Friday, December 24, 2010

What is peace?

-- if it is not the serenity, the stillness, the quiet in me that flows from me to you?

-- if it is not that same still place in you? -- if it is not this that multiplies again and again with others?

 What is peace, then; this, essentially, human quality called peace?

This holiday season, please help support our elegant solution fundraising campaign, (see our holiday LED specials) -- seeking ways to spread our light from one to another in small community settings – striving to create small “zones of peace” everywhere.


10% of the purchase price of Pearl LEDs
are donated to New Horizons projects.

Merry Christmas all,

From Anastasia

Friday, December 17, 2010

Small “Zones Of Peace Action Step #2

Pledge -- To make time, everyday, for personal renewal.

A common misperception about peace-building is the belief that peace action is all about “Doing.” That is not quite accurate!

Peace action is a lot about finding a healthy balance between action and non-action; between DOING and BEING.

Are you making room for a quiet time in your life each day?

Time for reflection, contemplation, introspection, prayer and or meditation?

Time to relax? Time to play? Time to just hang out with friends, family or other loved ones like a pet?

Look to leaders for role modeling such as Gandhi who devoted himself to non-action as an integral part of peace-action.

Have a happy, peaceful weekend wherever you are.

From Anastasia,
Temporarily snowed in up in the mountains

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Be The Peace You Wish There To Be

How do YOU build a small "zone of peace"?

Small “Zones Of Peace Action Step #1: Create small “zones of peace” everyday in everyway.

Step 1: Tip #3 of the day --

Be The Peace You Wish There To Be.

Shine your light and pass that light on.

Coming tomorrow --- how you can do your part to help New Horizons' Small "Zones of Peace" Project create "elegant solutions," locally and globally.

Plan to get involved.

Next look for --

Small “Zones Of Peace Action Step #2 (of 10) --

Coming Friday!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

How do YOU build small “zones of peace”?

Tip #2 of the day for -- Build your “zones of peace” from the inside out.

Remember our story about Brittany, the eleven year old (in 2006) who won our Small “Zones Of Peace” Essay Contest? Brittany was responding to our invitation to write an essay that would describe the meaning -- to her -- of the following quote Mahatma Gandhi from which our project, the Small “Zones of Peace” Project takes its name.

We do best to begin by carving out territories or zones of peace in our personal relations where violence and deceit won’t be used.”

Brittany told us that -- to her -- Gandhi’s quote suggested the following --

"I believe this quote to mean metaphorically that if you are angry, you could find a quiet place in (your) mind. In reality, it could mean that if two friends live near each other, and there was a park that was close to both of them, they could call the park a zone of peace."

What’s your plan for creating small "zones of peace" everyday, everywhere you go? And, how do you carry that plan out, day-by-day?
Soon we are going to be collecting your "Elegant Solution" stories for creating small "zones of peace" for our next essay contest -- to be posted on this blog.

Plan to get involved!

Pledge to consciously, actively build your small "zones of peace" (or keep on doing that) and tell us your stories about how you do it, successfully.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

We Pledge ...


Small “Zones Of Peace Action Step #1:

Create small “zones of peace” everywhere you go, everyday in everyway.

TIP -- Be particularly invested in others of your choice who are making that same pledge. And, together, taking whatever actions appropriately go with that pledge!

Remember my stories about snakes and snakey behavior? Everyone that you encounter is not at the same degree of commitment or skill for doing the work of climbing the Mountain of Awe -- and -- building “zones of peace.”

Do your best wherever you go. Yet be particularly involved with those who make this pledge – “To create small “zones of peace” everyday in everyway.” As Dory, the fish in “Finding Nemo” repeated, again and again,

“Just keep swimming.”

Monday, December 6, 2010

I Pledge ....

On my honor, to do my best to uphold the values and principles I believe this country was founded on. In keeping with the values and principles of the New Horizons Small “Zones Of Peace” Project I do my best, each and every day, to help create small “zones of peace” wherever I go.

How about you? Is this a pledge you are living by each and every day?

Small “Zones Of Peace Action Step #1

Create small “zones of peace”  everywhere you go, everyday in everyway.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

YES!

WE are getting it together on the ground level.

And, WE are heading for "awe." The formula almost always remains the same – find the elegant solution by –

1. Thinking outside the box;

2. Looking for win-win solutions;

3. Keep on keeping on, talking and listening;

4. Reminding yourself that you live in a world of abundance, not scarcity.

A most unexpected – and – appreciated consultation with a visiting “expert brought the magic of living in this attitude sphere home to me yesterday out here at our remodeling-in-progress retreat center in the mountains. We are not as far ahead on our projects as we would like to be. With this needed and that needed, etc. etc., it can get a bit overwhelming at times.

Now -- with the weather growing chillier day-by-day, I’ve been more than a bit concerned at times about my house-part of our retreat center. Given the sky high chimney repair estimate offered to get our wood burning stoves safely functioning, I have been doing my best lately to surrender to the notion that I might be living one step above camping out this winter; a tiny spec just above survival.

But -- just in the nick of time, “knight in shining armor,” Sue’s husband, Paul, a former plumber, arrived on the scene. With a gift of generously donating his time and talents to providing us with a detailed assessment of what needs to be done to winterize the dwelling that houses both me and our main meeting room out here.

Paul came bearing gifts of much needed advice on this, that and the other thing (i.e. particularly about plumbing and how to keep our water pipes warm and from bursting with our stoves (our main source of heat) not usable right now). For the far-reaches of my still recovering Jewish American Princess turned mountain woman mind, the whole of what he was suggesting was, indeed, quite daunting though his wisdom was scrumptious.

Yet, simply having Paul’s presence out here was a victory all by itself. Having spousal support for what one does is almost always a good thing don’tcha think? Particularly having man-type guidance for a remodeling project that some days relies soley on Sue’s hard work, commitment and knowledge and our shared “girly” tool box. At times, I am barely any help at all. However, I do own up to being able to make a hardy contribution with the chain saw when I’ve got a working stove that can burn the products of my labors.

Paul’s visit was truly a victory for our mission on so many levels. Most of all (not to minimize the expertise) his presence in being with us.

Thank you, Paul!

Thank you so much for your TIME and your TALENT. (And, couldn’t I please just make you a bowl of my grandmother’s special chicken soup recipe to show my appreciation – as well as my regrets for borrowing your wife at times you would really prefer her to be using her time otherwise.)

Another victory for my challenged, I can-barely-change-a-light bulb mind was the extensive blueprint Sue and I hammered out, co-creatively, on how best for us to proceed with our remodeling over the coming, possibly harsh months ahead.

The result of all this bounty -- I was delightfully surprised, after yesterday’s challenging, mind-stretching endeavors, I woke up happy and empowered; my house was bathed in toasty, warmth that yesterday I would not have known how to create on the limited resources with which we are presently operating.

Thanks to Paul’s guidance to make a few immediate changes and Sue’s hard work, generosity, wisdom and committment to furthering this project, we had – hopefully -- found some immediate, not- going-to-kill-us-with-the-electric-company "elegant solutions."

Still in all I would welcome a cozy, fireside chat out here as soon as possible.

From Anastasia
In the mountains where it is getting chillier and chillier