I'm Giving Thanks for Being Human Every Morning: Finding Hope in Music.

"Be resistant

the negativity we keep it at a distance

call for backup and I'll give you some assistance

like a lifesaver deep in the ocean

stay afloat here upon the funky motion

rock and roll upon the waves of the season

hold your breath and your underwater breathin'"

Michael Franti

     Four years ago I went through one of the most difficult times in my life. My husband and I separated and then six months later proceeded with a divorce ending a 25 year relationship. At the same time my daughter, with whom I am very close, left for college in a far away state. I found myself rocked to my core and often felt dizzy and disoriented as I tried to move through my day, working at many different teaching jobs while continuing to make a home for my young teenage son. Friends fell away and new friends came. Support came in surprising ways and usually just when I needed it most. The one thing I could always count on was music. I had a playlist that literally kept me going during those very dark times.  I can remember what I was listening to at specific street corners, when I stopped and sobbed, and when I just sat and stared blankly while I was sung to by a musician who I felt had a direct line to my heart. To this day my iPod still counts those tracks as my most played, years later having listened to numerous other songs. These musicians came to feel like close personal friends and their music, balm for my soul.  I couldn’t have waded through the wreckage of my life without them. After reflecting on other important life experiences and noting that there is often a “soundtrack” to go along with it, I wondered if others had this experience. Does music buoy you and lift you up during dark times? Give you energy when you are feeling low? Do you intentionally listen to certain artists or tracks to invoke a certain state or mood?  I thought so. 

    

Dar Williams is a musician my daughter first exposed me to many years ago and is a folk musician who was shepherded by icon Joan Baez before going on to release many albums of her own. And while I love just about everything she has ever written,  I played her superior rendition of “Better Things” by Ray Davies of The Kinks about 20 times every day during my darkest periods.

[excerpt]

“Here’s hoping all the days ahead

Won’t be as bitter as the ones behind you.

Be an optimist instead,

And somehow happiness will find you.

Forget what happened yesterday,

I know that better things are on the way.”

    

Brandi Carlile, from Seattle, a full twenty years younger than me, understands the intricacies of the human heart and helped me keep on moving with her soulful voice reminiscent of Patsy Cline.

     But it was Michael Franti, with positivity, kindness and love sung with every word that kept me going more than any other artist. Michael is a 47 year old from the San Francisco Bay area of California, whose music includes elements from rap, funk, folk reggae and alternative pop. His song “Say Hey” made it to the top 20 charts in 2008. He is passionate about peace and justice for all people the world over and this shines through in every tune. His music also exudes caring towards his fellow humans and he encourages us to do the same.  He has traveled the world exploring peace and human connections from every possible angle and all of his experiences are distilled into his music. The song that first pulled me in many years ago was  “Stay Human.”

[excerpt]

“Starvation is the creation of the devil, a rebel

I'm bringin' food to the people like a widow

bringin' flowers to a grave in the middle

of the city isolation is a riddle

to be surrounded by a million other people

but to feel alone like a tree in a desert

dried up like the skin of a lizard

but full of colour like the spots of a leopard

drum and bass pull me in like a shepherd

scratch my itch like a needle on a record

full of life like a man gone to Mecca

sky high like an eagle up soaring

I speak low but I'm like a lion roaring

baritone like a Robeson recordin'

I'm givin' thanks for bein' human every morning

…

Be resistant

the negativity we keep it at a distance

call for backup and I'll give you some assistance

like a lifesaver deep in the ocean

stay afloat here upon the funky motion

rock and roll upon the waves of the season

hold your breath and your underwater breathin'

…

All the freaky people make the beauty of the world.”

And I will confess here that I am truly one of the freaky people.   

Another favorite is “See you in the Light”

“I have been travelling down this river, so many rocks pop up in my sight.

I've got to make some quick decisions, should I go left or should I go right.

I pray for guidance and protection, it keeps my boat watertight.

But, I know if I just keep on believing, every little thing is gonna be alright.”

Michael Franti and Spearhead

     Michael and his band Spearhead came to Tucson this past weekend for a live concert at The Rialto, a  favorite small funky theater downtown. It was the perfect place for hundreds of loyal fans to rock out, dance, jump and sing along. I was there just a few rows from the stage.  What’s so interesting about  Michael’s concerts is that it doesn’t matter where you are as he circles the room many times and connects with a hug, a handshake, eye contact as many of his fans as possible. 

