"Waging Peace" #7

Featuring Mahmoud Darwish, Glen Thomas Rideout, Lindsay Kesselman and friends

Welcome to “Waging Peace”

Remember, you’re the co-creator of this dive. Do as much or as little as you’d like, when you’d like, how you’d like, with the materials I provide. Just keep gentle faith with yourself.

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Set your intention

Take a moment to name the primary intention you have for this month-long deep dive and/or this particular session. Take a quiet moment to center yourself in that intention.

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Receive the music

Try to refrain from judging the music as “good” or “bad” or forming an “I like it” or “I don’t like it” opinion. For a few minutes, cultivate curiosity and openness. If resistance arises in you, be curious about that too.

Note: It is not by accident that I paired this poem by a Palestinian poet with a song centered on the Hebrew word for peace, performed in an inclusive setting.

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Read the poem

I invite you to read this poem twice—aloud, at least once. You may also listen to my reading of the poem, perhaps with your eyes closed.

THINK OF OTHERS
Mahmoud Darwish
Translation from the Arabic by Mohammad Shaheen

As you prepare your breakfast, think of others
      (do not forget the pigeon’s food).
As you conduct your wars, think of others
      (do not forget those who seek peace).
As you pay your water bill, think of others
      (those who are nursed by clouds).
As you return home, to your home, think of others
      (do not forget the people of the camps).
As you sleep and count the stars, think of others
      (those who have nowhere to sleep).
As you express yourself in metaphor, think of others
      (those who have lost the right to speak).
As you think of others far away, think of yourself
      (say: If only I were a candle in the dark).


(from Poetry of Presence)

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Contemplate/Create

Use any of these questions however you wish—e.g., as openings for meditation or prayer, as prompts for journaling or poetry-writing, as sparks for drawing or painting, as catalysts for change-making . . . You may also ignore my questions altogether to go off in other directions!

• In mindfulness practice, we try to “be here now”—to rest in the present moment without distraction. But here the poet is inviting us to expand upon that: to let whatever we’re experiencing in the present moment be a reminder to “think of others.” What might be some of the gifts of such a practice? Some of the challenges?

• In the last couplet of the poem, the poet returns us to awareness of ourselves. Let’s follow his lead. Reflect/write/create in response to this stem: “Because I am a candle in the dark, _______.”

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Want to visit with other Rafters in the Deep Dive?

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These materials are for educational purposes only. Not for sale or reproduction.

Join me and a SPECIAL MYSTERY GUEST
for a closing Zoom on February 1!

6:00-7:00PM Central (7:00 ET, 5:00 MT, 4:00 PT)

Let’s close “Waging Peace” with a time of voluntary sharing. (It’s fine just to listen!) Come and reflect with other Rafters on this Deep Dive.

Registration is required for this celebration.

(Note: Minimum of five people must have registered for the Refuge by midnight, January 31, in order for this Zoom to take place. Thanks!)

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Questions? Never hesitate to contact me.

See you tomorrow.