Recently I met new neighbors while taking a walk around the block. A vivacious girl met me exclaiming, “I’m 4! I’m 4!” She just experienced her birthday and was radiant about her milestone. I responded, “I’m 4 too, but with a couple of extra years!” She accepted my description readily because when you are 4, doesn’t everybody celebrate being 4 again? That is wearing your sheen.
I did not tell the adorable one that my blog also celebrated a 4th birthday, as it was too abstract for a concrete thinker! I began my blog during the pandemic. I have posted every Monday for 4 years.
Here are words from my first (7-21-21) blog: “…Pearls seem to need attention. If a pearl necklace is locked away, over time the pearls lose their sheen and become dull. While pearls are categorized as a gemstone, pearls are unique in claiming the only gem status to form within a living creature! Unique among diamonds and other gemstones, pearls require no cutting or polishing before use. Pearls are precious. Pearls represent a fresh start. Peace in the family, post-grief peace, and retirement peace all benefit from a fresh outlook. In these blog posts, we will explore how to string pearls of peace wherever you find yourself on your life’s odyssey.”
Some individuals lose their sheen over time. All of us lose track of peace on a regular basis. We humans must polish our sheen to keep peaceful actions at the forefront of our life odyssey.
Joanna Macy is an individual who kept polishing her sheen. She was a possibility model of visionary and dynamic leadership of peaceful causes in global justice and environmental activism. Macy reportedly died “peacefully” at home from complications after a fall on July 19th. She was 96 (or 24 times 4). In reading about her, I want to share highlights from her workshop called “Truth Mandala” that she presented globally. Groups of individuals gather to sit in a tight circle “to form a containment vessel for holding the truth.” There are 4 quadrants with a symbolic object in each – a stone, dead leaves, a thick stick, an empty bowl. Everyone speaks their truth about a quadrant that represents a significant part of their present life:
- A stone personifies fear. It exemplifies a tight, contracted heart when one is afraid.
- Dry leaves stand in for one’s sorrow. Much sadness exists within each of us for the trauma we see in our world.
- The thick stick represents anger and outrage. One must grasp it with 2 hands but not wave it around or pound the ground.
- An empty bowl signifies one’s hunger for what is missing in their life, perhaps sharing their feelings of emptiness.
Give truth a fresh start. Then take positive actions.
Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz
415. Which of Macy’s 4 quadrants would you speak about if you attended a Truth Mandala workshop?
416. How do we get to a place where people tell the truth about their lives?
Pearls of Peace: A Family Psychologist’s Circle-of-Life Blog 