Michael pulled up our Canadian friend Erin and his "brother from another mother" to dance.

 He pulls many fans to the stage to dance and sing along with him and I have witnessed at this concert and others his bringing up groups of children and families, older people, anyone, to share the spotlight. 

Michael and children, singing "Say Hey, I Love You"

    

He made a special trip to the balcony and my friend Barbara and her companion got long juicy hugs, but so did a lot of others.  It’s always interesting to me when going to one of his concerts that his fans range in age from one to 99.  When I ask “why are you a fan” the answer always can be boiled down to one word:  positivity.   

     I had my magical Michael Franti moment when my daughter Isabella and I got to meet him earlier in the day.   I had entered a local radio station contest to win “VIP” seats at a much smaller concert on the roof of a local establishment, whose purpose was to raise money for breast cancer awareness.  Not only did I win the tickets but we sat on the front row not more than 6 feet from Michael and his guitarist Jay Boogie.  So close!  Later, because of my brand new friend Holly’s kindness (we did not win the raffle to meet Michael) we did get to meet him and have a brief conversation and our photos taken.  I slipped him my business card and mentioned I would be writing about him in my blog. Are you reading Michael?  Thanks for being an enormous force for good in our world!

     The thing I want to share with my readers, is that as wonderful as Michael’s message is, it is also incredible to me that so many people are responsive to hope, optimism, positivity, and goodness in such large numbers and with such unbounded joy. I am beginning to see this same response whether at a concert, on this blog, or in the street. Each one of us can make a positive difference for someone else.  It’s fabulous when one has amazing talent and uses it in wildly wonderful ways to bolster, serve, and love the world as my favorite musicians do. But is it not equally wonderful when we each in our own quiet ways serve each other, without hesitation or worry that it will be enough?

     One thing all three of these musicians have in common is a strong commitment to making the world a better place, not only through creating and sharing hope-filled and positive music but also through their individual efforts to contribute in the communities they travel through when presenting concerts. 

Brandi Carlile

Founded by Brandi Carlile in 2008, the mission of the Looking Out Foundation is to support, through music, humanitarian outreach efforts in local communities and beyond. The arts-based Foundation serves the chronically underserved through its ongoing philanthropic efforts and involvement with social issues. Brandi Carlile and her fans donate $1 from every concert ticket sold to The Looking Out Foundation, channeling hundreds of thousands of dollars and resources to organizations that support the arts, women, public health, the hungry and the homeless.  When Brandi was in Tucson August 2012 money was donated to Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault (SACASA).

https://www.facebook.com/LookingOutFoundation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkxyT27xRH0
Youtube for "Have You Ever"

Dar Williams

Dar Williams does something unusual and essential.  Every summer she appears at children’s summer camps to perform a one-set outdoor concert and spend the next day planting pollinator-friendly gardens.  Bees and other pollinators are failing in many places throughout North America and this is a cause that Dar is personally taking action on. 

http://campsandbeegardens.tumblr.com/

http://bit.ly/CampsAndBeeGardens

https://www.facebook.com/DarWilliamsOfficial?ref=br_tf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF7CYa_4EXE      
Youtube for "Whispering Pines"

Michael Franti

About eight weeks ago Michael Franti and his partner Sara Agah, an emergency room nurse, began the Do It For The Love Foundation.  Do It For Love is a wish-granting organization gifting people who are living with advanced stages of life threatening illnesses, children living with severe issues, and veterans coming home from war, live concert experiences and meet-and-greets with their favorite artists.  This is not just for MF concerts but could be for: opera, country and western, metal, or any other type of music.  The foundation’s purpose is to bring a meaningful concert and meeting of the artist experience to persons and their families who desire it.

http://doitforthelove.org/

https://www.facebook.com/michaelfranti

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehu3wy4WkHs   Music Video of "Say Hey ( I Love You)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gF0zCZMfIE    Video featuring recipient of the Do it For Love Foundation.  Amelie and her family meet Michael and then she sings "Somewhere over the Rainbow" to the crowd.  Recommended.

Felicia’s Top Played Tunes (as tracked by her iPod)

Gloria –Michael Franti and Spearhead

Stay Human-MF

Better Things- Dar Williams

Say Hey (I love you) MF

One Step Closer to You – MF

See you in the Light – MF

 The Story- Brandi Carlile

Anytime you Need Me – MF

Soulshine- MF

What do you Love More than Love-  DW

Shake It –MF

Have a Little Faith- MF

Hello Bonjour-MF

Is Love Enough – MF

Have you Ever- BC

The World’s Not Falling Apart- DW

Tolerance-MF

Love Invinceable-MF

With love and peace,

Namaste,

Felicia

Presence in the Face of Pain: Creating Support Instead of Suffering

“The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy.” 

