An Open Letter from Our Dear Friend, Marta Benavides

Very dear sisters and brothers of the USA and the planet... we have talked about the massacre which has happened for a second time in Colorado, USA.. WE EXTEND TO YOU OUR SINCERE CONDOLENCES. We are so sorry, we do not wish this suffering on any one, or any nation anywhere.

We must STOP, STOP AND SEE. This is a call to figure out why, why. It is not that a very intelligent, nice white young man, who had, it seems, "a good future ahead" went crazy.. No, it is that something is empty and wrong.

How can it be that to what such destructive films, that so creatively show violence, in such way that people could not even distinguish between real fire and special effects? how can it be that such gore is consider family distraction, and even recreation? how can it be that then we can not see the suffering by wars and the human made destruction of nature inflected on not millions, but billions of people all over the world right now? and how can it be that this film was to bring the largest gain ever for that ''industry", and they are still showing it, under heavy police surveillance,so this weekend they will get the earnings planned?

This week in El Salvador, five families have been awaiting in prayers and tears, the police digging common graves in the earthquake stricken hill near San Salvador, looking for the bodies of their five teenagers who were sequestered as they got out of school a month ago.. this is our daily bread here.. and it can not and must not be for us or for you.

Hermanas y hermanos, please,please, take time to meditate, that is to look for the medi-cine, medi-tate, on this happening.. Stop, stop, and decide to SEE the call.. it happened in AURORA, COLORADO.. THE MEANING OF AURORA IS DAWN, THE BEGINNING OF THE NEW DAY.. THE LIGHT OF THE NEW DAY..

We in El Salvador and C.A., know what it means to experience every day such horrifying massacres, they truly keep us terrorized. For us is the combination of a flow of arms, organized crime, extremely corrupting organized crime, and the flow of drugs to the North. Besides the horrible deaths, this is very expensive for us , thus it means lack of jobs, opportunities for youth, lack of education, health, housing , transportation, in other words tears and tears and a LACK OF A MEANINGFUL FUTURE NOW AND DECADES BEYOND TODAY.

We remember what happened not too long ago in Norway, today is the anniversary of that massacre, where a most bizarre long and well planned attack on youth and the city was perpetrated by a young man, who did not have any of the poverty needs that often are seen in the North, as the source of the violence we experience in our impoverished countries. And the same has happened in Finland this year too.

SISTERS AND BROTHERS, IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO FEEL THE PAIN.. WE MUST BE READY TO BE THE CHANGE WE ARE AND HAVE BEEN DREAMING AND LOOKING FOR. WHAT IS THE PRESENT AND FUTURE WE NEED. EACH OF THE PERSONAL AND COLLECTIVE DECISIONS WE MAKE TODAY, CREATE THE COLLECTIVE PRESENT AND FUTURE FOR OURSELVES, THE FUTURE GENERATIONS, AND THE CONDITIONS FOR MOTHER EARTH AND MOTHER NATURE.

IT IS TIME TO DECIDE, WE MUST CHOOSE TO BE AWAKE .. and HERE IS A GIFT, do please look at the info on the PEACE CAMP BELOW
MUCH LOVE.. Marta-- El Salvador-- SIGLO XXIII

Furoshiki Fabric Lunch Wraps Are Here!

We just received some of these gorgeous lunch wraps today, and are already planning to order more.  They are even more wonderful than we expected them to be! 

The ancient Japanese tradition of knotting, folding and twisting, dating back to the 17th century, is the technique used for these traditionally-styled lunch carriers. When untwisted, they make a lovely placemat for your meal.

Double-sided and machine washable, these cotton furoshiki (pronounced f-ROHSH-kee) wraps are sewn from colorful fair trade textiles hand printed by artisans using wooden blocks and wax batik techniques perfected over generations. Whether you are packing food at home, picking up take-out or just need a versatile bag, these wraps make it easy to say goodbye to plastic bags, vinyl totes and other eco un-friendly food containers.

We also have some stainless steel food containers at Radiance, that pair nicely with these cloth wraps.

Radiance will be closed on Wednesday, July 4, so that we can have picnics with our families.  There will not be a yoga class on Wednesday evening.

We WILL be open all day tomorrow, Tuesday the 3rd and again on Thursday, as usual. 

Keep cool!