Modules #1/#5 - “MINGLING” - Spring 2022

[Prof. Sindor Aloyarc]

Welcome to the Module 01 and Module 05 "Mingling" thread! This is about getting to interact with one another as classmates, particularly about themes from the lessons and your corresponding class work if that speaks to you. Those who post their Monologues or Manifestations may provide helpful prompts for discussion points. While you're welcome to mix and mingle as much as you like, each of your first three 50+ word posts you will receive 5 points. When submitting your work, please let me know if you've posted once, twice, or three (or more) times so I can confirm participation. As a fun option, you may choose to Role-Play these interactions though are not required to. If you do, please take a look at this RPGuidelines page for some helpful tips.

Emily and Sindor have moved all the desks out of the Muggle Studies class into a spare section of the show room.

For this evening the atmosphere is simplistic, with gentle piano and violin music playing in the background and a complete lack of decoration, save for the countless number of candles they’ve set up surrounding the place.

Sin asks Em to grab some cushions on her way back in as he begins to set up a tray of water pitchers on the front desk. They are magically refilling and filled with various combinations of lemon, lime, berries, cucumber, and mint, with both sparkling and still options.

Next to these is kettle of hot water with a basket of various tea bags behind it and rows of mugs.

Both these mugs and the cups for water are enchanted to feel the holder’s energy, then magically display a muggle quote uniquely for them at the moment it’s filled with liquid.

Picking up a mug along with an herbal bag of nettle tea, Professor Aloyarc glances down while pouring the steaming water over the top and taking a look at the front where the following words appear:

“For every inside there is an outside, and for every outside there is an inside; though they are different, they go together.” - Alan Watts

Excitement builds in his belly as students begin to enter the room.

“Welcome!” Sindor smiles. “Please feel free to grab a drink as you like and come join us in the middle of the room.” Looking at the windows where a storm rages outside, “There’s been so much snow lately that with everyone cooped up inside I figured it might be nice to get a little stretching and movement in for anyone interested. Otherwise you’re welcome to grab a cushion from our lovely assistant this term, Miss Emily Spencer, while we proceed in our discussions of the current modules. Beginning with Faith for those joining for the first time, and Peace for any returning members.”

Giving a few shoulder rolls at the end of his last sentence, Sin says, “But while we’re at it, let’s start with some start of term introductions! As you know I’m Prof. Sindor Aloyarc. I’m an HOL graduate of house Ravenclaw from 2008, though I was away for twelve years after that. Some things I enjoy include theater, dance, and yoga, and I love connecting with others socially, especially over delicious food and drinks!”

“During this time, feel free to talk about your HOL life and/or include tidbits from your real life (baring in mind privacy policies that disclude the sharing of such information as full names or the city where you live). You may mention classes you’re taking or other aspects of the castle you’re looking forward to this semester, along with any musings that may have come up from the lesson in question this month.”

Opening the conversation up to the rest of the group, he says “Who would like to go next?”

[Silvana Mandeville]

Silvana enters the classroom excitedly, some of the students are familiar to her, she often sees them around the castle. Prof. Sindor welcomes them all and invites them to get a drink. Silvana takes one of the glasses she thinks was berries and then looks for a seat. She waves cheerfully at Emily who is in the front of class. This is not the first time for Silvana, last term she was here as an assistant along with Emily. Prof. Sindor starts introduce himself, then ask for us to continue the introduction. Silvana looks around and no one seems want to start, so she raises her hand and says, "I'll start first. My name is Silvana Mandeville, a Third Year Ravenclaw! This term, aside from this class, I am also taking Astronomy, Magical Creatures Lore, Poisons, and History of Hogwarts: The Professors. This term I'm looking forward to joining events from each common room since last term I was busy. Outside school I love traveling, watching movies and dramas, reading, cooking, and shopping! I love cats but sadly I don't own them anymore." She smiles as she finishes her introduction.

[Prof. Sindor Aloyarc]

So happy to see Silvana returning to the classroom after assisting him over the Fall, Sin flashes a warm smile in her direction as she raises her hand to introduce herself.