                                                                                             ― Thích Nhất Hạnh

Jacquie Gregor

     Today I would like to share a story of one woman who has in the midst of her own health crisis found meaning by reaching out to others with similar illness. Jacquie Gregor’s story is one of courage and hope during the most trying times imaginable. After marrying her sweetheart Marlin in 2000, she returned from their Mexican honeymoon and was hospitalized with mysterious symptoms, unable to breathe on her own.  The medical system was stumped and she felt she was near death at age 39.  She asked Marlin to find books to read to her on  “how to die.”  She didn’t die and they found their way to Buddhist teachings and eventually to a local center that has been their spiritual home ever since. Jacquie continued to struggle with many difficult and baffling symptoms and lived in chronic pain until a mishap with a chiropractor and a trip to the emergency room where an older intuitive physician saw her, led to a diagnosis of Ankylosing Spondylitis (A.S.).

     “A.S. is a rheumatic disease that primarily affects the spine.  It is one condition among a group of disease called Spondylarthritis… Though A.S. primarily affects the spine, other parts of the body can be involved. All forms of Spondylarthritis including A.S. are chronic diseases.  Hence, a person currently diagnosed with A.S., given today’s knowledge, will have it some degree for the rest of his or her life. “ (Spondylitis Association of America).  Living with A.S. is challenging for Jacquie as she copes with many ongoing problems from the disease itself, but also from the medications necessary to slow it’s course and manage the worst symptoms.  She must take ongoing medication used in chemotherapy that causes nausea, fatigue and restless legs syndrome while the ongoing bony changes in her body, such as fused cervical vertebrae produce ongoing pain.

     There is no cure for A.S. and much is still being discovered about the disease.   Up to twenty years ago the typical profile of an A.S. patient was a Jewish male.  Women were rarely diagnosed at all and those who had the illness were instead labeled neurotic.  While there are over twenty genetic markers for AS, most insurance companies generally test for only one and this marker, the gene HLA-B27, is often negative in many women, including Jacquie.  Therefore, many women, including Jacquie have suffered greatly, not knowing why they were ill or what they could do to ameliorate their pain.

    

Jacquie with husband Marlin 

Jacquie’s biggest source of comfort has been Buddhist teachings and practice. She has, along with her husband Marlin, fully immersed herself at the Kadampa Meditation Center of Arizona and have eventually become teachers themselves. “This disease isn’t evil, it isn’t bad, it’s just an inconvenience because I would want to do other things.  In Buddhism we learn that everything appearing in our lives is related to karma so with my disease I focus on what I can do with it to make it a good experience.    For example, is pain the problem or is anger?"  It was with this mind and heart that Jacquie was moved to start a support group for persons with AS in Tucson in 2011.   At that time she had broken her left fibula and was unable to do the one thing that really helped her feel better which was to walk or hike regularly.  She said that at the time she started the group she felt very ill but also knew she wanted to do this, to make a difference for others. 

     Jacquie applied to the Spondylitis Association of America to start a support group in Tucson and learned that to lead a group she needed to be very knowledgeable about all facets of the disease in order to guide others, and would undergo a lengthy process including an interview series and a test to become a group leader.  She met the requirements and started the group that has met successfully for two years now.  Initially members travelled from Phoenix but because the disease is both fatiguing and painful making travel difficult, requests were made for Jacquie to lead a group there.  She quickly said yes but Marlin pointed out the obvious flaw in the plan  “If it’s hard for someone with A.S. to travel from Phoenix to Tucson, won’t it be just as hard for you to travel there?”  A beautiful compromise was reached in which Marlin drives Jacquie to Phoenix every other month so she can continue her mission. 

     Each support group has about twenty members although Jacquie says that attendance varies.  The youngest member is nine years old and his A.S. was found when he was playing sports.  Due to the difficulty in diagnosing the illness it is hard to say how many persons in Phoenix and Tucson live with A.S.  Her physician follows only eight patients with A.S. here. The group is significant for all who participate, “We all come together to talk about what we can do to live a happy life with this disease.”

