Not Two

[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!

Melanie Faith

Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.

Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.

The Society of Professional Journalists

In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.

I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.

Maxine Greene

Philosopher and Education Scholar

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To reach Accord, just say, “Not Two!”

Seng Ts’an

At This Time

At this time of deep division. At this time of great anger. At this time where walls, rhetoric, and power are being ab/used to make us remain Two. At this time when many fail to see that Accord is our bond. At this time when young people, and the adults who teach them, fail to honor our human Accord. May tears of love wash our hearts.

When I Think

When I think about Accord, I think about what children always understand and what adults often forget. When I think about Accord, I think about the connection between my individual physical health and the health of my community and my planet. When I think about Accord, I think about building a global understanding that we are all one. When I think about Accord, I wonder why conflict and hate can be so easily adopted.

What is Accord?

To create or achieve Accord, we have to know what it is. Accord is not a quick fix to a long term problem. Rather, it takes time. Accord is not sameness. Rather, it is the deep appreciation of difference. Accord is not the absence of conflict. Rather, it is peace through conflict toward justice and compassion. Accord is not a win or lose proposition. Rather, it is coming to an ethical and moral end in a situation.

My Prayer

My prayer is that we not become desensitized to the pain too many are experiencing. My prayer is that “Not Two!” be shouted from mountain tops and city streets and anywhere where people have ears to hear. My prayer is that “Not Two!” silences those that use separation as a weapon against our common humanity. My prayer is that Accord will become our goal. My prayer is that our future world knows true Accord.

https://kitt.global/january-22-not-two-mark-nepo-the-book-of-awakening/