Welcome back friends. I'd love to start off with a brief little story illustration for you, and if you have no interest in the subject, stick with me. It's really short, and it, I think, outlines what I wanna share with you today. As a young girl, I learned how to sew very, very early. My mom sewed, my, my grandmother sewed, my... I just had a lot of crafty people around me growing up. So watching people create things with their hands, I learned. So I taught myself to sew just by watching mom. And as I grew up, it made sense that I'd have my own sewing machine, so I bought one for myself, and it broke, and my husband saw that that's something that I like to do from time to time. I, I want a slip cover, I want a certain pair of curtains, and I don't like what I can find I would just make it myself or make something fit better. And he bought me a beautiful sewing machine, so it's very sturdy, and it gets the job done. Well- A couple years back, before we left New Jersey, I started having problems with it, and I, I couldn't figure out what was going on. And I went and I got it serviced, spent $250 to have it cleaned, oiled, dusted, and serviced, and got it back, and it still wasn't working. And I took it back to the service and, "What's going on?" And they said, "You're using bad thread." I'm like, "Thread? It's not like produce. It doesn't spoil, does it?" And they're like, "Yeah. You know how elastic breaks down and over time? Well, so does your thread." And so I got a few new spools, which are not nearly as cheap as they were when I was growing up, and I was back in business and using my sewing machine. Well, we moved, and now we're in the South, and the same thing happened. I started sewing things and the thread kept ripping, and I kept thinking, "Mm, I'm... I haven't changed my needle in a while," and I changed my needle. I forgot that whole thing about the thread, and then things would start to gather and pucker, and I'd get holes in the fabric, and I'd get discouraged and I didn't wanna stop the project, so I'd hand-sew, which took 10 times longer and didn't look nearly as, um, regular as I wanted the stitches to look. So I took it back have it serviced, and they said, "There's nothing wrong with your machine. It's perfectly clean. It's perfectly oiled. It's perfectly... It's working great." I'm like, "But then why isn't it working?" Oh, and I brought, a little dog bed cover I was sewing for our new puppy, and, and he's like, "Uh, show me." And it worked. It worked in front of the service guy. I'm like, "Why is this working for you and not for me?" And he said, "What thread are you using?" And I showed him, and he's like, "Oh, you have bad thread." I'm like... I felt so silly, 'cause I'd forgotten all these years, you know. I just kind of get in my routine, and I'm relying, okay. I'd... I was using old thread again. So I went through and purged all of the old thread, anything that was, you know, older than three years and got rid of them. And what do you know? The sewing machine's working like brand new again. And so it's amazing how easy it is to fall into... For me, okay? I'm j- I'm not judging anybody else, but I'm just saying maybe you'll find something you can relate to. You know, we become creatures of habit. We, we get familiar with our routine. We have certain expectations on how things are gonna unfold, and when something starts going wrong, those patterns make it very hard to troubleshoot without fresh eyes, fresh ears to look at it. Well, applying this to today, I know I shared a while back that I made this deck of cards that I haven't actually made available to the public yet, and they are like affirmation cards, and they've brought me a lot of support. And there's one that keeps coming up, and I couldn't figure out why I kept getting this one about anger, and I'll read it to you. And the title of it is Tending the Fire of Anger. And the affirmation is, "Anger carries wisdom. I listen, learn, and notice the information it offers." So what does this have to do with the sewing machine? Well, I was getting angry 'cause I had these expectations of how something should be working, 'cause I've always sewn. I'm in my 50s. I've been sewing for nearly half a century, okay? Slight exaggeration, not too much. And I was quick to go to anger, and then I'm realizing, oh yeah, there's patterns. And everywhere I go, I'm encountering people, news, society, organizations facing various forms of anger. And the thing that they have in common with my sewing machine scenario is patterns. We have patterns of expectations. We have patterns of how we've been taught things work. We have patterns of how we perceive things work, and we have patterns of how we expect others to perceive how things work. And where I'm going with this, is I'm noticing frustration in myself for a common pattern that seems to reappear regardless how often we change the thread or the fabric or the sewing project. And that being split. There's no easier way to control a population than to keep them divided. So I'm not just talking about politics right now, okay? I'm talking about socioeconomic groups. I'm talking about cultural groups. I'm talking about racial groups. I'm talking about belief groups. But when we take the approach that one is right and one is wrong, there's always fault, there's always blame, and there's always anger, and those are perfect ways to keep people divided so that we can be controlled. So my question today is: Where are we repeating the patterns? Where are we still using old thread? Where do we need to change the spool so that we can see each other as different but acceptable? Why do the headlines have to be this political party is at fault because they have ruined our country? Why does it have to be this country's at fault because they've ruined our global... Why? Why do we have to make things evil or better, good and bad? When we use those extremes, it sets us up for division, and it sets us up for anger and failure. And I'm, I'm a little frustrated by the patterns that I've repeated in myself, found myself angry, expecting that just because I gave somebody else yielded to their preferences that I would expect them to do the same for me, creating anger and resentment and division. These patterns are keeping me separated from my peace. And quite honestly, my peace is too valuable to keep playing those roles. So where can we, each individually and as a people, where can we break a pattern, back up and see value on all sides, and in some cases agree to disagree, and in other cases abandon the need for good and bad? Where can we do that? I'll be honest, all I know right now is I'm going to promise to you to do that for myself. I'm gonna master my own peace. I'm gonna master my ability to look at things when I feel angry, frustration, judgment. When I feel those low emotions that are stealing my peace, putting a hole in my boat, knotting the thread of my project, I'm gonna use... I'm promising myself right now, and therefore in your presence, to use that as a cue to say, "What am I holding on too tightly to? Where can I zoom out and see a pattern? What pattern is no longer serving me and keeping me separate from my peace? I gotta tell you, the more often I discover that within myself, the easier it is for me to look at somebody else with acceptance and compassion. And I can have acceptance and compassion for somebody without agreeing with them at all. But I'm going to promise myself, and therefore you, to do my own work. Who else would like to join me and do their own work? Let's do the work within ourselves alongside of each other, and let's be the peace we want to see in the world. I feel like I'm channeling Michael Jackson. You know, "Man in the Mirror"- that song keeps presenting itself to me over and over these days. And I find it really, really inspiring. We can always choose peace, and peace does not mean giving up our beliefs. It means giving up a pattern of division. And while I can't control what one country does in the presence of another country, I can control how I respond, how I look at it, and how I create peace within myself and therefore those that I influence. So where can we change our thread, make something more lasting, more satisfying, and more peaceful? That's the question I have for you today, and I would love to hear your responses. This is not a one-sided conversation. This is one we can have with our hearts. This is one we can have with our neighbors. This is one we can have across the globe. But where has the thread broken down and needs some replacing so that we can continue to stitch a tapestry that reflects the peace that we have within each one of us? That's how I wanna Picture Love today, and I hope you'll join me. That's all I have to say, but I think it takes time to process. So I'll read it one more time just in case somebody else needs to hear it today. Anger carries wisdom. I listen, I learn, and I notice the information it offers me. See you next time, friends. Bye-bye.