I have never done origami before and so our event on November 15 when we will do an act of peace and create the peace cranes is brand new to me. in this post I will tell you that I started practicing this art just two nights ago and after about my 4th crane, they were starting to look like cranes and not to bad, though I still needed some assistance on the head and opening the wings.
Later this morning I will put a photo up of my best one so far, but I also encourage you to start creating some on your own. Here is a link on how to create a crane. If you need paper ask me and I will give you some or you can stop by Michael’s and get some paper to practice with. More on the significance of the peace crane in a post later this week.
In my study of peace there is a young man that has stood out in his ability to put into words very simply, life lessons that takes many of us years to understand. His name is Mattie Stepanek. Now while he is no longer here with us today, his words and spirit is still having an affect on all who read his poetry. In a new piece of work that I am using to learn peace, Mattie is noted as a peacemaker.
Next week I will be posting about his life. In the mean time enjoy this poem he wrote that I believe describes how I am trying to live my life. To see this new site please go to the Learn Peace website.
Facing the Future
Every journey begins
With but a small step.
And every day is a chance
For a new, small step
In the right direction.
Just follow your Heartsong.
by Mattie Stepanek
From the book HOPE THROUGH HEARTSONGS
This Saturday according to an announcement in the paper last night, there will be an Agricultural Education Day in Harwood Maryland at the corner of Rt 2 South and Birdsville Road. The event will be held from 11 AM to 6 PM with all sorts of displays and demonstrations. Though I have not been to this event before, it sounds like an interesting event with the opportunity to get to learn a little more about our local food producers.
For more information you can go to their site at Agricultural Day. I am going to try to spend a little bit of time their myself, as I am interested in promoting the idea of awareness of where our food comes from and getting to know and appreciate our local farmers. Maybe we will see you there.
This week the reports came out showing improvement in the academic test scores across the State of Maryland. While that is good, and the closing of the gap of test scores across the board of students is a good accomplishment, we should remember that education is not just about test scores. Nor is it about one’s physical prowess as a sports star, or how many toys you will be able to collect after getting this education.
It is about children growing up to be happy, productive and useful members of society. Growing into adulthood with a love for life, with compassion and empathy for others. Our goal here at Balanced Life Skills is to support every child’s most important teacher, their parents, reinforcing all of the lessons they hope for their child to learn.
I have been giving a lot of thought to the place that we find ourselves, with increase pressure from the economy and the price of gasoline and all the other pressures that we feel environmentally. I have noted before that when we approach any challenge or problem we should do so out of love and not out of fear or anger.
It is because of those thoughts that I believe it is the time as never before to look at living our lives with more simplicity. At the end of the day, it is never the things that we have accumulated that make the difference in our lives, but rather the ability to recognize the small miracles that happen around us every day and our ability to share them with others and especially our family.
Maybe the time has come to pay attention to our lives and insist on them being less cluttered, and ultimately less stressful. Simplifying may be the answer. All the things we gather really are just props, simplicity allows us to be us and to see and love the things that are really important.
How do you feel about this subject? click on comments at the top and let me know.
This past weekend Karen & I made a trip to the Dupont Circle farmers market. This is one of those things that you wouldn’t do every weekend, but every once in a while is a real treat. First of all the vegetables are amazing, fresh milk, cheeses, flowers, bread. everything you could ever want to eat and things you never knew about.
I have learned about chard and beet greens. This week I got just picked onions and garlic bulbs. I saw the most purple eggplant I have ever seen and beautiful golden beets.
When we were done there is a wonderful independent bookstore/cafe just down the street called Kramers. We went there for brunch and of course some book browsing. My son Sean went with us and he likes the bookstore so much he skipped the brunch. Go figure. If you ever have the opportunity to take a Sunday morning you can do the trip down and be back by noon or 1 PM and have a wonderful time. This is a great trip with the kids too. they get to see great farm products, meet farmers and enjoy the kids section (small) at the book store.
Why am I talking about the farmers markets so much. I really believe that this is a way for us to eat better and to introduce our children to farmers as well as lessen our footprint on the planet. More to come from markets in our own neighborhoods.
It was 2 Sundays ago my wife and I went up to the Baltimore Farmers market. The photo here was one of the more early popular farm stands. This family had fresh peas, coolers filled with them, and a long line to get some of them. If you go to the photo album you will see photos of some of the stands and the people we met. I will try to introduce some of them to you over the next few weeks along with other markets.
One I would like to highlight now is Gloria. You will see my son Sean with her. She is an artist who makes paintings and art work out of ‘makeup’. It is beautiful. More interesting her marketing plan is that nothing is priced that is on her table. If you want a piece of art you may have it for a contribution of what you choose to contribute. She only wants to provide art as a way to promote peace.
This is a great family trip for an early Sunday morning. Give it a try one weekend!
Your dad is a very special person. It was something that I did not really have in my life. My father passed away when I was 14 and had been sick and bed ridden from the time I was about 5 or 6 years old. There was no ball playing or him attending any of the activities I was involved in. In fact there were very few activities for me. My time was spent as a young person when not in school as a caretaker and a baby sitter, even when I was very young.
Having said all of that though, and after watching the reports on TV about the passing of Tim Russert there are a couple of thoughts that come to mind. I hear too many children of all ages, including Tim, that report that their dad was not one to tell their children that they love them, to actually use those words. I have that memory too. Now I am not sure how true it is, but I would think that my own children would probably say that too. As a dad I am going to make a commitment to myself to not just demonstrate love in what and how I do things with the kids, but actually say the words – not in passing – but in a meaningful way, often.
Fathers Day is a special day for telling dad you love him, but maybe it can be a day for dad to think about how we as fathers interact with our loved ones and especially our children. HAPPY FATHERS DAY!
This past month, my wife and I have been visiting and doing our major grocery shopping at markets around the area. This past week with the new market in downtown Annapolis, I thought it would be a good idea to show some photos of this market and encourage everyone to come out and support our local farmers. Over the next few weeks I will highlight some of the markets and its vendors.
When we buy locally produced food there are many advantages, including the amount of fuel that is spent getting food to our markets. I have been very impressed with the quality of the food and of course the freshness of everything. Karen & I go down to the market in DC at Dupont Circle where we can even get milk and some other pretty amazing things. I will share that market with you later.
But the Annapolis Market, though small right now, has some of the same producers that the big market has. This week besides the tomaotes, asparagus, and other vegetables and greens we were able to get, we have enjoyed a great quiche, and empanadas. Here are some photos from Annapolis. By the way I am working on a school trip to a local farm. My understanding is that we will get to meet the farmers and then we will have a meal prepared for us to enjoy from all the fresh ingredients from the farm. How cool is that?
Here is a link to the group that runs the market in Annapolis. Fresh Farm Market
I have included the word Art in our tag line, first because what we are teaching is an art, but only one art among so many. I happen to believe that art is one of the most important things that we have as a society. It does so much for us as humans and especially our children, that when I see it being short changed in the education system, I know that the harmful effects are more than we can imagine. Here is a short talk that really nailed it on this subject.
Finally there will be more about our first art show at the studio, that I know I said was off, but I am putting it back in again. The story on that will be told soon.
I have put this under Peace Education. I believe that before peace can happen in the world or in our lives, we must know how and be allowed to be creative in our approach to solving conflicts.
Balanced Life Skills is OPEN and operating on normal schedule. The 
