Designing the World We Want Shifting the Planetary Conversation
A Shift into Joy: A New Course for Peace By Design
- March 10th, 2009A Big Change is Coming
When I created this blog in April 2008, I announced my intention to publish regularly on Tuesdays and Fridays. I have lived up to this commitment over the past year. Together, my guest bloggers and I have produced over one hundred blogs about peace. My vision of peace was, and is, one of possibility, of what could exist on this planet, if enough people chose it consciously: a world filled with joy, fun, abundance, a world that worked for everyone. This would be a world where violence would become less and less relevant. War would gradually disappear as human beings began to shift their thinking, their listening and their speaking about peace, war and armed violence. What they intended with the full force of their will, would come to pass.
Overwork and Exhaustion Leads to Freedom and Joy
I have always believed that I should be the change I wish to see in the world. A recent crisis in my life showed me that I was not, in fact, living out what I most deeply cared about. I was close to breakdown, was exhausted from overwork. I was not having any fun and it seemed I was working constantly on this blog and doing it all by myself. My life had no joy. I was in despair and was close to giving up. Last week I finally saw that I could make a new choice about how I live my life and about how Peace By Design is written and conducted as an enterprise.
No More Hard Work!
I have chose to take an entirely new approach at this point to bring integrity to my life and to the blog, so that everything in my life reflects my passion for a life founded on and committed to joy, aliveness, love and a peaceful planet. In effect this means “no more hard work”. I am now revoking my promise to publish every Tuesday and Friday. I will now be writing blogs only when I am filled with joy, love or inspiration! I may write five times a week or once a month. My promise is to follow the joy, to look for that which is fun, enlivening or that which excites me or turns me on. This is a bold and exciting experiment in my life and frankly, I feel liberated, set free! It is a very strange feeling and it’s making my heart beat faster and I notice I’m kicking up my heels in a little dance. Whooee! This is fun!
We’re Having a Party and You Are Invited!
I invite you, my readers, to join me in this experiment in peace and full living. I am eager to find more guest bloggers. I am looking for people to share their ideas for how we can create a world that works for all beings. What visions do you have for a peaceful planet? How are we going to get there? Do you want to review books or films? What other topics should we be writing about here?
As I look outside my window this afternoon the sun is shining. Spring is coming. Sun dapples the evergreens and their boughs sway in the gentle breeze. Despite all the enormous problems in the world right now, this moment is incredibly beautiful. I am at peace and deeply grateful for the gift of life itself. I am eager to hear from you.
Wanna play? Get in touch! Leave a comment.
March 25th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Dear Joy,
I read your writing and feel your inspiration in my bones. I heard a story told me one time, in brief it goes:
“The inmates at an insane asylum were behaving rather badly, something like what our teenagers are like sometimes, and one particular staff member singled out two quarreling men. When the staff nurse took charge, the two men were sat down. Each was asked to describe how a normal well adjusted man would act under these circumstances.
Surprising! Each of the quarreling inmates accurately described for them selves, the correct way to behave.”
So, although they knew how they should behave, they lacked the presence of vision to actually control themselves according to their knowledge.
It was intriguing to the nurse, so a regular routine was developed, where they were given hypothetical annoying situations, and were asked to visualize what great behavior would look like. After a period of observation, it began to be noticed that these two men were acting much better even around others.
The importance in this work, shows the value of “Humans” exercising their ability to “VISUALIZE” good behavior to produce behavior that is good. Imagine the application of that on the warfront of family circles, long before children reach those tumultuous years. Instilling, inculcating in our tiny children, the “Vision” of peace would be the greatest and wisest investment of wealth that the earth has ever known and would never need again.
Peace be added to you Joy. Pillars 4 Peace, imagine an education for a small planet - Design a “Cirriculum for Humanity”.
Will …. for Joy