March 8, 2022
Dear Friends:
Today is International Women’s Day. “International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women’s achievements or rally for women’s equality.” (internationalwomensday.com)
This year we share with you statements from Kira, Valarie and Beverly. May Women’s Voice continue to rise!
The Interfaith Peace Project continues to honor the observance of the International Women’s Day by sending out a reflection on the eighth of every month. We invite you share in this effort by sending any articles or information concerning the voice of women that you would like to share to:
Thomas P. Bonacci, C.P
[email protected]t
925-787-9279
A Voice of Peace in the Midst of War
International Women’s Day
March 8, 2022
I planned to plant tulips and daffodils on my backyard today.
Instead, I learn to fire arms
and get ready for the next night of attacks on Kyiv.
Kira Rudik
A Ukrainian member of Parliament
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My Loves,
I have been breathless watching the terror in Ukraine unfold. Russia’s invasion comes in the midst of nearly a decade of escalating tension, violence, and antagonization. Since 2014, at least 14,000 lives have been claimed as the result of Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and persistent military presence.
To the people of Russia: We see you marching in the streets, risking arrest, bearing the cold, and holding your signs high: NO WAR. Your courage is a beacon. You show the world that Russia’s leadership is not Russia’s people. Only you have the power to stop this war at the source. Keep going!
To the people of Ukraine: We see you — waking to the sound of sirens, pulling your children from the windows, and preparing to protect all you love. We tremble with you, and wail with you. You are not alone. We are rising up in solidarity and sending you our prayers, our action, and our aid.
To the children of Ukraine: When I told my son about you, he wanted to send you our prayer Tati Vao Na Lagi. My grandfather sang this as a soldier in World War II. When German air raids came at night, he slept on the ground and imagined this Sikh prayer as his shield. So tonight, we closed our eyes and sang his prayer for you. We imagined a shimmering gold shield around your homes and your families and you. The prayer means: “The hot winds cannot touch you, you are shielded by Love.”
And so, I ask all of us:
What if we made a shield of love?
What if this was the moment an unprecedented number of people around the world stood against war? What if we shifted collective consciousness so that never again would any government win support to start a war? What if our voices and songs and actions flooded Russia and Ukraine now, bringing aid and courage and change?
We can choose to see no stranger — to see the people of Ukraine as our family, and the soldiers of Russia as lost ones who can be called home. We can let that sight shape how we grieve — and what we do. Each of us has a role.
Just remember, my love, we are tired and wired and stressed from pandemic and injustice. Now, war. So breathe and rest before you push, read and learn before you respond. Revolutionary love is not the sacrifice of an individual, but the practice of a community. Together, courage.
Yours,
Valarie
Copyright © 2022 The Revolutionary Love Project,
All rights reserved.
The Revolutionary Love Project
11 Broad Common Road #357
Bristol, RI 02809
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A Prayer for the New Year
May the light of the divine shine upon us
May the love of the divine heal
our struggling world,
May the birth of the divine
take place
again and again
in each of our hearts.
Amen.
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