     One of our mutual goals in writing about Jacquie’s story is getting out the word about A.S. as well as the local support groups.  In early stages it usually present as low back pain that is chronic but is relieved by exercise. It can appear in other areas of the body first.  Jacquie was diagnosed with chronic Iritis by her Ophthalmologist years before she received the A.S. diagnosis.  Iritis occurs in 30% of all AS patients.  It can also manifest as heart conditions and elsewhere. Young women with chronic back pain during puberty may soon be diagnosed by a sonogram (ultrasound) of the Achilles tendon.  What a vexing disease!  Exercise is extremely important in managing A.S. and Jacquie as a professional fitness coach before her diagnoses was in excellent condition.  She still exercises every day with the aid of a Pilates machine, which helps her gently stretch and strengthen her body.  “If you have spinal pain that doesn’t get better but improves with exercise, please go see your doctor.  It’s called arthritis because it has to do with the bones and the spine but this is not your grandmother’s arthritis.  It is and autoimmune disease and I must take approximately 15 medications just to balance everything out.”

     When Jacquie wrote to me she said, “I do not know about making a “Huge” difference. Perhaps making a difference begins with pain, this has been my reflection…. I reach out to the Arizona Communities by holding support groups for those that suffer with this disease or other Spondylarthopathies. I do this to give those that suffer a VOICE, a forum.”  I am coming to understand that the dedication Jacquie has shown in creating a space for people to come together for mutual support and comfort as deeply loving action. The following quotes are from the website The Faces of Ankylosing Spondlytis (see link below):

Deborah said, “I nominate Jacquie Gregor. She has A.S. but she fights through the pain of this disease and is always there for others. She truly has found peace. Jacquie is so beautiful, she’s aesthetically gorgeous, but she truly possesses that rare inner beauty we seek to find. She is intelligent. She has a wonderful husband who supports her; she gives as much to the relationship. If I didn’t believe in soul mates, one look at them or a picture and you will see it. Jacquie is very active in the community and her church. She teaches mediation classes. Jacquie is one of God’s Angels here on earth. I am blessed and a better person because she is a close friend. A.S. causes her a lot of pain, but you won’t hear her complain.”

Kathy said, “I would like to give an apple (from the artist Jennifer Visshcer http://thefeedingedge.com) to my sister, Jacquie, who has been suffering with A.S. for the past several years. She is a wonderful person who tries hard to live her life to the fullest despite her pain. She has a great deal of compassion for others, and shows it by devoting her life to others in need. She has touched the lives of many through her selfless acts of kindness by being present when so many in her life have suffered. She so often puts her needs aside so that others can depend on her for strength. She is a wonderful, caring person to everyone. I’m proud that she’s my sister.”

  When one person reaches out to another, with open hands and a loving heart I believe that we are making a difference and this is why I am becoming more committed every day to shining a light on these pure actions of those I encounter on my journey. 

Next week I will be writing about Finding Hope in Music. Send me your favorite uplifting and encouraging songs, orchestral pieces, funky jazz tunes, or even opera. Something for everyone!

Namaste,

Felicia

Please follow the links below to learn more about Ankylosing Spondylitis, Buddhism and The Kadampa Meditation Center of Tucson.

http://meditationintucson.org/

The Kadampa Meditation Center in Tucson where Jacquie and Marlin attend and teach.

http://thefacesofankylosingspondylitis.com/a-s-face-0377-jacquie

A link to the webpage "The Faces of Ankylosing Spondylitis"  You can read more about Jacquie and her journey here, as well as others who live with A.S.

http://www.spondylitis.org/patient_resources/sg_tucson.aspx

A link to the local chapter of the A.S. support group that Jacquie leads.  

And all are welcome to attend a special meeting featuring local newsman Chuck George who will be discussing his personal experiences with chronic depression on December 7. This meeting combines both Phoenix and Tucson support groups but anyone is invited to attend.

The Tanque Verde Lutheran Church located

8625 E Tanque Verde Rd in Tucson.  We will be in Linder Hall on the Southeast corner of the complex.  

www.tvlc.org/contact-and-location

The Date:         December 7 (Saturday)

Time:                3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. 

The  meeting will feature Chuck George of Tucson  

http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/22146806/chuck-george-ready-to-return-hopes-his-story-helps-others

www.sonotronics.com

Sonotronics is the company co-owned by Jacquie and Marlin. They manufacture ultrasonic transmitters and receivers to track animals in the water and relocate underwater equipment. 

Befriending the Detained: A Life in Pursuit of Peace, Justice and Reconciliation

“Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.”

