In this issue:
- For Our World (Section 1 of 6 - "We need to stop...")
- Save the Date (Toast2Peace on Peace Day info)
- 2025 "Mosaic of Gift Bricks" orders opening
- #CompassionMatters - March reflection spotlight
- Shout Outs to recent supporters
"We Need to Stop."
For Our World
We need to stop.
Just stop.
Stop for a moment...
Before anybody
Says or does anything
That may hurt anyone else.
Excerpt 1 of 6 from For Our World
by Mattie J.T. Stepanek (9/11/2001)
Jeni & Mattie Stepanek, pausing to connect
during a busy school & work day - Fall 2003.
This month, we continue exploring Mattie's "For Our World" poem - which was his response to an event that interrupted both personal and global peace. Our focus is on the first few lines of this passage - which is a call for a simple "pause."
September 11, 2001 began as a typical weekday morning for Mattie and me. Our routine included a pause for our morning coffee chat - which kept us connected and also organized with our busy schedules. Like so many mornings before that one, we closed with a prayer for peace - for us, for others, for our world. Mattie then started in on school work, and I tended to my own work tasks. Both of us always looked forward to moving through our To Do Lists so we could pause again, and enjoy afternoon tea while connecting and chatting about our To Be Lists and other important matters - like peace, purpose, play... and people.
But breaking news interrupted the morning hours - shocking hearts and minds, shattering routines, and shaking our sense of "okay'ness" in our world. As we watched buildings collapse, we knew we were also witnessing the tragic and senseless loss of people - some of them personal friends to us, and all of them personal friends to someone.
Midnight approached, and Mattie was at a loss for what to think, for what to say, for what to do, for how to move "forthward" - with choice.
In that moment when nothing seemed "okay," Mattie relied on our routine way of coping and hoping in life... he paused, and then he prayed.
And, his prayer began with a simple plea for all people to pause: "We need to stop."
When I re-introduced this poem last month, I stated that a "pause" is not about ceasing to make peace something that matters; instead, it is a chance to reflect, so that we can respond rather than react to challenges. This can empower us to reach out – with concern and compassion, and with purpose for peace.
Even during busy days (or even stressful moments) Mattie and I paused often - by choice.
Before jumping into each day, we paused to connect and chat over morning coffee - sometimes while taking in the gift of a sunrise and sometimes while flipping through pages of news - but always while considering tasks and truths that needed tending to in a timely way.
After checking off timely to-do tasks, we paused to connect and chat over afternoon tea - sometimes while playing a game and sometimes while dealing with a medical situation - but always while considering things and truths that mattered in a timeless way.
It was during one of our philosophical tea conversations that Mattie first expressed his belief that "equitably and meaningfully tending to basic human needs cultivates 'okay'ness' - which is a critical root of peace."
He said, "When we have what we need to survive, and when we have opportunities to thrive, we can be 'okay' with who and how we are - even if we are dealing with differences or challenges."
A pause is not going to change the news or challenges in our lives and world. But, a pause can help us sort out feelings, and connect with "okay'ness" - so we can choose attitudes and actions that can amplify. peace.
When we choose to stop - to pause - for a breath, for a thought, for a realization, for a connection, for whatever we need in some moment, we interrupt the stress that interrupts our peace.
- A pause can provide space for awareness, and insights - so we can more clearly process stressful realities that trigger reactions, and that interrupt peace.
- A pause can help us find and express our inner "okay'ness" - our sense of personal purpose that matters and is connected to peace - beyond our differences and challenges.
- A pause can enable us to support and respect the "okay'ness" of others - which is how we can move peace from "possible" to "a reality" - beyond diversity and disagreements.
As I shared last month, for me, a pause during a challenging moment or reality gives me a chance to purposefully connect with my inner “grit, grace, and gratitude” so that I can keep focusing on things that matter – like people and peace.
It is not always easy to pause in our busy world, or to focus on challenges with a perspective that seeks positivity – but it is always worthy.
Let us pause - and reflect on, respond to, and reach out with this message of hope.
- Below is Mattie's "For Our World" peace passage in entirety, and links to his voice sharing the message.
- Please read or listen to the poem - on your own, or in community with your family, friends, and colleagues.
