23.8.17: Noons Blaze

This is the seventh instalment of my Peace Poems series. Please click through to the Category to view the rest of the posts.

If Pain for Peace Prepares – Emily Dickinson

If pain for peace prepares
Lo, what “Augustan” years
Our feet await!

If springs from winter rise,
Can the Anemones
Be reckoned up?

If night stands fast — then noon
To gird us for the sun,
What gaze!

When from a thousand skies
On our developed eyes
Noons blaze!

Today’s featured charity is Amnesty International. These guys do a lot of amazing – and quite varied – work, but basically they are concerned with human rights. They fight for justice and freedom of speech, and work to change oppressive laws and protect the dignity of those who cannot protect themselves.

This is a movement that is 7 million people strong, and I just love the way they put this Eleanor Roosevelt quote into action: “Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”

Thanks for reading, and have a lovely day!

Dani

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22.8.17: Deep Heart’s Core

This is the sixth in a two-week series of Peace Poems. Be sure to click the Category above to see the rest of the posts!

The Lake Isle of Innisfree – W.B. Yeats

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee;
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping
slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket
sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

Today we’re talking about Habitat for Humanity! These guys are working to ensure that people in the poorest parts of the world have shelter. It’s such a basic human necessity, but it’s one that a lot of people don’t have.

These guys love to have groups and individuals volunteering – working alongside them to improve housing conditions.

Thanks for watching, and have a lovely day.

Dani

21:8.17: Forget Not Yet

This is the fifth post in my ‘Peace Poems’ series; be sure to click through to the Category to see the rest of the posts.

Forget Not Yet – Thomas Wyatt

Forget not yet the tried intent

Of such a truth as I have meant;

My great travail so gladly spent,

            Forget not yet.

   Forget not yet when first began

The weary life ye know, since whan

The suit, the service, none tell can;

            Forget not yet.

   Forget not yet the great assays,

The cruel wrong, the scornful ways;

The painful patience in denays,

            Forget not yet.

   Forget not yet, forget not this,

How long ago hath been and is

The mind that never meant amiss;

            Forget not yet.

   Forget not then thine own approved,

The which so long hath thee so loved,

Whose steadfast faith yet never moved;

            Forget not this.

Today’s charity is called Girls not Brides. Maybe this one’s self explanatory – but this is an international partnership devoted to ending child marriage, so that girls can reach their full potential. Over 700 million women alive today were married as children. That’s a lot of people.

And this isn’t only about the emotional maturity of the girls; if they are forced into marriage too early, their bodies aren’t ready to cope with the stress of pregnancy, and they are far more likely to suffer complications.

So here’s where organisations like Girls not Brides come in. These people are empowering girls, giving them the knowledge and the skills to exercise their rights, and to forge their own place in their communities. They educate and support young people so that this vicious pattern of premature marriages can end.

And if you think this is something you could get behind, this page will give you more information on how you can join in with campaigning and fundraising.

Thanks for reading, and have a lovely day! I’ll see you tomorrow for the next Peace Poems instalment.

Dani

20.8.17: Sleep is a Reconciling

This is the fourth post in my ‘Peace Poems’ series; be sure to click through to the Category to see the rest of the posts.

Weep You No More, Sad Fountains – Anon.

Weep you no more, sad fountains;

What need you flow so fast?

Look how the snowy mountains

Heaven’s sun doth gently waste.

But my sun’s heavenly eyes

View not your weeping,

That now lie sleeping

Softly, now softly lies

Sleeping.

Sleep is a reconciling,

A rest that peace begets.

Doth not the sun rise smiling

When fair at even he sets?

Rest you then, rest, sad eyes,

Melt not in weeping

While she lies sleeping

Softly, now softly lies

Sleeping.

Peace Direct is an NGO with offices in London, Washington DC, and New York. They work in countries that are often forgotten by our news services, like Burundi, Sri Lanka and Somalia – preventing conflict, advocating human rights, and fighting trafficking.

They also run ‘Tomorrow’s Peacebuilders Awards’, telling powerful stories of people working for peace, and celebrating those ventures. I love this concept so much!

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s ‘Peace Poems’ instalment – thank you for reading, and have a lovely day.

