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Let us take a little journey with a deep dive into peace and calm and. As you may know, the word peace derives from the Latin word pax meaning, "tranquility, absence of war."
I want to talk to my friends about peace, but it is difficult to do in times of war. The world is at war without saying it is World War III. Some say it is an unspoken war. Some say it is a religious war. Some say it is a political war. And still, some say it is a war of governing philosophies. Nevertheless, we are at war. And those demanding peace seem to be at war simultaneously. What a crazy condition to put oneself in.
Unfortunately, you cannot have peace without war. Peace is the polar opposite of war and does not appear to exist on its own. I am trying to be incredibly careful about my wording here because this is an especially critical point for me. War and Peace have plagued humanity from its beginning. The two concepts are so intertwined that they may never get separated.
Create Calm
Instead, I am contemplating calm. Yes, calm is different than peace. Calm is perhaps a secret weapon that disarms everyone and does not have a political angle. I am consumed with the idea that there is an alternative to the war/peace conundrum. I humbly suggest that if humanity were to adopt a platform of instilling calm instead of the insane structures we live by today, we could see a worldwide change. This is way different than the KEEP CALM meme. We must learn how to CREATE CALM. I think this is an interesting concept at the very least. We are looking at the first order of serenity.
Deep Dive
So, let us take a little journey with a deep dive into peace and calm and. As you may know, the word peace derives from the Latin word pax meaning, “tranquility, absence of war.”
The Old English word for peace was frith meaning “peace; protection; safety, security, freedom, refuge”. Peace indicates a state of tranquility or quiet. It furthermore implies a state of security or order within a community provided for by law or customs. It sounds good were it obtainable. The problem is those demanding peace are at war. Are they at war with themselves, their families, their friends, or their enemies?
Now calm is a different story, is it not? It is defined as not showing or feeling nervousness, anger, or other strong emotions. It implies the absence of violent or confrontational activity within a place or group. It is quietness, a settling of the mind. It is a soberness or clear thinking and a peace that should be the heart and mind of everyone. The term comes from Middle English calme, from Old French, from Old Italian calmo, from Late Latin cauma, heat of the day and the resting place from the heat of the day.
Calm is related to serene/serenity: from sereno “the open air,” noun use of sereno “clear, calm,” from Latin serenus “peaceful, calm, serene from Old French serein and directly from Latin serenus “peaceful, calm, clear, unclouded…
Making calm just might create a generation of serenity and not just one person.
Secret Weapon
That said, knowing that the only way to blow up the Peace/War enigma, I have yet another new secret weapon!
APPLICATION FOR PEACE
AKA the Peace APP To those that run the world into the ground, I hereby submit an application for peace.
To those that run around in circles and declare the sky has fallen in falsetto voices, I hereby submit an application for peace.
This is not just any application, it is an application that runs on multiple platforms, and is totally secure from hackers and warmongers.
In short, it enhances everyone’s security.
This is my application for peace, at first glance it may not seem to be for everyone or that it may not be a panacea for lost causes.
But the truth is that the Peace App is the silver bullet.
It will destroy disease, mayhem, and corruption.
It will eradicate terrorism forever.
It is more powerful than a lobbied congress.
Or a president or despot with secret agendas.
Immediately upon downloading a bluish light will halo your computer or phone.
Your files will miraculously be put in order.
Your enemies will become your friends.
Your friends will be like family.
Your family will have no contentions.
The blue light will hold hands and circle the planet.
This is the Peace App…
The Peace App will go viral and set the record for downloads.
Yes, sadly, the world is in such a state that it needs poetry more than ever. Poetry should not be confined to books, bars, coffeehouses, or academia. Poetry should be liberated, and it belongs to the people of earth and any aliens that happen to be listening. Thus, the World Needs More Poetry Projects was born! Individual poets print out their poetry on cards, postcards, index cards or even fliers. Back in the early days of my poetry life I called it the Billly Shakespeare project and printed out poems on fliers which I tucked under windshield wipers of cars. This was a bit anonymous, so in today’s version I simply hand out poems on index cards exclaiming the world needs more poetry and hand them the cards. The response has been fantastic, and people love getting poetry. They pin them up on bulletin boards or on their refrigerators. It’s been great fun! All poets are welcome to play this fun poetry game. Put poetry in everyone’s hands! I think this is a great project for all poets!
Coffee & Poetry at Jack’s House
It is my privilege and honor to be the Poet in Residence in the Jack Kerouac House of St. Petersburg. We will be holding a monthly reading there on the third Sunday of each month. There are other planned activities on the horizon. If you are in the area and want to read https://www.facebook.com/groups/835623271582246
It’s the Video
Those of you who know me well, are aware of my affection and reverence I have for Mr. Woody Guthrie. This Land Is Your Land is one of my favorite songs of all time. We can learn a lot from these songs and folk singers. Note the sign on his guitar “This Machine Kills Fascists! “
This video is a little different as it features Woody, Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry singing John Henry. It is one of two clips featuring Mr. Guthrie.
I just could not resist this video featuring the Woody Guthrie All-Star Tribute Concert of 1970, held at the iconic Hollywood Bowl. It has an impressive lineup including Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Country Joe McDonald, Odetta, Richie Havens, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, and more
Lawrence George Jaffe is an internationally known and an award-winning writer, author, and poet. For his entire professional career, Jaffe has been using his art to promote human rights. He was the poet-in-residence at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage, a featured poet in Chrysler’s Spirit in the Words poetry program, co-founder of Poets for Peace (now Poets without Borders) and helped spearhead the United Nations Dialogue among Civilizations through Poetry project which incorporated hundreds of readings in hundreds of cities globally using the aesthetic power of poetry to bring understanding to the world.
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