Reform

Before starting this activity, take a few minutes to read through and sit with this prayer by Trisha Arlin. Read it as many times as you’d like and take notice of what comes up for you. What resonates? 

Instead Of: A Prayer for Peace by Trisha Arlin

Blessed Yah, Creator, Created, Creating...

We pray for peace,

For ourselves and the world,

Even if only for one day:

Instead of anger, we choose kindness.

Instead of revenge, we choose justice.

Instead of resentment, we choose empathy.

Instead of work, we choose rest.

Instead of ideology, we choose compromise.

Instead of destruction, we choose community.

Instead of fear, we choose endurance.

Instead of invective, we choose prayer.

Instead of violence, we choose peace.

Blessed Yah, Creator, Created, Creating...

We give thanks for this day of peace.

May it change us, may it change the world,

And let us say, Amen.

Now grab a pen, and work through these prompts.

1. Which of these negative feelings can you relate to? Which do you find your mind naturally draws from? Highlight those that stand out. 
2. Which of these positive feelings come as a struggle to you? Place a circle around the ones that you’d like to work on fostering more. 
3. What else would you add to this list? What other feelings or thoughts do you find within yourself that you’d like to reframe or replace? 

Instead of __________________________,

I choose ____________________________.

Instead of __________________________,

I choose ____________________________.

Instead of __________________________,

I choose ____________________________.

Instead of __________________________,

I choose ____________________________.

Instead of __________________________,

I choose ____________________________.

Ingredients Needed:

• A hearty dose of grief, sadness, anxiety, and/or anger
• A cup of your favorite warm beverage
• A tiny vessel, small enough to hold lovingly in your hands
• A teaspoon
• A houseplant

Instructions:

Prepare your beverage as an offering of nourishment and comfort for yourself.

Enjoy a few sips. Take pleasure in its warmth, the soothing taste in your mouth. Feel it travel down into your core. 

Draw three teaspoons of your potion into the smaller vessel. With each spoonful, conjure what pains you. If it's a really rough day, add an extra teaspoonful, or two, or ten. Fill the entire vessel if needed. Pull as much out as you can. 

Hold the tiny vessel with both hands. Sit with it. Breathe. Honor the weight of this emotional potion. Feel all the feelings. 

When you’re ready, say to yourself: 

From this pain, may something beautiful grow.

Pour your offering into the plant. Thank her for her support, for accepting your feelings. Take another deep breath together. 

Repeat daily as needed.

This activity can be done alone or as part of a group. 

First, find a quiet spot. Maybe it’s at home, on a favorite couch, or maybe it’s sitting in a circle with like-minded people, feeling connected to their power and strength. Get comfortable in that quiet spot, and let your mind start to drift to all of the ways in which our world needs healing. What does that healing look like for individuals? For communities? For wildlife? For our planet? 

When you’re ready, bring your mind back, and recite this meditation out loud. Repeat this meditation as many times as you’d like: 

May we hear and recognize our own calling, 

We are the ones with the capacity to heal, 

To nurture, and to repair the harm we have caused, 

And the harm of those who came before us. 

May we strive to practice tikkun olam,

May we repair the world through collective action

So that we can not only survive this changing world,

But thrive here. 

May we be courageous in the face of apathy, 

In the presence of our own fear and indecision, 

May we move together even through grief,

Remembering that there’s still time to act,

There’s still time to remember the world

Back into being.