“I hear you about the cats,” he responds, hanging his head in playfully over dramatic sorrow, “I’ve been aching to have some grace our home as soon as possible, but we’re waiting for the right fit for a couple of furry friends to join us. ‘The cats choose the humans’ kinda to thing!”

Then, on second thought, “And we’re also being somewhat lazy about looking,” Sin laughs. “Part of that is due to the fact that we have some stuff around the house we’d like to get to first though. A few painting and furnishing projects namely we’ve been putting off too long and now waiting for the cold weather to leave again. Which is in many ways a great example of the very first energy of this course, faith! First things first, and one thing at a time. So often we need to set up the foundation for something or ‘get our ducks in a row’ before it’s the most practical to move onto the next steps. But I can’t wait!”

[Violet Sutton]

As Professor Sindor was enjoying himself talking to another student, who seemed to be quite pleasant, Violet entered the class trying not to produce a large noise. Not wanting a bunch of eyes to turn towards her, Violet whispered to the Professor, 'Sorry, if I am late Professor.' in her low but deep voice. Fashioned in a very modern-looking way, Violet had styled her fairly long hair to that of an American Witch. It was her favorite style, but she loved Hogwarts more than she would ever love being in Ilvermony. Keeping a few steps closer to the second row of chairs, she sat down near a girl with brown hair. Violet was too shy to start a discussion with her, and those were the first few feeling she always felt when starting to learn in a new class.

Adding a point of stopping to her nervous nature, she stood up with some bravery and started speaking in her usual speaking style. 'Hello everyone' she stopped, wanting to sit back once again, but she couldn't. 'I am Violet Sutton, but feel free to call me Violet.' She always had loved her name. Though a few of her friends were joking to her that it's quite old styled, she believed it is rather modern and so it is fitting all her personality and appearance traits. 'I am from the legendary house of Ravenclaw, eagerly wearing the robes of intelligence in terms of imagination to see the world, out of the frame.' Her eyes were shining as she was talking about Ravenclaw, her second home here at Hogwarts. 'I love reading and writing, and I have currently finished two short stories and one fiction.' She said in an appreciative tone about herself, because she loved writing that much. It was her friend when she is alone without friends. 'At Hogwarts, except this wonderful class, I also take classes Astronomy and Potions, but my top favorites are Transfiguration, Arithmancy and Philosophy. Those really make me feel outside this world, or Universe, and travel through a higher dimension than of what we know right now!' Violet stopped looking at the class with a wide smile drawn on her face. During the next moment, her eyes were directed at Professor Sindor, expecting to reply any questions he might ask from her.

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

Tarma was sipping at her tea, enjoying the flavour and fragrance. She listens to Sindor's introduction to the class, to himself, and enjoyed greatly what Silvana said. She's met Silvana here and there, and quite often found Silvana at the Sett participating in various activities, including in the Games Tent.

Unfortunately, as she was listening to Sindor's reply, she accidentally snorted with giggles at the phrase "‘get our ducks in a row’" because of a sudden she was imagining Sindor herding ducks, lining them all up in a row, and teaching them how to do pirouettes. Fortunately, some of her tea was gone by that time, so she doesn't spill it, and she was able to hide the giggles a big and listen to Violet. Violet she knows from Charms class; she was quite fun to have in the class! This is excellent to be sharing a class with her.

When Violet was done, and after a moment in case someone else wants to talk, Tarma speaks up.

"I'm Tarma, I'm a Professor here. I've known Sindor for ages and ages ... " She grins at Sindor, ducking her head a bit. "I'm a Graduate of HOL Hogwarts, and was a Post Graduate for what? Two weeks? One week? Then became a Professor with the class that I'd taught as a Student Teacher. Currently I teach 4 classes and am taking 3." She thinks a bit and oh! "Right. I was Sorted into Hufflepuff. Much to my surprise. I do like Hufflepuff. Tonks was in it! It's a fun House to be in, and has all kinds of nifty people in it. There's a lot more, but those are some highlights."

