I am so damn enraged at our government. In a wonderful guided meditation for Ash Wednesday at our UCC, Pastor Mark encouraged us to imagine ourselves in Galilee. 

He asked us to see the flowers in bloom: cyclamen, Rhododendron, and sweet, tall grasses. While there with a soft wind blowing, he said to imagine ourselves talking to Jesus. I saw myself sitting on the sun-baked grass, holding Jesus's rough, workman's hand. I could feel his serenity and strength flowing into my hand and body like a warm current. I felt His love.

  When we came back to ourselves at the end of the meditation, I still felt full of this divine love. And seeing this was and is so, I could no longer want to flip off every GOP person I read about in the news, although I was angry at their lack of empathy. As someone once wrote, "Evil is the lack of empathy." And there is Elon Musk declaring, "The problem with Western civilization is empathy."

 But hey! I am not flipping him off, just hoping for God's fierce justice when he dies.

  O.k. Back to Sinews of Peace. I think I need Diane Scott from church to weave me a strong cane bottomed chair of strips of peace, 'cause I ain't doing so well. I need to think of how to weave peace more strongly into my life.

  I shall donate money to Catholic Charities to help fund food supplies in Africa. 95% of money given goes to needs on the ground.

 Although, my peeps, even our tatty Supreme Court just ruled that Trump has to release the funds for foreign aid which Congress voted on and he impounded. This is a good sinew. 

   I know this is a small thing (but in reality, with my health issues my life IS somewhat small now), but I am going to stop responding to FB posts. I always try  to be polite, but sometimes this escapes me when I am responding to what I think is a "stupid, MAGA" comment. But, if I see everyone as a child of God (however misled!), with a divine spark within, then I have to treat them gently, with respect, no matter what their opinion is.

 When there is discord within my family or friends, (which thankfully is not often), I am going to step back, take a deep breath, and try to listen more closely and understand more deeply their point of view. Recently, I had a small kerfuffle with a loved one about whether this election was stolen or not. (See previous blog with good data on this from the forensic economist, Greg Palast.) I was annoyed and hurt that this person did not even examine the evidence, but, hey, that is everyone's right to do so. I am trying to see their side of the question more clearly now, as part of the Sinews of Peace. Perhaps thinking the election had been stolen was simply too much to bear for them.

  What else? We are expanding our old veggie garden, which I had turned into a pollinator garden 5 years ago, back into a place to grow our crops. How is this a Sinew of Peace? Well, if I am not going shopping and grabbing all of the good organic produce at River Valley or Big Y, then that is more good veggies for someone else to buy who needs it. I realize this is closer to a "Thread of Peace," but anything which keeps our human discourse more polite and flowing freely has to be good. Right? And seeing as I have become a devout reader of any site about World War II and Rationing, I shall call our garden, "Digging For Victory," as they did in the U.K. Maybe I will even make Lord Woolton's veggie pie with mashed taters on top!

 

  And in my very own domain there are a few things I can do to promote strong peace:

--I can not say daily, hourly, by minute, "What will we DO if they kill our SS and Medicare?" as I twist my fingers into painful knots.

--I can basically keep my twitches and aches to myself unless they are seriously wicked bad and need the help of my honey. He has his issues too, and it is not fair for me to be the only one in need. 

--I can try to notice when he is flexing his hands, meaning his arthritis is kicking in, and can offer a few options to make things better.

  These are small things, but I think they matter, along with national politics, what is happening to our fired Federal workers, and so much more. I just wish that Mr. Orange Bone Spurs had more of the "Sinews of Peace" in him!