Don’t Pass…Up…On Peace

I have a program on my computer called CCleaner (otherwise known as Crap Cleaner) that looks over all the files on my machine and gets rid of the unnecessary  files that are there slowing everything down (you do have a choice of what to remove). I also have spyware programs that look for bad programs on my computer and they let me fix the problems by getting rid of them.  I wish we had programs like that would do the same thing for the world and identify all the crap on our planet and give us the choice of cleaning things up and getting rid of them. The violence, the land mines, guns and bombs, weapons of mass destruction, the anger,  the greed and selfishness, the materialism, the racism, the antisemitism, the insensitivity to others problems, the fear,  the hunger, the poverty, and so on.  In the meantime I have to rely on myself to not only  clean up my own problems, but work on the problems that are nearest at hand.

Yesterday as we were closing up the Free Farm Stand a group of women came by trying to figure out what had just gone down. They asked me what was this all about. I told them that we were just putting on a magic show, but that some people think we are merely giving out free produce and bread. Hopefully we are generating enough excitement to inspire others to get into the free/sharing lifestyle and to spread compassion and generosity, and at the same time help someone in need.

My friend Pancho is a karma yogi who has been inspired by the Free Farm Stand among many things and with his community in Fruitvale Canticle Farm has started a “FrutaGift in Fruitvale” in front of Casa de Paz. It is their version of the Free Farm Stand.

photo (3)a neighborhood family eating gleaned persimmons

photo (4)Pancho communicating with the heart language

IMG_3320Sam who lives at Canticle Farm with gleaned fruit

frutagift1

Pancho and Ross and Rivian  from  Canticle Farm and their “FrutaGift”. Ross apprenticed with us a short while.

There is a website in Spanish that has their write up of one of their adventures in setting up a Sunday Stand  and that is where some of these photos came from (http://grupotomate.org/prueba-desayuno-y-merienda/).

Tomorrow Pancho is going to an immigration hearing which is the continuation of the hearing he had earlier this year to determined  if he has to be removed from this country in the words of immigration officials (see my blog entry for June 4th, 2012). It is Tuesday Dec 18th at 1pm at San Francisco, 120 Montgomery Street Immigration Court, 9th floor Court Room 12. Everyone is praying that the angel who accompanies Pancho in his life somehow comes up with a miracle to keep Pancho with us for now in this part of the planet.

 I think it is so ironic that the government doesn’t understand how Canticle Farm and Pancho are doing the exact kind of work we need right now to help deal with the violence that is so part of our culture. The sad shootings that keep happening will not go away with better gun control laws although that is a good step to take. We also need to teach sitting in receptive silence, yoga, and non-violence in schools, feed children real food,  and  bring neighbors together like Pancho does and get them interacting with each other, building trust and community. We need to take a stand against all wars and global violence wherever it occurs and we need to work on the violence in all our lives and all learn to chill out a bit more. We need peace keepers and promoters of peace like Pancho and his friends. In church services they pass the peace and people hug each other and recognize the love in all of us. I say Don’t Pass Up On Peace.

Here are just a few pictures from the Stand on Sunday:

P1010014our volunteer circle before we start

P1010008watermelon radish from Ferry Building Farmer’s Market

P1010018

 lettuce from the garden was harvested and given away

 

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