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Can We Sew Peace by Morning

Women Respond to Crisis

By Carol BridgesPublished 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago 7 min read
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It's a different kind of war, mostly hidden, yet right in front of our noses. And every body is on the front lines. Back in 2003 when war with Iraq began, I was troubled with the thought, "Not another war," as I lay down to sleep. Had I not made my young children become "conscientious objectors" back in the 1970's when the Vietnam war was in full force? Had not the veterans of World War I, in 1914, fought what they thought would be "the last war ever fought?" And the Civil War before that; Oh my God! Do we ever learn from our history? When I woke up in the morning, I made this quilt of women "sewing" their hopes and dreams into a new world, the sun of a new day rising and their prayers showing in their faces as they sew, the fringe showing that the world they dream of is not yet complete.

Here it is 2022! Soldiers or hired guns from private companies are still fighting. But a different war is taking place on the entire planet. We are occupied by a controlling medical/political system that is demanding our body's submission to its experiments. As in any war, we the people have different opinions about what is best. Women have often made this a topic of discussion when they came together in circles to do their craft. Quarantines and masks have slowed this process down, but we are not easily quieted. We have our ways. Quilts once showed slaves the way to safety.

I had just attended my first local quilt guild meeting a few days before my 2003 dream. There, I found nearly a hundred women so intent on helping others with their various cloth works that they did not even stop for coffee during their meetings! Instead, they talked about the quilts they were all making for people in hospitals, the homeless and others who needed the comfort that a warm blanket gives.

My own son, now grown up, had been plagued with a mental disorder that caused him to wander homeless in rain or cold with only the clothes on his back and eating whatever he found in dumpsters or was shared by other passers-by with kindness in their hearts. Not knowing where he was, many nights I mentally sent him a warm blanket of love. Our country has lost so many boys, some to war, some to drugs, some to confusion about how to live in a society that does not meet their needs, especially if they are considered "mentally ill."

We have recently added a new subgroup of people, the (censored word here). I will call them the "It's my body" people. Instead of the "No Coloreds Allowed" signs that we once saw, we see a new group being denied their basic human rights.

We try, as a culture, to fix these problems, but often do not get to the root cause. We are pretty good at band-aid solutions, not so good at foundational re-structuring. Most of my life has been spent trying to help others to access their own power to create the life they wish would come into being. Yet, after 40 years of teaching personal empowerment, I see how hard it is for everyone to change the ways of thinking we have been embedded in for generations.

Often, when I have been unable to "figure it out," I go to my art studio. There, whether I am ripping up magazines for a collage or sorting through stacks of cloth to make a quilt, I find that my mind begins to rest in the peaceful flow of the "now" moment. The swatches of color or snippets of images begin to align with whatever is just below the surface of my awareness. By the time I am finished with my cloth or paper creation, I have a whole new level of understanding, sometimes about myself, often about the world.

In my "Can We Sew Peace by Morning" quilt, I depict the various attitudes of women concerned about the future of life. They remember the spiritual teaching "As you sow, so shall you reap." Each woman sows with her feelings as she sews with her fingers to give form to a new world that will be a blessing to all.

The woman on the left is a "just get the job done" personality. As she sews, she is embroidering the statement, "There is only one earth." The second woman looks outward, thinking "I hope you who see this get the message." She is embroidering her statement: "We are all kin." The third, a grandmotherly person, is simply doing what she has always done, making a calm and steady contribution to the cause at hand. She embroiders the statement: "All life is sacred." Next is a young adult worried about what the future holds for her own life and that of the world she lives within. Feeling somewhat small compared to the problems of the world, she looks skyward toward some mystical presence she trusts is really there. She embroiders: "Our hearts are wholly one." A young girl who has been taught how to live kindly sews her request, "Please share." Her mother sits behind her, proud of her child and confident that if we all just do our part, things will work out for the best.

The "quilt" these women are working on is of the planet itself, depicting the various countries and some of the creatures inhabiting sky, land and sea. The fringe at the bottom shows that their new world creation is not yet complete, but their needles are stitching with every heartfelt prayer that passes through their minds. Meanwhile, the sun is rising behind them. Will it shine this day on a peaceful planet or will it all end here?

All of my art shifts my own consciousness into my highest expression of being. Each time I have displayed this quilt in a show, someone has been moved to tears as they took in its deep meaning. Like others who sew or create art of any kind, we find what is beautiful in ourselves and bring it into form as best we can. We often think that the form we have created is not quite what we had in mind, needs a little shaping or another try, a small change here or there or even a major re-do. Nevertheless, the act of attempting to bring our highest vision into form is all we are meant to do as human beings. Giving people the freedom to create from our love-filled hearts is the best any society will ever do.

In 2021, feelings of disagreement about disease, medicine and politics separated many friends and families. Others continue their work for peace and with the power of their art, whether that is the art of speaking, inventing, dancing, quilting or any other human activity, they bring the dawning light of spiritual consciousness to life once again. It's a new morning anytime we decide to reclaim our personal power to deeply consider the consequences of our own thoughts and actions, even those that are simply unconscious habits that may have begun as far back as the first time an elder said, "Let's go to the doctor."

No blame is needed. I have only known doctors, nurses, police and teachers to be kind, helpful people. It is simply time to re-consider the systems which have been controlling our lives for the last hundred-plus years. Science has proven many of them incorrect. That has been its job for centuries. We are again at a point of re-consideration. Our "threads" are not holding the world together as we would like them to. It looks like a tangled mess. However, we who are used to untangling and remaking know very well that the new piece will be beautiful if we just hold to our highest vision of it. I have the feeling we are making something wonderful again.

If you wish to see more of my work, go to www.ArtQuiltsWithSoul.com.

Humanity
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About the Creator

Carol Bridges

Loving life more every day! I create beauty with whatever is before me, oftentimes scraps of all kinds. I make art quilts, write books, garden, remodel houses and empower people through my courses on creative spiritual living at any age.

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