Category: Peace - A Cottage by the Sea

Peace after cataract surgery

8/4/2019

Cataract surgery on my right eye went well. I can definitely notice the brightness, and clarity of vision is coming back. Follow up with the doctor affirmed all of this. So there it is, my brief medical report, which I realize is barely medical and hardly a report.
     Instead I offer you a report on the silence, solitude and simplicity that I experience, for, after all, that is what this blog is about.
     The surgical facility, which is affiliated with Mass Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School, is located west of Boston, about twenty five minutes from my home. The patients rooms and medical equipment are clean, spacious, and light. Except for the twenty minutes in surgery, I lay on what felt like comfortable shays lounge while kind and comforting aides, nurses and doctors tended to my needs.
     There was plenty of time to relax, to meditate, and to BE, and the atmosphere was conducive to just that. What came over me, as the chatter in my head dissipated and judgments disappeared, was a sense of peace. Why all the fuss in the world? Let’s just love everyone. I knew those were simplistic thoughts and that Id be having to make decisions and workout situations as soon as I walked out to the car, but for that moment those thoughts were pure, honest, and hopeful, and I believed I had the opportunity to be more loving and less fearful out the world.
     That aura of peace is still with me That is what I think silence, solitude and simplicity is all about.

Peace starts with the thought~

3/16/2019

by Jemma Fisher

How to live peacefully in a world of violence, violence of thought, word, and deed? I don’t need to explain or paint a picture. You can see and hear it in your mind/body/spirit. It’s always been there, but right now it seems particularly stark!
Last night I turned off the news. But what to do to stop perseverating on all that negativity so I can move to a place of hope? I came upstairs to my room my grandchildren have named The Angel Room (no T.V.). I sat in the silence, thinking of people who suffering and surrounding them with light. Soon the entire universe was filled with light and I saw the possibility of a peaceful world. I know this won’t become an instant reality, but I believe in the possibility, at least person by person, situation by situation.
As someone who has consciously longed for silence, solitude and simplicity for the past ten years, it is becoming clear that I must intentionally practice what I long for. If deeds are manifested by thoughts and words, as I believe they are, I had better get busy manifesting peace and love.

March for Life

3/26/2018

     I was glued to the TV on Saturday, riveted by the speeches of those under-age-18 young people. They are going to do it! They are changing the narrative.
      Four major shifts were apparent, although let’s face it, these truths are not new ideas. The difference is that these young people spoke with conviction, and yet, within these non-negotiable truths, they are willing to negotiate the details.
     1) People are people, all are equal, regardless of race, class or sexual orientation. They expressed the theological truth that God loves everyone; they just did so in secular terms.
    2) Gun control is the best way to save people from gun violence. Although they advocate for no guns in schools, they are not anti-gun, nor anti-first amendment.
     3) The power of a democracy get expressed at the ballot box. They are committed to voting and to helping others register and get to the polls on election day.
     4) Young people don’t want to die; they fear being killed at school or on the street. The March for Life moment is not about pro-choice but about pro-living.

A cottage by the sea, wherever you feel peace~

2/28/2018

   I am continually surprised that friends still think I am going to the cottage by the sea. Because I keep the title and picture for this blog, they assume I am still driving up to Maine and sitting on the deck looking out. Those days ended in 2015, but memories remain and as does my longing for silence, solitude and simplicity. Plus, I sometimes like to be alone.
     In place of this weekly cottage time, I have traveled more, and as I am confident to claim, I love traveling alone. This works out well because my husband loves staying home and working in the garden.
     When we went through our recent decision to move to a condo, I had to put off my usual spring trip to Italy. But when we came to our senses and decided to stay young in this old house for at least a few more years, I immediately got on the internet and arranged a trip to Italy with Monastery Stays. Usually I just go to Florence, but my April 4-19 itinerary is different: Rome (4 nights), Assisi (3), Cortona (1), and Florence (6). I’ll be staying at convents—guesthouses run by nuns. They are beautiful spaces, inexpensive, simple, and all ensuite.
     A cottage by the sea is wherever you feel at peace.

Disseminating peace our own way~

2/15/2018

Nothing seems silent, solitary or simple about the news these days . But of course that’s not the point. I can’t blame school shootings or domestic abuse on my lack of silence, solitude or simplicity because I know it is to be found inside me.
So how do I respond when my mind and heart keep my thoughts on the Florida victims and their families? I shut my eyes and pray God’s peace surrounding them. That’s my Christian way.
If you don’t participate in a faith tradition, I trust you have your own way of settling yourself down and disseminating peace into the universe. Very likely you wouldn’t be following this blog if you didn’t.

Peace walk in Florence~

12/6/2017

When I read the headlines this morning my heart sank with the possibility that we could be at war in the near future. To get out of my funk, I decided to take a walk for peace. I crossed the Arno, entered the Bardini and Boboli Gardens, and took pictures along the way; some showed the vibrant December afternoon sun, others were rather dark and foreboding, and one depicted human beings at their worst.

All along my walk Brunelleschi’s dome kept appearing, a harbinger of stability, commitment and truth.

No one knew that I was walking for peace, but maybe they sensed something hopeful. I wonder if I passed anyone with the same intention? I hope so, and I’m foolishly hopeful enough to believe it could true.

Peace on my last day in Florence~

9/24/2017

My last full day in Florence. My challenge is to stay in the moment, participate fully. As I write, this thought just came to me: when we live in the moment, we experience inner silence, solitude and simplicity. Or, is it the other way around; when we experience silence, solitude and simplicity, we live in the moment. Regardless, something new, call it peace, is created from the two, forming a trinity.

Marching for peace and love

1/12/2017

Dear Friends,
On January 21st I will be participating in the Women’s March on Washington with my daughter, sister (who lives near DC), and other family members. I am not going to protest but to support the rights of all human beings. My energy is positive and prayeful.

I have begun a list of family, friends and friends of friends who can’t make the trip but who want to be there in spirit. I will keep the list close to my heart, at least for the start, but I may leave it somewhere along the way—in another marcher’s hand, at a designated memorial spot, on Lincoln’s lap. I may release it to the wind or bring it home with me. I’m open for surprises and miracles.

If you would like me to add your name, or the name of someone else to the list, please let me know.

Peace and love,
Bobbi

In the end, love wins

11/9/2016

     How do we carry on today, this day after Election Day? Not just carry on, but move on in a positive way. Approximately half the country is happy with the results; the other half unhappy, and many of those are scared; scared for the LGBTQ community, for reproductive choice, for Muslims, for the environment, for immigrants, for peace.
     Like the psalmist we can lament; and then, like the psalmist, we can raise our thoughts beyond ourselves, and grab onto hope in something pastthe human response. If we don’t do this, we will remain wallowing in the vitriolic hatred that was the signature of the campaign that just ended.
     There is much we can do to work for peace and justice in our country and in the world. It starts with who we are, with our hearts open to unconditional love, which is where the hard work is. As I go out today, my challenge is to express positive energy and maintain hope. In the end, love wins.

Memorial Day drum roll~

5/30/2016

This morning I heard the drum roll. Across the street men and women gathered in front of the Civil War monument in front of the library. I joined them to honor all who have died in war. All—our service people as well as theirs; our civilians, as well as theirs. I just don’t get war; maybe if I could understand guns, I could. Too late: I’m too old to be anything up a pacifist.