- Then please consider this month's "Reflect-Respond-ReachOut" suggestions (also below).
We welcome your shared thoughts - about the poem, about this month's RRR suggestions, about compassion and peace for our world. Please e-mail us: [email protected]
With hope and peace,
Jeni Stepanek, PhD ("Mama Peace").
Click here for an audio/visual version of
Mattie reading For Our World
SAVE THE DATE
July 17 (5-8pm ET)
International #Toast2Peace on Peace Day
"Raise a glass or grateful hands,
and connect with purpose - for peace."
- To celebrate Mattie's 35th birthday and Peace Day, we are planning an international #Toast2Peace event - with fun for families and folks of all ages!
- We will be linking virtually between "Toast2Peace" in-person gatherings in the United States (Rockville, MD and New York, NY) and Canada (Prince Edward Island) - and other sites as YOU help us plan!
- Our goal is to have "many people in many places - with a common purpose: peace!"
- Please let us know if you would like to plan a "local" #Toast2Peace that will link to our international virtual livestream event ([email protected])
- The flyer below has information about the ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND event.
- Flyers for other T2P gatherings will be shared as details are finalized.
"Mosaic of Gift Bricks"
2025 orders now open!
DEADLINE to order: APRIL 30, 2025
100 percent tax deductible!
Celebrate a birthday or anniversary,
commemorate an event,
(Mother's or Father's Day,
graduation, retirement, reunion...),
or just share a personal message
while making your mark in history
and supporting Mattie's peace legacy.
Each brick can have
UP TO THREE LINES OF TEXT
Each line can have
UP TO 14 spaces/characters.
Our Foundation 20-year anniversary price special:
$125 per brick! (usually $199 each)
100 percent tax deductible!
ORDER DEADLINE:
Tuesday, April 30, 2025
Please note that your donation is for a brick,
and we will reach out to you for your brick message.
SHOUT OUT
to our Partners4Peace
POTOMAC VALLEY BRICK
for sponsoring our annual
brick installation!
#CompassionMatters
Compassion can help us, and help others, cope with personal and global pain. And it can help us build connections of hope that strengthen us as we continue cultivating pathways to peace as we journey forthward – together.
Gratitude to Our Recent Supporters
Thank you to all who have taken a look at our new website (www.MattiesPeaceFoundation.org). We are excited to continue adding new pages in the coming - including "About Mattie," "Exploring Peace," "About Mama Peace (Jeni)," "Our Partners4Peace," and "Peace Certification" - with more pages in the queue after that.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Mattie's Peace Foundation!
Help us continue Mattie's mission of cultivating peace with a 100 percent tax-deductible gift. It is because of your generosity that our worthy work successfully continues.
SHARE YOUR GIFT FOR PEACE
CLICK HERE...
A special thank you to folks who support our mission, including:
Mary Ann Albert - who mailed a lovely donation, The Baughman Family - who provided us with more grant funding; Parag Patel - who learned about Mattie through our the We Are Family Foundation; Gordon & Rita Simon - who made a generous donation from their trust, Shelly Williams - who made two online donations last month, and Rob WIndrem - who made a donation in honor of Andy Wang.
A special thank you to folks who support our work, including:
Kathleen & Dave Richardson & Potomac Valley Brick - who sponsor our annual brick installation, Scott Feldman (Giuseppi's Pizza Plus in Rockville) - who sponsors two Mama Peace Chats every month, Rockville Rocks - who shares their talents and resources in community-building ways, and World of Beer (Rockville, MD) - where our local July 17 #Toast2Peace Peace Day celebration will take place.
And a mega-special shout out to the folks who offer monthly gifts, including:
Andrew Greer, Mary Elizabeth Hill, Randi Kristensen, Jerome Nash, Gidon Wagner, an anonymous donor, and Rob WIndrem.
Peace matters, and so you.
Thank you.
Mama Peace (Jeni Stepanek, PhD)
and the
Mattie Stepanek Peace Foundation
If you missed a previous e-Peace Update
with information & inspiration
from Mattie & his Foundation
you can check out recent editions here...
"Peace is possible... choose peace!"
Mattie J.T. Stepanek