                                                                      —Buddha

Tina Schlabach with husband Jay Schlabach

     Imagine, if you will, being far away from home. Separated from everyone that you love and the only life you have ever known. Let the scene in your mind grow as you then picture your currently bleak surroundings, sinking into the realization that you have no way of knowing what your fate will be, when you will see your family next, or if you will ever be released from the facility you are being held in. Your crime? Choosing to leave desperate circumstances in the land that you love and seeking out new opportunities for work, education, and basic necessities for yourself and your children in the land of opportunity. The USA has been a beacon of hope for immigrants for hundreds of years and it is no less so today. Many come here seeking what those of us who are already citizens currently enjoy, usually by virtue of our birth to parents already citizens. While worthwhile discussions are being held on the merits and problems of immigration reform in the USA, and policies are slowly changing, real human beings are living their day to day lives doing the best they can to create better lives for themselves and their families and sometimes getting caught in the maelstrom of numerous forces that affect their journeys in various ways. When thinking of this issue in our country, I always think it helpful to stop for moment and think, “what would I do if I were a very poor Latina woman, a single mother with several children who were hungry?  What would I do if I was unable to find work and a relative who was an American citizen promised me a very good job, ample food, good educations for my kids and relatively good pay for a hard days work, if I could somehow make it to Arizona? What would I do if I was currently scavenging for decaying food to eat and paltry scraps to sell from the giant trash dumps in Nogales?" When I ask myself those questions the answer is clear.  I would do what any mother would do.  I would do whatever it took to keep my kids safe, fed and would try to give them a better future even if it meant leaving my home, taking a treacherous journey and taking many risks.

     I met Tina Schlabach 15 years ago at Shalom Mennonite Fellowship where she was the associate pastor. After ten years at Shalom Tina, her husband Jay, and three children moved to Goshen, Indiana so she could pursue a Masters Degree of Divinity and fulfill a long time dream of being an ordained Mennonite Minister. She received her degree and served the Waterford Mennonite Church in Goshen for nine years, recently returning to Tucson. Although she was a congregational pastor in Goshen, Tina now is exploring ways to utilize her many skills as a community based pastor here. “I am discovering what it means to be a Mennonite minister in the community. I always wanted to be in the community more, and now is my chance.  It feels very right.  It’s not always easy but I’m grateful.  My comfort zone is expanding.” 

     Tina is currently involved with three different pastoral pursuits in Tucson. For the past year she has been regularly visiting immigrant women, detained at local facilities. These women are usually separated from their families and children and are very stressed because of this. Tina feels that these women are an invisible part of the immigration system. “For me to go into these facilities and sit with these women and let them know they’re not alone, that they are remembered is important.”  She tries to visit twice a month, and also writes letters to the women in detention. “Getting a letter is a big deal for these women.” Tina became involved with this ministry through Casa Mariposa, a Tucson interfaith community and frequently travels with another Casa member for her visits.

From the Casa Mariposa Website:

Mission Statement: “Nourished and empowered by the Spirit, the Casa Mariposa community seeks to live in right relationship with one another, the community, and the earth through hospitality, simple and sustainable living, playful spirituality, and peaceful, prophetic action.”

The Restoration Project is work carried out by the community of Casa Mariposa in support and solidarity with women and men being held in immigration detention centers in Arizona.

   “An immigration attorney told me about Casa Mariposa. I attended one of their Wednesday community dinners and was drawn in right away. Through Casa Mariposa I met Beth Riehle, a Catholic working in trauma healing from El Paso, TX, who invited me to join the Capacitar en la Frontera training going on in El Paso.  She opened the door for me, and I am so grateful to learn the Capacitar traditional practices for self-care and healing.”

     Capacitar is an international movement for trauma healing and transformation. It draws from both traditional indigenous practices of many cultures and also Eastern healing traditions. The focus is body-centered healing and stress reduction using a variety of holistic practices including Tai Chi, meditation, visualization and breathwork, active listening and simple psychotherapeutic skills, acupressure for alleviating pain and stress, energy tapping modalities, hand massage, seated massage and other wellness modalities. To become a Capacitar practitioner requires a minimum one-year commitment of four sessions, an internship and also a willingness to practice and incorporate these practices into ones own life. Capacitar is being used extensively now in the border areas of Juarez and El Paso, the La Frontera movement, Borderlinks, among social activists in Chiapas, Mexico and in many areas around the world.    