She settles back into the cushion, then glances at surprise at her tea cup, from which some words seem to appear. "Oh."

[Violet Sutton]

As that moment was arriving, all the nature of shyness Violet had within herself flew over. She was listening to the speech of Professor Tarma, who wasn't quite new to Violet. She loved being in the Charms class, producing some tricky spells with her trusty wand. Her eyes stopped at the cup of team Tarma was sipping. 'Tea.' It wasn't something bringing a pleasant memory to Violet. She had experienced a few bad incidents related to tea, so now she had completely stopped having them. She instead used to rely on alternatives such as Coffee, but drinks were not up to her alley. As she heard the little sounds students were making, her thoughts got struck and the class received her attention once again. Professor Tarma was finishing up her speech, and Professor Sindor seemed to be enjoying the speeches sitting at the corner of the class.

Wanting to do something new, Violet decided to clear up some questions she had about Professor Tarma, who is someone Violet has been curious about for a while now. As she had returned to her chair and continued sipping her tea, Violet started speaking in her low but deep voice. 'Professor Tarma, it's so good to be sharing a class with you.' She stopped, but she did not let the cloud called nervosity cover her. 'May I ask you a few questions?' Violet asked in the form of a rhetorical question, as there was only a very few seconds spent in the continuation of what she has been talking about. 'How was it feeling when you were a student being a part of the Hufflepuff house? Hufflepuffs are known to be rather hard-working and loyal, is it true from your experience?' she phrased, which is something she was curious about for years now. But, that didn't end her questions, as she was deciding to ask out a tricky question from the professor. 'And next, I am gonna ask, what is your favorite class, the most enjoyable one you had taken during your life as a student and a professor?' Satisfied with the number of questions she could ask from Professor Tarma, she sat down on her chair making herself comfortable.

[Prof. Sindor Aloyarc]

Noticing Tarma stifle a giggle (and knowing her from way back), Sindor wonders if he’s picked up on envisioning what she’s pictured in her mind, as a twitch of a smile flashes across his face too at the hilarious thought. He offers her a friendly wink, then turns to Miss Sutton.

Happy to see Violet in class for an opportunity to get to know each other a little more, Sin listens to her introduction, nodding encouraging in her direction, followed by Professor Black’s.

The class is off to what is sure to be a fun group to interact with this term, and Professor Aloyarc is thrilled to see both the new and returning faces!

“I’m never sure what to expect as far as the energy of the groups coming in, but I’m excited to discover what this semester turns out to include!”

Taking a gulp of now room temperature tea, Sindor clears his throat.

“Starting this class was definitely a test of faith for me, as the subject itself isn’t always the most glamorous to everyone, and the underlying concept is similarly not everyone’s cup of tea—“ He makes a silly face “—but these last few semester have afforded me the chance to become at peace with the feeling of nervous excitement at the beginning of each fall or spring!”

Taking a deep breath in, then slowly releasing in a very relaxing way, Sin finishes his thoughts.

“Faith and Peace are often quite interlinked together, as you may find to be the case with all the modules between Part I and II as we move through them. There are such bold similarities, while being quite decidedly different. It is possible of course to have one without the other, yet to have Faith while feeling at Peace is an amazing thing. Can sometimes take a little effort to find the balance, but so nice anytime it happens!”

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

Tarma had smiled at Violet when she heard her name mentioned, and was about to respond when Sindor spoke up. Tarma almost snorts at the look from Sindor, and then she listens to him, grinning.

When he is done, Tarma nods to Sindor and Emily, then to Silvana, checking to see if they want to speak, and then replies to Violet.

"Keeping in mind the discussion topic, which, for me (as a returning student) is Peace, and remembering Sindor's ducks, I would say that being where I feel I belong promotes a sense of peace. Even if what might be happening could be considered highly enjoyable and really active at moments, or on the other hand, rather stressful other times, being where I feel in my gut is where I'm supposed to be helps me feel centered and ..... oh, what's that expression?" She is quiet for a moment. "Got it. 'Give peace a chance'. So many of the people of Hufflepuff have this deep well of peace inside and they kind of radiate it out. Not saying that people of other Houses don't have it, just that I've noticed it's inherent in many Badgers.

