Back to Halifax..

The dust is settling a little. The backpack is unpacked and the pile of business cards and pamphlets beg sorting. As scrambled as this blog seems, I am ok with that.  Every breath we take is gone before we know it - so this constant change tries to teach us to let go! The barriers to change are not solid and sometimes we can move around them.

In my little bio at the beginning of this never-ending-story, I mentioned a book by Susan Murphy entitled  Minding the Earth, Mending the World. "In the course of fighting for a planet where our children's children can safely flourish" we have this marvellous opportunity of becoming better human beings, and in fact, it is only possible to dedicate ourselves to this purpose  if we are willing to move from  corporate greed and self destructive views.

Small steps of change, creating new stories and never, never forgetting the wonder around us can guide us in that direction. David Loy is very articulate about Murphy's ideas in this article.  How did we get to this place? Even in my lifetime, my childhood was devoid of environmental knowledge or concerns. Any recycling and frugality came out of post-war trauma with a smattering of pre-Industrial folk wisdom passed on through the generations of farmers. But here is a key for me. We changed the old stories.

Our broken worldview allowed abuse of the land, the air, the women and the children. The keepers of the original stories and the older world views, the aboriginal views  are raising their voices. These are the voices to amplify.

 We are all under the same blue sky . Thank you to the Afghan Peace Volunteers  for your courage to smile. Thank you to my Nova Scotia Voice of Women for Peace Sisters!

Under the Same Blue Sky

Oh, but it doesn't stop here, right? Every one of those women I met at the UN have returned to the never ending story.... heere is how the story is continuing in Halifax.  This photo is of a group of youn people who  participated in the "Blanket Exercise" with Shila, a Peace Camp participant, Mi'kmaq Elder Billy, Doug and myself.  This took place at a March Break camp at Aldernay's Landing In Dartmouth. Some of the art from the walls are included here too. 

 

Fatima and I went to a Nonviolent Direct Action Training  through 

Sandy, Fatima, Joan, Olga and Theresa went to an anti-NATO rally

...and now we are heading toward our GDAMS -- global action against military spending action. Here is a little information on military spending in Canada. When do we realize that the way to peace is peace, not war and insecurity? 

Military spending in Canada

Every year in Canada, vast resources are expended in the name of military security while social programs like an affordable housing strategy and affordable daycare are either under-funded or not funded at all.

A 2016 Ipsos survey found that one-third of Canadians live with financial insecurity; women disproportionately report challenges with housing costs (49%) and basic life essentials (42%).

In one of the first studies of its kind, States of Fragility 2016: Understanding Violence, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), of which Canada and all western countries are members, has connected the dots between unmet financial and social needs and all forms of violence and conflict around the world, including domestic and other forms of violence within western democracies.

PEACE PEACE PEACE and love kathrin