Dear John,

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

We left feeling really nourished by all your sharing, and we hope you did as well! As you take back your life from the war economy, grief will continue to arise, and it needs to be tended to. Grief can feel so heavy, and at the same time, as we discussed during the call, it is also another way love takes shape. 

"Grief and love are sisters, woven together from the beginning. Their kinship reminds us that there is no love that does not contain loss and no loss that is not a reminder of the love we carry for what we once held close." -Francis Weller, The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief

If you want to revisit the content from the meeting, or if you weren’t able to join us, you can watch the recording of last night's call.

If you want to deepen your reflection about grief, you can find additional prompts beginning on page 100 of The Local Peace Economy Workbook.

You can also find other resources and practices to support you as you touch into your grief in our Cycle of (Re)connection library. If you're not sure where to start, we recommend:

• Loss Runs Like a River Through My Life by Malkia Devich-Cyril (article)
• Francis Weller on Grief (video)
• Grief and Loss Workbook by the Indigenous Death Doula Collective (workbook)
• Grief Release Walk with Krista Nelson (practice)
• The Artist's Grief Deck (virtual card deck)

We'd love to hear what you're learning before our next call! You can share about your experience with our local peace economy listserv. 

Our next meeting will be Wednesday, October 9th at 5:00pm PT/8:00pm ET. We hope to see you there!

If you want to deepen into your peace economy learning with others beyond our bi-weekly calls, we recommend an upcoming offering from our friend Alixa García: A Course on the Imaginal: Cultivating the Visionary Self. Explore your relationship with grief, creativity, and the earth as you "awaken the imaginal within" in community with people creating a more beautiful future!

Additional upcoming events:

Join us for our first Local Peace Economy Learning Hour on Tuesday, October 1st. This monthly webinar will be a space to learn about specific ways the peace economy takes shape in communities. We'll be learning from people immersed in the peace economy ecosystem. Our first conversation will be all about co-ops. We're very excited to welcome Kate "Sassy" Sassoon, who has deep roots in both anti-war and co-op organizing, into this conversation! Hope to see you there!

Calling all writers and artists! Join us for our first Peace Economy Writing Workshop on Tuesday, October 15th. Bring your poems, short stories, songs, etc. to a supportive group of people using their art to cultivate peace in their communities. We can't wait to create with you!

Links and resources shared during the call:

• Local Peace Economy Padlet — add yourself and see who is near you!
• Download The Local Peace Economy Workbook (free digital version)
• Purchase The Local Peace Economy Workbook (physical copy)
• The peace economy website
• Tools for the Journey webinar (website introduction)
• Israel and Iran: A love story? (TED talk)

Other supportive resources:

• Video introduction to the workbook
• Local Peace Economy Wiki
• CODEPINK Radio Ep. 242: The Local Peace Economy
• CODEPINK Radio Ep. 256: What is the root of peace?

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!

We look forward to seeing you on October 9th!

With care,

Jodie and Emily

P.S. Jodie is sharing The Local Peace Economy Workbook and the peace economy website on a book tour! If you'd like to invite Jodie to your community for a book tour event, please email Emily at [email protected].

Yes, We Can Talk
by Mark Nepo

Having loved enough and lost enough,
I’m no longer searching
just opening,

no longer trying to make sense of pain
but trying to be a soft and sturdy home
in which real things can land.

These are the irritations
that rub into a pearl.

So we can talk for a while
but then we must listen,
the way rocks listen to the sea.

And we can churn at all that goes wrong
but then we must lay all distractions
down and water every living seed.

And yes, on nights like tonight
I too feel alone. But seldom do I
face it squarely enough
to see that it’s a door
into the endless breath
that has no breather,
into the surf that human
shells call God.