"Hard working and loyal? I more think of it as having a great sense of fun, and creating that fun appears to be something like 'hard working' to others maybe. There are people in all the Houses who are hard workers. I think, though, that while some people are hard-working because that's just how they are, others are hard-working because they are hoping for rewards for being hard working. For doing lots of stuff. I think a lot of Badgers are what could be called hard working because what they're doing is fun. So it's really not 'work' at all."

Tarma glances at the words which are slowly forming above her tea cup. "Loyalty ... what's loyalty but staying true to one's self? True to one's core? And if Sorted correctly, I think a person just stays in Hufflepuff because that House is a reflection of who and what they are, inside. So yeah, the Badgers I know have those traits, and many more."

Tarma sort of grins at Violet. "Not one for asking hard questions, are you?" After a pause, she continues.
"Favorite class?" She glances at Sindor. Live dangerously or what?

"This is a great class, what we're taking here. I don't know that I can say what is absolute favorite class, because how can you answer 'what's your favorite book' when you like all kinds of books. It all depends on the subject matter, the teacher, what kind of mood I'm in at the time. So much. But I do remember that I was drawn to HOL Hogwarts and stayed because of one class, Animal Mythology, taught by Professor Angel A. Elendili. Professor Angel. I thought 'wow, this is so great' and decided to stay because any place with a class like this in the curriculum has got to be nifty."

These are the words which show above Tarma's cup: "to thine own self be true'"

[Silvana Mandeville]

Silvana smiles hearing Violet and Prof. Tarma's introduction. It's been a while since she had seen Violet and she is happy to meet Violet here. Silvana drinks while hears to the others. Violet's question made Silvana raises her eyebrow, wondering what it would be like to be a Hufflepuff. She chuckles at Prof. Tarma's answer. 'Ah, right. If we are sorted into the right house, then we will live there because that is who we are. I think the place will feel like home. Just like how I feel when I am in Ravenclaw,' she thought. Silvana waits for Prof. Tarma finishes her sentence and raise her hand. "Prof. Sin, I have a question. Prof. Tarma said that if sorted correctly someone stays at the house because it reflects who and what they are. But, I was wondering what if someone sorted into a House they're not fond of? Though, they have a few traits from that House, it wasn't as much as others, and it feels like they belong in another House. And it makes them feel insecure. Here we can change Houses. But what if we can't do it here and we have to spend 7 years of our school life in that House? Prof. Sin said faith and peace are linked, but if this happens to someone isn't it hard to find peace if they are too worried? This may not only happen in this case but I think there are many things that happen in our life where we can't find peace because we lost faith in ourselves. How do we deal with it?"

[Prof. Sindor Aloyarc]

Sin enjoys hearing the chat about houses and classes. “I remember really enjoying that as one of my favorite classes as well, Tarma! And love your outlook on the house of badgers. Quite appropriate.”

In response to Silvana’s questions, “I’m glad you asked, miss Mandeville! I can imagine it would be somewhat shocking to be sorted into a house one isn’t particularly fond of. Sometimes we come to discover that things worked out for the best even when we’ve tried our hardest to reject the circumstances at hand. In this way, the power of faith can potentially show up for us even when we reject it.”

Adjusting his seat cushion, “I’ve found in my life that it is much more difficult to find peace without some level of faith, whereas I can start with finding my footing in faith and allow the sense of peace to wash over me in its time and place. While I see them as having lots of similar qualities, it’s quite difficult to feel at peace when the ‘ground beneath you’ feels insecure. Someone sorted into a house they wish to reject may find a sense of security their over time, though it might be argued that this sense of being grounded in one’s house could potentially come along sooner for those who are willing to take a curious outlook without clinging to any feelings of insecurity too tightly. I’ve often found that when I’m frustrated or disappointed by something, say for example getting cast in a different role than I wanted for a musical theater or dance show, it can be devastating and I can feel myself becoming tense and frustrated, but when I practice the energies of faith and see where the road leads, it usually leads me not only to a peaceful place, but often to a place where I realize things have actually worked out better than I expected. In spite of not getting what I thought was ‘my way.’”

