Dear John,

Thank you to all those who joined us for the Local Peace Economy meeting last night!

We loved sharing our recent lessons with you and hearing from you about what you've been learning along your local peace economy journeys. Some insights we heard last night were:

• Fear takes us out of wholeness. Is what we're experiencing as fear real fear, and can we doing anything about it?
• The joy we find in nature is an antidote to anger and frustration.
• The blinders to evidence are becoming narrower and narrower. Evidence will speak to us in the place we are grounded.
• We can use art to express our profound experiences with the natural world that are beyond words. We are creative, just like the natural world. This art becomes inspiration for others to do the same and change our ways of thinking.
• "How is it, living in this extraordinary richness, that we have come to be indifferent?" —Jo
• Revolutionary optimism is a place to come back to in this work, amidst the horror and sadness.
• This learning is an embodied process—not a mental or intellectual one.

If you want to revisit the insights from our gathering (there were many, and they were rich!), or if you weren’t able to join us, you can watch the recording of last night's call.

We are modifying our summer meeting schedule to one meeting a month. Our next meeting will be Wednesday, July 17th at 5:00pm PT/8:00pm ET.

Our hope is that this modified schedule allows you more time to connect with your communities, be in the soil, practice, and learn. At the end of last night's call, Jodie invited us all to make one commitment for the next month, until we gather again. Is there a pivot that calls to you that you'll commit to practicing? Do you want to intentionally practice listening, mapping, organizing, or one of the other local peace economy capacities? Is there a specific way you can commit to deepening your relationship with your community? Make one commitment, write it down, and return to it over the next month. We can't wait to hear what you learn on our next call on July 17th!

In the meantime, we'd love to continue to hear about what you're learning! Join the local peace economy listserve to stay connected and continue learning with others in between our calls! You can join the listserve here.

If you have an idea for a local peace economy project and would like specific support bringing it to life, reach out to Emily at [email protected] to set up a time to talk!

Local Peace Economy Webinar: Tools for the Journey

On July 2nd, we'll be hosting a Local Peace Economy toolsharing webinar in which we'll reveal our new local peace economy website! The new website is an interactive way to deepen your experience of The Local Peace Economy Workbook and can support you in tending to your heart, connecting locally, and getting inspired. We've been working hard on this resource, and we can't wait to share it with you! In the meantime, you can get a sneak peek in this recording of our Gaza Summer School session this past Monday.

Links shared during the call:

• Watch the recording of Monday's Gaza Summer School session all about the local peace economy!
• "Reconnecting" by Looby Macnamara
• Local Peace Economy Padlet — see who is near you!

Other supportive resources:

• Download The Local Peace Economy Workbook (free digital version)
• Purchase The Local Peace Economy Workbook (physical copy)
• Video introduction to the workbook
• Resources for the Cycle of (Re)connection
• Local Peace Economy Ecosystem
• Local Peace Economy Wiki
• CODEPINK Radio Ep. 242: The Local Peace Economy

If you have any questions, please email Emily at [email protected]. We look forward to seeing you on July 17th!

Onwards to peace,

Jodie and Emily

Reconnecting (excerpt)
by Looby Macnamara

Reconnecting with my joy for life,
I appreciate being alive in this time.
I feel gratitude for the wonders around and within.
As I sense the timeless beauty expressed in the heart of a daisy,
I reconnect with the radiant beauty
travelling through the centre of my eyes.

Reconnecting with the splendour present in
every humming insect, in every bird in flight,
in every whispering of the leaves,
I touch the icy fear present in me, that one day
these treasures will be lost from our world.
Reconnecting with the well of sorrow that lives inside my belly and travels so deep,
my endless tears mourn what we have lost,
and my desire to protect is awakened.

[...]

Opening my eyes to the challenges of our times,
I welcome the possibilities and 
opportunities for change and growth.
I reconnect with a fuller vision of what is possible
for myself and the world.
Reconnecting with strands of life woven between generations,
I feel myself as part of the community of all life.
Reconnecting with the reassuring presence of the Milky Way,
time and space stretch and I know not what to expect.
Reconnecting with collective and self responsibility,
I realise we are too powerful not to make a difference
and I find the courage to take a step forward.