Here at It's a Simple Life, we strive to be in season with the many natural rhythms as well as all the different cycles that flow around us. The wheel of the year takes us on a wonderful journey with many reasons to celebrate. Whether a certain holiday is upon us, a birthday, or our trees have sprouted their first fruitful buds, following the seasonal rhythm provides an ebb and a flow to our daily life, much like the rising and setting of the sun. When you bring simple celebrations into your daily/weekly life, you're bringing more intention into your life. By choosing to create a life pregnant with meaning, intention, joy, and awareness your allowing yourself to fall into a space free from chaos and be within that space of creativity and expression. Living simply and allowing the natural rhythms of the world to come into your life frees you to 'celebrate' each day you are given. It frees you from the mundane chores of an overly stuffed with dwelling, it frees you from the hours upon hours that is wasted in front of T.V.,it frees you from the worry of 'what have I forgotten to do today?'. It is our goal at It's a Simple Life to give you ideas on how you can free yourself from those things that drain the energy from your life experiences and help create an environment to celebrate what ever it is you would like to honor in your life.
Today.......we will honor the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I have been to the mountaintop {and} I have seen the promised land." ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
A man with such a legacy so deeply rooted in the history of the world is an emotional and powerful lesson for our children as well as for ourselves. Today, as they (and we) see wars rage, anger, and despair, there is no voice to be heard in the way Dr. King's voice was heard. Our ears and hearts need to be stretched to hear the voices of those holding the torch that has been passed on to their care. Our children haven't hear a modern version of the speech "I have a Dream". They haven't heard the likes of "I've been to the Mountaintop". Their hearts have not been inspired by the speech "Loving your Enemies". No voice from our time has shared words so moving, so desperately needed to hear; this is the importance of keeping Dr. King's flame aglow. Our children need to hear these words, we need to hear these words. They (we) need to feel the passion and the power behind the voice, the eyes, and the heart that wanted to see freedoms and justice for his country, the world. It is important to share with our children the importance of peace, freedom, and equality for all who live on this Earth, for all inhabitants.
"Let us not see to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred." ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
When I was younger, maybe around 5 or 6 years old I remember learning about Dr. King in school. On the eve of our national holiday to remember this man I felt quite forlorn and bewildered. I wandered over to my neighbors house and began to cry. My neighbor took me into her lap and asked me to explain why I was so upset and I began to retell the tale of Dr. King and his life (the way I understood it) and that he had just passed away. She looked at me gently and realized that the piece that I didn't understand was that Dr. King and his life story had not happened during my lifetime, but many decades earlier. I remember her soft smile and gentle voice as she retold me that story of his life, being very much centered on the timing (using words like "in the old days" and "many, many years before you were born"). She didn't, however, tell me not to be sad or somehow make me feel as if my mourning was less than simply because his life and death happened decades before I was even born. I was allowed to process, and wonder, ask questions, and then eventually understand.........the best I could at such a tender age. Nonetheless, it was that moment that I remember thinking I will always hold his story close to my heart and will always be sure to remember what an amazing gift his life was to our world.
Creating your own Peace Tree
The idea behind this tree is to bring a model of Peace from around the globe into your home, school, or place of worship. This tree represents justice, tolerance, love, kindness, and the hope for peace, between everyone and everything. It's for those reasons why I felt this would be a lovely way to hold Dr. King in the Light.
First, choose your tree. You may gather some branches and place them in a vase or pot, use an actual potted, living tree, paint your tree as a mural on a wall or as a drawing on a good sized piece of paper. Whatever it is you are moved to do......!
Second, download this page from the website: Peace Tree Day: symbols On this page you will see "Symbols in alphabetical order". These are the symbols you can use to decorate your tree with.
To create your symbols, well.......the sky's the limit! You can use paper, clay, wood, tile, felt.......whatever you have on hand or whatever you feel called to use to create your symbols. We decided to make a salt dough and cut out some of the symbols through that modality. Others we cut out of paper, felt and bamboo sticks. It was what we had on hand! If you choose to use tile or wood, you'll need a drill to put the hole into the top for hanging. You can also chose to spray your painted pieces with an Acrylic sealer to help preserve them.
Instructions for Salt Dough Symbols
Your will need:
1 cup of salt
2 cups of flour
1 cup of water
extra flour or kneading and rolling out
rolling pin
a chopstick or other similar shaped object to make the hole on top for hanging
toothpicks or other objects to help with decorating
acrylic paints
glitter, beads, feathers, string, etc.
extra flour or kneading and rolling out
rolling pin
a chopstick or other similar shaped object to make the hole on top for hanging
toothpicks or other objects to help with decorating
acrylic paints
glitter, beads, feathers, string, etc.
Preheat your over to 250 degree
Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness on your lightly floured surface.
At this time, you can cut a square piece off the larger piece to make it easier to cut out your symbol. It would be simplest to have a sketch handy or picture of your symbol in front of you to help inspire your cutting!
Now you can embellish your symbols with some impressions to help bring our more definition to your symbol. The Jain Hand, for example, has a sunburst on the palm which you might like to create before your symbol is baked so when you paint it, the impression is there. Don't forget to punch a hole in your symbol to thread some string through so that you can hang them on your tree!!!
Now you can embellish your symbols with some impressions to help bring our more definition to your symbol. The Jain Hand, for example, has a sunburst on the palm which you might like to create before your symbol is baked so when you paint it, the impression is there. Don't forget to punch a hole in your symbol to thread some string through so that you can hang them on your tree!!!
Place your cutouts on a baking tray and put them in your preheated oven for about 2 hours.
Once your symbols have cooled, let the children decorate them as they wish with what you have!
Once they are dried, spray the painted symbols with the acrylic sealer, if you chose! They will need a few extra moments to dry before you thread them.
Now, with reverence and intention.......feel the Peace that has been felt by so many. Send it out through your heart and into the world so that little bit of your sunshine may dance with those who, like you, feel the 'Testament of Hope' through the shared vision of Peace.
Recommended reading:
*this book talks about the life and death of Dr. King, so if you have yet to discuss death with your children you might want to read this prior to sharing so you'll be prepared to answer questions that will naturally arise.*
And because this man is one of my all time favorite artists, Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), I had to include this in our remembrance and celebration of one of the many who have stepped on to the Peace Train. "Come on and join the living. It's not so far from you."
Now I've been happy lately
Thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be
Something good has begun
I've been smiling lately
Dreaming about the world as one
And I believe it could be
Something goods bound to come
For out on the edge of darkness
There runs the peace train
Peace train take this country
Come take me home again
Peace train sounding louder
Ride on the peace train
Hoo-ah-eeh-ah-hoo-ah
Come on the peace train
Peace train's a holy roller
Everyone jump upon the peace train
Hoo-ah-eeh-ah-hoo-ah
This is the peace train
Get your bags together
Come bring your good friends too
Because it's getting nearer
Soon it will be with you
Come and join the living
It's not so far from you
And it's getting nearer
Soon it will all be true
Peace train sounding louder
Ride on the peace train
Hoo-ah-eeh-ah-hoo-ah
Come on the peace train
I've been crying lately
Thinking about the world as it is
Why must we go on hating?
Why can't we live in bliss?
For out on the edge of darkness
There rides the peace train
Peace train take this country
Come take me home again
Peace train sounding louder
Ride on the peace train
Hoo-ah-eeh-ah-hoo-ah
Come on the peace train
Come on, come on, come on the peace train...