Peace Treatments

We went out to the wilderness about an hour or so east of us yesterday. We wandered thru one hundred year old tunnels, an old growth forest, and watched salmon in a crazy fast river stopped in a pool, resting. It was quite the sight actually. A clump of about 2 dozen or so salmon, all stopped, side by side, gathering their strength for the next set of crazy, high, fast, rapids that were only about 25 yards upstream from them. We waited and waited to see them attempt the falls, and gave up waiting, on account that they were resting longer than we were prepared to wait. (there's a lesson in there too I think) Walking further on downstream from the resting salmon, we came upon another set of fast rapids, over jagged, ragged, rocks, and I thought, "yeah, no wonder they're having to rest". Not only had they come thru some dangerous, and exhausting rapids, but they had an even larger rapids and falls still to get through. But before the attempt, they were quietly...

Here's what came to me as I was driving today. Genesis 4 tells us about the story of Cain and Abel. Now I've heard many theories as to why God favoured Abel's offering over Cain's, the most common being that Abel gave God "the firstborn", meaning first fruits, while Cain gave God simple "fruit from the ground". I've also heard it said that Abel's offering involved a blood sacrifice, while Cain's did not. However, nothing in the telling of the story supports those reasons. For one thing, one would have to assume that there was already a written code or law concerning blood and other sacrifices, and in fact, there was nothing encoded in the law about sacrifices until Moses. But I digress. What is interesting in the story of Cain and Abel is that we often read it as an event that transpired very quickly ie: two brothers come and sacrifice, one is rejected, gets mad, gets jealous and murders his brother, end of story. However, something jumpe...

I read a lot of books! Particularly when it comes to leadership, communication and conflict transformation. What I find so interesting, and even faithbuilding, is that many of the authors, most of whom write from a secular and or humanist perspective, espouse "theories" that have much truth in them. For example, in Marlilee Adams book, "Change Your Questions, Change Your Life" (Barret-Koehler Publishers, Inc.) she writes a simple, easy to remember "strategy" for when we find ourselves reacting in judgement to someone. She acronym's it with ABCC: A - awareness B - breathe C - curious C - choice Adams says that we humans almost always react to circumstances involving other people from a judger perspective, and when we do this, we tend to ask questions like "who's fault is this" and "how can I prove I'm right", or "how can I get them to do what I want", thereby leading each into the typical power struggle that occ...

There is always a way that seems right to man. There is always a way that is unsure. There are always questions that need asking and answers that need questioning. And through it all, we are on a road well travelled. We don't always see our destination; sometimes we miss the markers or due to hazards and construction, need to take detours. And still, we stay on the well travelled road. I am staying on my well traveled road, this road I've been on for many years now, that one that has been preparing me for where I will eventually go. Having been on this road for so long, there is a real temptation to take the exit ramp to a "tourist attraction" and stop the journey for awhile, and just rest. In hindsight and reflection, I see the offer of the restorative action position as being that "tourist attraction" and this time, at least, I'm not to take the ramp, but rather, am to stay on my well travelled road, if for just a little bit longer. If I had my way...

When the sun went down one evening last week, as I admired it, and took this photo, it did not occur to me not to trust that it would come up again the next morning. Nor did it occur to me to pray for clarity so that I could know for sure that it would indeed come up, or what to do in preparation for it's arrival. The sun setting and rising everyday is a "given". Knowing that it happens does not require clarity, and we automatically trust that it will do what it is supposed to do. I understand that we all need clarity sometimes, and am beginning to understand that clarity is not half as important as trust. A man seeking his life's purpose went to Calcutta to meet with Mother Theresa. She asked him, "how would you have me pray?" The man said, "pray that I will have clarity." Mother Theresa said, "no, I will not pray that you have clarity, I will pray that you have trust." I have come to believe that I have a life purpose, which in...

In 2003, while starting my training in restorative justice mediation, there was a man from South Africa in my class. He told us about the Truth and Reconciliation work that his country was doing. He did not gloss it over. He said that truth, forgiveness and reconciliation comes hard, with a price sometimes, and that there are many who do not see the value in forgiveness; they want revenge and don't want to see their enemies forgiven. This has long been the human condition, hasn't it? Jonah did not want to see God extend his Grace and Mercy to the people of Ninevah; he wanted to see those people punished. We humans have a much harder time with forgiveness then we think. While we want forgiveness and mercy for ourselves, we sometimes secretly hope that somehow it will be missed by our enemies. I was talking to my husband about this while camping this past week. We talked about how some believe that there are "some sins" that are just unforgivable. I do not bel...

There has been this prevailing desire within me to get a degree. For several years now I've wanted to attend Trinity Western University and complete either a psychology or sociology degree. Then, from there, to complete a masters degree in conflict management. Time and money have been the reasons that I've put off actually doing it. Excuses maybe? But why not? So, I took a step a few weeks ago. I sent an email to the admissions department, basically laid it all out there, as in "hi, I'm a 48 yr old women, working professional, who dropped out of highschool...what are the chances of TWU admitting me?" I received a call back a few days later. The lady on the phone explained PLAR (prior learning and life experience) and I'm now enrolling in a PLA course where they will help me put together a porfolio of all my prior learning, life and work experience, volunteer experience and, yes, even the self learning I've done by way of books I've read. Interest...