Dani

19.8.17: Stars to Hold

This is the third post in my ‘Peace Poems’ series; be sure to click through to the Category to see the rest of the posts.

Peace – Sara Teasdale

Peace flows into me
As the tide to the pool by the shore;
It is mine forevermore,
It ebbs not back like the sea.

I am the pool of blue
That worships the vivid sky;
My hopes were heaven-high,
They are all fulfilled in you.

I am the pool of gold
When sunset burns and dies–
You are my deepening skies,
Give me your stars to hold.

You’ve probably heard of Save the Children, but their Syria Crisis Appeal seemed particularly relevant. Over 11 million people have been displaced due to the conflict in Syria – for perspective, that’s the same as the entire population of Greece. And many people are still trapped in besieged areas. The word ‘crisis’ is kind of losing its meaning right now, but this situation is exactly that.

It is not all negative though. Save the Children have people working in Syria to provide food and water, keep schools running, and provide emotional support for traumatised children. They’re working with partners to reach the most vulnerable children and families.

It’s so encouraging to me that people devote so much time and energy to help those who need it so badly. If you’re interested in learning more, or making a donation, the Syria page is here.

Thanks for reading, and have a lovely day.

18.8.17: Up the Sun’s Path

This is the second post in my ‘Peace Poems’ series; be sure to click through to the Category to see the rest of the posts.

Peace: A Study – Charles Stuart Calverley

He stood, a worn-out City clerk —
Who’d toil’d, and seen no holiday,
For forty years from dawn to dark —
Alone beside Caermarthen Bay.
He felt the salt spray on his lips;
Heard children’s voices on the sands;
Up the sun’s path he saw the ships
Sail on and on to other lands;
And laugh’d aloud. Each sight and sound
To him was joy too deep for tears;
He sat him on the beach, and bound
A blue bandana round his ears
And thought how, posted near his door,
His own green door on Camden Hill,
Two bands at least, most likely more,
Were mingling at their own sweet will
Verdi with Vance. And at the thought
He laugh’d again, and softly drew
That Morning Herald that he’d bought
Forth from his breast, and read it through.

Today’s charity is the Against Malaria Foundation. According to their website, Malaria affects 400 million people every year – that makes this disease a humanitarian issue, as well as an economic issue. Deaths from Malaria are preventable, but when people lack bed nets to protect themselves from carrier mosquitoes, hospitals are forced to spend millions every year on treatments.

Against Malaria Foundation has already distributed over 4 million nets to people in need, but there’s more that can be done! If you’re interested in learning a bit more about their process, take a look at this page.

Each long-lasting insecticide treated net costs just $2.50, so if today you feel like you could spare the cash, consider buying someone a mosquito net. It’s such a small gesture, but it could literally save a life.

Thanks for reading, and have a lovely day!

Dani

17.8.17: Patience Exquisite

This is the first post in my ‘Peace Poems’ series; be sure to click through to the Category to see the rest of the posts.

Peace – Gerard Manley Hopkins

When will you ever, Peace, wild wooddove, shy wings shut,
Your round me roaming end, and under be my boughs?
When, when, Peace, will you, Peace? I’ll not play hypocrite
To own my heart: I yield you do come sometimes; but
That piecemeal peace is poor peace. What pure peace allows
Alarms of wars, the daunting wars, the death of it?

O surely, reaving Peace, my Lord should leave in lieu
Some good! And so he does leave Patience exquisite,
That plumes to Peace thereafter. And when Peace here does house
He comes with work to do, he does not come to coo,
He comes to brood and sit.

The first charity I want to talk about is UK-based: Refugee Action. They work with asylum seekers as they move into their new country, helping them settle in and giving advice as they build their lives again from scratch. Although there have been a lot of complaints about the number of immigrants coming into Britain, it’s important to note that asylum seekers – that is, people who have been forced to leave their homes because of violent situations – don’t even make up a quarter of a percent of the UK’s population. (0.24%)

I love their motto: ‘Dignity not Destitution’. Refugee Action is a group that sees asylum seekers for what they really are: people.

If you’d like to help – whether that’s by campaigning for refugee rights, fundraising, volunteering, or even getting a job with Refugee Action – there’s a lot more information on this page.

Thanks for reading, and have a lovely day!

