In a time like this, words are hard to find. Time slows, focus sharpens, and we put one foot in front of the other. The hideous invasion of Ukraine has again shaken the world awake to injustice and the shadow of unbridled, self-interested power. Refugees from wars the world over cry for help and action. Are we listening? Are we awake yet?

So we act. We give. We protest and we demand change. We try our best with what we have.

At night, those of us in safe beds wrestle with the paradox of living with both gratitude and grief. We show up for work the next day, hoping, maybe, to survive an onslaught of demands and deadlines, feeling more tender and vulnerable than we’d care to admit.

Me too.

To all of us, I offer these aspirations:

• May we finally learn to feel our feelings so we can move from truth
• May we bring our humanity more presently into our relationships  
• May we embody peace and awareness so we end the cycle of violence within and without
• May we extend grace and strong boundaries to those with sharp edges
• May we practice saying "no" and meaning it
• May we use our power wisely and compassionately
• And, may we learn to inhale and exhale, fully and slowly, again and again.

I borrow the words of Morgan Harper Nichols in her new work, Peace is a Practice:

“Breathe free.
Through complicated histories
And deeply rooted mysteries,
Let us practice peace.
Let us live it out day by day, breath by breath.
Peace:
Above, beneath, all around, and within.
Let us pursue peace, together,
For the living, breathing flow that it is.”

How are you holding all of it these days, friend? What will support your path to peace?