"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.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead
How we approach citizenship is how we share space, handle conflict, and shape what we all live with.
To that end, nonviolence isn’t necessarily avoiding disagreement. Often, it's finding ways of changing things in ways that don’t destroy the people and systems we will still be in relationship with after.
Similarly, when I fold, I can’t force the paper without weakening it. I have to work with the constraints of the pattern and material limits.
Respect them, and my actions support a beautiful end result. Disregard them, and both the form and the pleasure fail.
You could say life comes to us “pre-folded” with our country's unique history, laws, and tensions — we don’t start with a blank sheet. As such, if citizenship is our part in the shared shape of things, nonviolence is how we change that shape without breaking it.
Today I'm practicing nonviolent citizenship by attending to the way I participate when there is disagreement in my community.
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
- Mahatma Gandhi
Harmony happens here, in the way pattern, patience, and purpose meet.
Inhale. Exhale. Chrysanthemums slowly open, cranes glide across the sky, colors and folds settle into peaceful alignment.
Each reminds me: balance is not aspirational - it is beneath my feet, in my hands, in tiny micro-calibrations, in the rhythm of now.
Today, I am practicing harmony through my breath—letting attention, intention, and action move together, as one living flow.
"There is no way to peace, peace is the way."
- Mahatma Gandhi
Contemplation is not an escape from the world; it is a way of cleaning the lens of the heart. It transforms nonviolence from a tactic into a way of life. It fosters the emotional and spiritual resilience needed to resist injustice without resorting to violence.
Contemplative practices like meditation help activists cope with stress and prevent burnout, turn anger into "creative fire" that can be used for constructive, nonviolent change, and keep methods consistent with goals - ensuring peaceful goals are not pursued through violent means.
Folding gives my hands something to do while my mind settles. Folding cranes, a symbol of peace, is a creative meditation that lets my intention find form through breath, paper, and focused attention.
Today I'm practicing contemplation by folding peace cranes.
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.
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| Origami Paper Crane and Coconut Lemon Squares |
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| Recycled Magazine Paper Crane |