Dani

Peace Poems

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but a lot of things suck right now. There are tensions between the USA and North Korea, protests in Venezuela, ongoing unrest in the Middle East and an overwhelming refugee situation in Europe…the list goes on and on to the extent that it can be disheartening. Sometimes it feels like there’s just no way all of this can be fixed.

But the thing is, life doesn’t have to be this way. I am in no way saying we should ignore other people’s problems, but I do think listening to bad news all the time leads to a really miserable existence.

That’s why every day for the next two weeks, I’m going to share a ‘Peace Poem’ (a poem that reminds us of what’s good in the world, and what human harmony can be like) and a charity or group of people who are working to make a positive difference in peoples’ lives.

This isn’t a guilt trip, but I do hope it will inspire you! We may be far away from the conflicts, or they may be right on our doorsteps, but know this: there is still good. There are still good people and good projects and good things that we can support. We don’t need to sit back and watch the world go down in flames: let’s stay hopeful, let’s stay helpful, and above all: let’s not detach ourselves from other peoples’ realities.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

-Martin Luther King Jr.

I’ll see you tomorrow with the first post in this series, but until then – thank you for reading, and have a lovely day.

Dani

If you have a poem or a charity that you would like me to include, drop me an email or comment below.

 

Google Translate Does Long Book Titles

Dear Google Translate, you are the best and the worst.

These are unusually long book titles as re-re-re-re-translated by our dearest friend Google – can you guess what the original titles were? Some may be more obvious than others!

The Curious Incident of the Dog Night

I don’t know what this means but a Dog Night sounds pretty wonderful, right?

Worldwide, Do Not See

Is this a wise proverb or a stilted instruction? Who even knows.

Italy Hitchhiker Guide

A handy guide to free travel around…Italy. Actually that sounds handy.

The Agenda of Harijs and Felicia Ceramics

I don’t know what his agenda is, but it sounds shady as hell.

Bite

I can’t stop laughing at how this one came out – it was originally a three word title, and if you can guess it, you can seriously have the crown of Book Title Guessing.

Alice

Short and sweet, would read.

Killing a Crap Sword

I only had to put this through once, and it came back a masterpiece.

So If you have any idea what these beauties are, let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading, and have a lovely day.

Dani

 

 

Month in Books: July 2017

Am I the only person who struggles to register July as a month, and just lives in a 60-day June? Either way, I read eight books this month, and here they are!

Lion – Saroo Brierley – 5 stars This is the memoir that inspired the recent movie of the same name: it follows the story of a 5 year old boy who gets separated from his family by mistakenly getting on the wrong train, and ending up on the other side of India. He gets adopted by an Australian family, and as a grown-up manages to use the internet to track down his home town. It’s an amazing story! (Although actor Saroo and real-life Saroo don’t look remotely similar)

Nomad – Alan Partridge – 4 stars For those of you who aren’t British, Alan Partridge is our Ron Burgundy. This book is pretty short, and genuinely hilarious.

The White Tiger – Aravind Adiga – 4 stars This is Adiga’s debut novel, and it is fantastic. Set in India, the story plunges into the caste system, politics, and poverty, and I could not put this down.

Lady Mechanika: La Dama de la Muerte – Joe Benitez – 4 stars This is a collection of comics set in historical Mexico, and I really enjoyed it! Find my review here.

Heathen – Natasha Alterici – 3 stars Another comic! This is a beautifully drawn Viking story – my review is here!

A-List – D.P. Lyle – 3 stars An American mystery/comedy/thriller novel, and the second in the Jake Longly series. I wrote a review for this one, too – check it out here!

Collins Art Class: The Essential Guide to Creative Painting Skills and Techniques – Simon Jennings – 4 stars This book is pretty much exactly what it says on the cover. I particularly liked that it was full of little galleries of other peoples’ paintings, not just instructions. Inspiring and practical!

Once an Arafat Man – Tass Saada – 5 stars This is an autobiography of a Palestinian man born right in the midst of the conflict with Israel. He talks about running away to join the Palestinian armed forces, training to become a sniper, and how he managed to find new life for himself, and get free of all his anger and hate. I thought this book was really insightful, but most importantly, full of hope.

If you’ve read any of these books I’d love to hear your thoughts! What was your favourite book you read in July?

Thanks for reading, and have a lovely day!

Dani