Willie Nelson

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Hear ”A Peaceful Solution” by Julie Larson

Julie Larson left a comment on the post “A Peaceful Solution” congratulating her friend JOdawg for his version of “A Peaceful Solution”. Julie invited us to go to her myspace site and listen to her pro peace song, “Killer Go Home”. So I did. I thought she had a really good sound, powerful voice and thoughtful lyrics so I emailed Julie and invited her to join our peace project and record her own version of “A Peaceful Solution”.

Julie is the first woman to participate in creating her own version of Willie Nelson’s and Amy Nelson’s “A Peaceful Solution”. If you haven’t listened to Julie’s version of “A Peaceful Solution” now would be a perfect time to check it out.

Just take a few moments and hear Julie’s personal style and unique sound. Her melodic harmonies flow over you like warm honey. Her song conveys an angelic blessing and wish from the heavens that nourishes and enlivens our soul with a belief that “A Peaceful Solution” is already a certainty.

I sent some questions along to Julie to help me understand this talented artist/musician in relation to her Art for Peace and she came back with a passionate, thoughtful heartfelt peace bio. I include her responses unedited because if we contemplate Julie’s words with an open heart she will inspire us to action.

I was inspired by your giving me a clear purpose for the day. That’s the first time I ever recorded myself playing bass and it was really fun!, says Julie.

Why are you passionate about creating peace?

I’am passionate about creating peace because from an early age I was surrounded by chaos that was out of my control. It was like being in the eye of a hurricane and I was overwhelmed many times being exposed to the relentless turbulence of living with a schizophrenic family member.

Music was my refuge and savior, giving me a positive place to focus my attention and create beauty. Songwriting became inexpensive therapy to address how I feel about what’s happening in the world and in my life. There are a lot of people who share similar circumstances, and the arts give an invaluable outlet to vent and overcome many challenges. We have the power to shift the energy from negative to positive.

How long have you been working for peace?

I have been working for peace for decades now. I had friends in high school who were being abused by their parents, and one of them after many months and repeated visits by Child Protective Services decided to tell the truth to the authorities after her father had put her in the hospital after the latest beating. My friends and I had told her many times that what she was experiencing was not normal, and that she didn’t deserve to be treated this way. It took a lot of courage for her to stand up to her family’s threats and speak her truth.

I was misquoted by the newspapers at that young age, which enlightened me to some unexpected truths about the media. I became aware that people are often quoted out of context, and that meaning can be subtly altered by how things are presented by the writer’s point of view. Just because it’s in print doesn’t mean it’s the whole truth.

Several years later, I had another friend who was in an abusive relationship with her husband. She called one day to ask if she could move into my parents’ house with her three kids. I could not provide a place for them (it wasn’t my house), but I encouraged her to get out right away and seek help through local social services. She took that first step out the door and got a divorce to save herself and her kids.

Sometimes your kind words to someone in need can make the difference between life and death. She is sure she would have been killed if she had not gotten out. If you know someone in a similar situation, encourage your friends to do the right thing for themselves. Yours could be the voice that spurs them to action.

I was a teacher in day care and public schools for seven years. Some of the things we taught were conflict resolution, reflective listening, and multicultural learning, in addition to as well as involving crafts, games and music.

I taught children how to play instruments and sing. We used the basic blues scale to start improvisation at a young age. Children are often taught only to follow the directions on the page or reproduce verbatim facts. Isn’t it great to be able to create yourself? It feels good inside. Children need to be able to explore while they’re young so they can make better decisions for themselves in later life. Music gives people opportunities to let their creative spirit shine.

What motivates you to work for peace and the environment?

Hope for the future motivates me to work for peace and the environment. It is our duty as stewards of Mother Earth to leave this place better than it is today. Our choices now determine what the future will bring. Future generations deserve to have clean water to drink, clean air to breathe and healthy food to eat.

Just because we have the ability to manufacture a bunch of crap nobody really needs doesn’t mean it’s morally right to do so. Planned obsolescence from technology to apparel seems to be built into the marketing plans of corporations large and small. As consumers we have the power to choose more sustainable options and should do so more frequently.

I’d like to see a world where people are more conscious of the choices they’re making. I think we’re starting to head in the right direction and I hope we’re in time to make significant changes for the better. Everything comes down to basic awareness.

Why have you chosen the path of Art for Peace?

The path of Art for Peace chose me. It combines two of the greatest themes of my life in one package. I’m a work in progress and so are you. When I am creating art - whether it be a painting, shooting photos and video, editing, writing a song, doing a sketch, producing audio tracks - I am at peace.

My mind is in the flow of the moment, not worried about the future or fretting about a past no one can change. At that moment , I feel good about this moment, right now, and that’s really all any of us have. It is a meditation in action, allowing the moment to be exactly as it is, and finding the beauty within it. What is it that makes your heart sing? That is where your peace is.

What are your ideas for peaceful solutions?

All peaceful solutions begin with awareness of the current situation. We need to be honest about what’s happening in the now. The next step is to have a dialogue. That means both sides need to be heard and understood. Just because you don’t agree with me does not automatically mean I am wrong. Perhaps I’m aware of something you’re not aware of yet.

In the end, the truth is the truth, regardless of our opinions about it. All the world’s great religions teach us to love one another. Nations and peoples do not have to be enemies - that is a choice made by leaders and the people who follow them. It’s not rocket science.

Peace is possible when we allow ourselves to embrace it in our minds as possible. We have to visualize what it is we want to see in the world before it can manifest. Then, we need to allow it to happen. If everyone did this for a short time each day, we would have a more peaceful world.

Peace and Blessings to Everyone,

Julie Larson

Thank you Julie for sharing a strong woman’s voice and vision with Willie Nelson’s peace project. I hope other women will come forward now that you have courageously offered this beautiful version of “A Peaceful Solution”.

Hear “A Peaceful Solution” by Julie Larson

Share This

Tags: Arts, Peace

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.