Hesitating, Sindor adds, “I think there’s also a lot to be learned about what we try to resist. Frequently, though not always, when we struggle for *or* against something too aggressively, there’s a lot of self discovery that can come from that place if and when we are ready to look. Both when it comes to the power of Faith and Peace!”

[Prof. Maxim Trevelyan]

As usual, it seems that Maxim was one of the last to arrive. He takes a look at the already gathered group, and grimaces. It seems that most people were already gathered.

Walking towards the cushion pile, Maxim grabs one and sits towards the end of the group, just catching some of the conversation about Houses and switching places. He sticks out his tongue in contemplation of the topic, seeing that he is uniquely qualified to comment on it, what with him being a Hufflepuff before making a switch to the house of blue and bronze.

Ultimately, Maxim decides for the conversation to play off without his input, unless Sindor will actively call on him to comment. He is not sure that people will be welcoming towards his answers anyway.

He sits on the cushion and takes out his notes on the class, namely a few things he jotted down during previous course about faith. But now, Maxim has to think about peace. Musing to himself, he listens to the conversation going on about him, and notes a few things that sound interesting to him.

After Sindor finishes talking, Maxim jumps in about something that bothered him ever since he started listening to the conversation.

“You keep talking about intrinsic or inner reasons for either switching houses…” Maxim pauses there and frowns. “…or anything else, really. But what about extrinsic reasons?” he asks, his stare stubbornly on Sindor. “When your reasons for peace or faith is out of your control, like other people. How do you reconcile that?”

[Emily Spencer]

"Oh my!"

Emily gives an embarrassed laugh, hoping that the others have not noticed her daydreaming. She had been automatically handing out pillows, her mind a million miles away. She raises a hand in acknowledgment, a sheepish grin on her face as she glances over at Professor Sin.

"Right, then! I'm Emily Spencer, a third-year Slytherin prefect and erstwhile keeper of Annabelle, our giant squid. When I'm not busy keeping Annabelle out of trouble, you can find me in the Book Club or Library Department where I am a moderator. I haven't blown anything up..."

She glances over at Professor Tarma and wags a finger in mock rebuke, "Hush, you or I'll tell Baby Yoda!"

She turns to smile at Silvana and tells her how good it is to see her again and then leans back, a cup of tea in hand, to listen to the conversations flowing around her.

[Silvana Mandeville]

Silvana listens to Prof. Sin while answering her question. Occasionally nodding and writing a few important sentences on the parchment. Out of the corner of her eye, she see Maxim enter the classroom. "Thank you for your answer, Prof. Sin! It helps a lot." Silvana thanks him. Maxim then asks an interesting question, she waits for Prof. Sin to answer it with excitement. She is very curious.

Then Emily, who seems to have just woken up from her daydream, greets the class. Silvana tells her that she is happy to be back in this class too, then back to enjoying her drink.

[Emily Spencer]

Emily, too, listened with interest to hear Prof. Sindor’ s answer to Maxim’s most interesting question. She eyed the latter speculatively, her interest piqued. Not wanting to interject her own thoughts on the matter just yet, she settled back, taking another long sip of tea and murmuring to no one in particular…

”Most interesting indeed.”

[Prof. Sindor Aloyarc]

“Oof, such an excellent point, Mister Trevelyan,” Sindor says, nodding his head along. “I’m glad you brought this up.”

Taking the opportunity to acknowledge Maxim’s question directly at times while also being sure to address the group as a whole throughout his following musings as far as body language and eye contact, he continues, “While on the surface one might say the same answer can be applicable in both cases; as much as I do believe there’s a time and a place for the practice of accepting and making peace with how things are, particularly when it’s out of our control, there is absolutely a point where once we’ve given something a fair shot —which can happen relatively fast or slowly over time— the situation moves into a space where the exact opposite happens. Where to continue down the same path can be incredibly damaging to our own psyche or that of others. It can seem confusing on its face at times to find which side of that line we should fall on, but I’ve often found when someone resolves to try and is still met with factors outside their control making the circumstances potentially unhealthy, while it can still be challenging to change course and even a huge bummer, we can usually tell with a little soul searching which side of the fence we’re meant to be on. And we most certainly can take advantage of opportunities to reflect and find self discovery in both cases.”