     Tina is three-quarters of the way through her initial training and is already facilitating Capacitar practices within her work at El Rio Clinic within the Life Enhancement Program (LEP).  LEP is a ten-week course that serves 20 persons per session every Wednesday morning. The LEP team consists of a: social worker, fitness professional, nutritionist, doctor, and a spirituality consultant.  This group work can be life changing for the motivated individuals who come ready to do the work of making long term changes in their overall health and well being. 

     Tina hopes to use her training to lead Capacitar practice groups for immigrant women at detention facilities as soon as she can obtain the necessary approval to do so. As an ordained minister she must undergo extensive processes, such as background checks, lengthy orientations, and more, to have the ability to provide Capacitar groups for these women in need. She is willing to do whatever is necessary so that she can provide additional tools to women so they can take care of themselves mentally, emotionally and spiritually during this most difficult time in their lives.

     When I asked Tina how she found herself called to this work, and what informed her sense of peace and justice she told me that “I knew clearly that I felt called to work on some little piece of justice work in our broken immigration system when we planned to return to Tucson.” Knowing Tina’s Mennonite heritage I was curious if that played into her vocational decisions as well. “The most important biblical insight my Mennonite faith tradition has given to me is that peacemaking was  - and is  - at the heart of the good news that Jesus embodied. Peacemaking, with its essential elements of justice, forgiveness, mercy, reconciliation, is not an add-on, optional part of the Christian faith.  It is the core.” 

     I knew from my own personal experiences with prison visitation that entering a locked down facility can take a lot out of a person, and that is with the knowledge that you can leave at the end of the day. I wondered if it is hard for Tina to visit detention centers on a regular basis, to walk with women who are struggling and how she copes with difficult feelings. She said with all of the work she is doing now in Tucson that it was important for her to be centered, so she doesn’t get dispersed, and noted that since she is no longer part of a set ministry team but instead sees a variety of people throughout her week in different settings this creates a new dynamic for her. It is therefore imperative to keep up with her own spiritual practices and to be sure that she does community work from a place of center and balance.  “I am creating as I go along.” I asked her what she does to create balance in her spiritual and physical life and she mentioned several things.

1)   Walking and running every morning with her dog friend Penny.  Taking breaks on the trail for stretching and prayer.          

2)   Yoga and Chi Gong, interspersed with walking above.

3)   Sitting  for ten minutes of silence.

4)   Keeping a journal.

5)   Reading Scripture.

6)   Attending Centering Prayer at the Benedictine Monastery in Tucson on Monday nights.

7)   See her Spiritual Director once a month.

8)   Attending a women’s group.

9)   Attending a weekly community meal at Casa Mariposa.

     Tina notes that while she tries to be disciplined and regular, she does not do every item on the list every day. In addition to her work with El Rio, women in our local detention centers, and her daily responsibilities as a mother and householder, Tina also works as a Spiritual Director out of her home office for two days a week, providing gentle, skilled support and guidance for those seeking a friend for the contemplative practice of sacred listening. (see website below for more information)

     Tina is faithfully showing up for women who often have no one else to encourage them or simply be present with them as a friend and companion. She is boldly exploring and learning practices new and unfamiliar, with the hope of facilitating compassionate healing among many persons, most whom she has yet to meet.  She continues to quietly do the work she has been called to do in her community and among friends and family. As we ended our conversation the other day she gave me these parting words: “All injustice is related. All peacemaking is related. We need to figure out our piece, and figure out where our hearts burn to do something. We can trust that others are doing another piece.” 

Indeed. I know this to be true, and ask you, where does your heart burn?  What stories would you like to share? Please send me a note via the blog contact form or to felicialowery@gmail.com 

Namaste,

Felicia

Information and links from this blog entry:

If you have interest in learning more about issues facing immigrants in the Tucson area please visit the Casa Mariposa website and consider attending one of their community meals every Wednesday at 6:00pm.  All are welcome and this is a good opportunity to connect with others who are interested in reconciliation, peace and justice.

Casa Mariposa:

 http://restorationproject340.wordpress.com/

To learn more about Capacitar visit their website and consider getting involved with this very useful and practical work.

Capacitar:

http://www.capacitar.org/

Shalom Mennonite Fellowship:

 http://www.shalommennonite.org/


Spiritual Direction Website with more information about Spiritual Direction and a  comprehensive listings of Spiritual Directors in many areas.

Spiritual Direction:
http://sdiworld.org/