day 61 - peace

"I will write peace on your wings and fly you around the world." 

- Sadako Sasaki

Peace, like balance, isn't something I arrive at once and for all. It's something I calibrate constantly in subtle, persistent gestures. 

Just as a bird needs two wings to fly, that calibration requires the coordinated effort of love and wisdom — and as this Season for Nonviolence has shown me in depth and nuance, so much more. 

Today I'm practicing peace by adapting, adjusting, and accommodating.

the season for nonviolence

"Only when it's dark enough, can you see the stars." 

Martin Luther King Jr.

Tomorrow, January 30th, marks the beginning of the Season for Nonviolence, a 64-day practice observed internationally between the anniversaries of the deaths of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

This year, I'm choosing to enter this season through a personal daily practice: folding paper, paying attention, and spending a few minutes each day with one of the values connected to nonviolence.

This isn’t a teaching series or a set of instructions. It’s simply a record of practice, what I’m noticing, what I’m trying, what feels possible on a given day.

Origami slows me down. It asks for care, patience, and a willingness to begin again. That feels like a useful place to stand right now.

If this practice offers something to you, a pause, a thought, a moment of steadiness, you’re welcome to take what you find useful and leave the rest. 

Click the links below if you'd like to explore this more deeply in your own way.

Specifically, I’ll be following the Season for Nonviolence values as outlined by the Gandhi Foundation, alongside reflection prompts developed by the Gandhi Institute. 

Mostly, though, I’ll just be folding one day at a time.

#initforallthelove, strangers

Day 9/14, Origami Cranes (traditional)

Paper folding is a form of communication. The crane, in particular, is a well known messenger of peace.

Origami is a great icebreaker, inviting strangers into conversation and allowing them to share an experience or pass a torch.

It was a stranger who taught my brother to fold the cubes that began our origami adventure. I am forever grateful to that lady whose face and name I will never know. 

I’ve spent a lot of time throughout the pandemic thinking about people I don’t know. Sometimes the thoughts have been kind, sometimes quite the opposite! 

Today I’m sending them all love.

diy friday - peace crane treat toppers

Origami Paper Crane and Coconut Lemon Squares

Today on diy friday we're folding pretty, peaceful decorations for your favorite cupcakes and treats! 

The crane is a traditional Japanese symbol of good luck, long life, health, happiness and world peace. 

If you would like to read more about the significance of the origami crane, click here.

You will need:

• Paper squares approx. 3" x 3".  You can use any thin, strong paper to make these.  Try origami paper for a traditional look.  Or even more peaceful - go green!  Recycle paper from colorful ads in magazines.  Scrapbooking paper tends to be thick, so save it for larger cranes.
• Toothpicks or wooden/bamboo cocktail picks.
• Treats, sweet or savory!  This is a nice decoration for fruit, little cakes and other sweet things but equally pretty holding the edges of your sandwich wrap in place or to fancy up your appetizers.

Follow these simple steps:

1)  Make a crane out of a square of paper 2"-3" per side depending on how small you would like your crane to be (and how nimble your fingers are!).  You can follow this diagram on Origami Club or this animated diagram. 

Recycled Magazine Paper Crane

2)  Insert your toothpick into the hole that is naturally formed on the underside of the crane's belly.  If you use the blunt, square ended cocktail picks you will not even need to use any glue as they will hold firmly and will not need any force to be inserted.

3)  Make as many as you like and stick them into your treats!

ladylike

peace crane