Dear John,

Hello, beloved peacemakers. How is your practice going? Where are your pivots taking you? How are you showing yourself and others care along your journey back to our Home Sweet Home? Here are some supportive resources along the way…

Our next Local Peace Economy Community Call is on Wednesday, February 28th at 5:00 PT/8:00 ET.

During this call, we’ll be reflecting on grief and why we must open to it and feel it along our local peace economy journeys. You can find more information about grief on page 100 of The Local Peace Economy Workbook.

If you joined us for our last call, we’re looking forward to hearing about how care has shown up for you over the last two weeks.

If you weren't able to be with us during our last meeting, we missed you, and we hope to see you this time! You can catch up on our last call here. You can also watch the recording of our introduction to the Local Peace Economy Workbook during our first meeting here.

Local Peace Economy Community Calls take place every other Wednesday at 5:00 PT/8:00 ET. Newcomers are always welcome. Stay up to date on all of CODEPINK’s events here.

Next Community Call Topic: Grief

Dominant U.S. culture is afraid of grief. We avoid it, staying busy or focusing on more “positive” emotions, so that we don’t have to feel the pain of loss. But there is a danger in avoiding grief: unprocessed grief comes out in the form of violence.

There is so much to grieve in the war economy - including the many ways we have been separated from life and our natural ways of being together and caring for one another, the earth, and ourselves.

Grief is a teacher. If we are willing to meet it, we will learn from its wisdom. What are you grieving right now? What grief do you need to tend to in order to be able to move with more freedom, authenticity, and responsibility?

Pivot to Peace

Distraction to Attention

The war economy intentionally keeps us distracted - including from our grief - so that our attention is not available for what really matters. With less distraction, we would see through the lies of the war economy and bring our attention to creating new ways of living together that meet our needs in community.

When or where do you notice yourself becoming distracted continuously? What purpose is that distraction serving? Are you willing to commit to one moment of attentiveness each day where there has previously been distraction? If so, what arises in that newly opened space?

Read more about the pivots to peace here.

Inspiration for the Journey

Wondering what local peace economies look like in action? The Local Peace Economy Wiki is full of stories that light the way for our own journeys. As you reflect on your own grief, this story about community grief rituals in Berkeley, CA at last year’s Bioneers conference illuminates the importance of grief in local peace economy work and the healing that can happen when we grieve in community.

Resources

You can always find more resources for your local peace economy journey on CODEPINK’s website. Here are some helpful links:

• Lean into supported reflection by downloading or purchasing The Local Peace Economy Workbook
• Tend to yourself with The Cycle of (Re)connection
• Find a community of practice with The Local Peace Economy Ecosystem
• Get inspired by The Local Peace Economy Wiki

Please email Emily at [email protected] with any questions. We look forward to being with you on Wednesday, February 28th!

With so much tenderness, 

Jodie and Emily

PS: If you missed our first email introducing The Local Peace Economy Workbook, you can learn more about it here!