Scrunching up his nose at the thought of one of his favorite analogies in these cases, “To stick around in a relationship or job or living situation, etcetera, beyond its ‘expiration date’ isn’t so different to me than drinking spoiled milk while trying to convince ourselves or others that it’s still good. It’s one thing if myself or my partner purchases the wrong milk and we wanna try using it up anyway before buying more, but it’s something quite different entirely trying to suffer through milk that’s gone bad. Not that we’re always in a position to run out immediately to the grocery store! Unfortunately at times we can’t rectify things right away, having to wait til a more appropriate time, which can be very annoying.”

Laughing, he follows up this last comments with, “I don’t know if anyone here has ever accidentally taken a sip of bad milk before, but I can assure you it was quite a traumatizing experience for me when it came to drinking milk again for a while after taking a big gulp full!”

Then, somewhat more seriously again, “But yes, there’s no doubt in my mind that situational context plays a huge factor, and in many cases the decision to alter course in these situations, even where it’s within our power, can be just as frustrating if not more so when we wouldn’t have done so otherwise.”

“I’d say one big example of this for me,” Professor Aloyarc attempts to illustrate from his own experience, “sticking once again with the theme of performing, was a time I must have been seventeen and was offered the lead role in a production of ‘The Nutcracker.’ I’d worked with this company before, and had a lovely experience, in fact got to play one of my all time favorite roles to date with them as Puss in Boots in ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ ballet. Yet in this case, after what I believe was only one or maybe two rehearsals, it quickly became apparent I was in a toxic situation. I won’t take up class time today outlining the details, but suffice to say I was ridiculously uncomfortable and wound up pulling out of the show much to my disappointment, and in spite of how gut wrenchingly torn I was in doing it.”

“In fact,” Sin recalls, “At the time I hadn’t yet ever performed professionally and the gig was unpaid, but even when the executive director of the opera house this ballet company performs at called me personally to ask if I’d reconsider, she went so far as to offer me thousands of dollars more than I’ve ever been paid on a single show contract as an adult. I was only working about 5-10 hours a week at that point in my life making a little over $6 an hour (half of what minimum wage is here now), with no rent or other significant bills to pay, so at the time it would have felt like even more money to me than it does today. Deep inside, however, I knew the choice was clear no matter how much it put my stomach in knots. The milk wasn’t just ‘not my preferred brand’ or kind, it was one hundred percent sour and rotten.”

Fiddling with his teacup, Sindor adds one final thought. “I’m lucky though. While my father would likely have advised otherwise, when I asked my Mom if I should reconsider taking the money and the role, she said ‘It’s your decision, and it depends on what the cost is worth to you. It is a lot of money and it would be over in a few months. But it sounds like you know you’d be selling your soul to something you don’t believe in. If it doesn’t feel right to you, then no amount of money is worth it and you should walk away feeling proud of yourself for listening to your heart regardless of what anybody else thinks. Especially when it’s also a sad choice in some ways, and not what you’d necessarily have wanted for yourself if things were different.’”

Sin smiles around the room, “Her words have always stuck with me when coming up against tough decisions like this.”

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

Tarma laughs at the milk analogy. Oh, so true. Eeeuuuu. Then listens to the rest of what Sindor says. Some of it she understood right away and some she knew she'd have to look at later.

"So, you were discovering in yourself a conflict, and you basically chose peace?"

She muses a bit. "I've found myself in situations where I was extremely upset at whatever was happening. But then, when I cooled off a bit, I could looked closer, and found out that really, my upset had nothing to do with the situation, but with my thoughts, or thinking about it. If I accepted 'what is', then I could 'Well, there it is" and then sort of let it go. Then I could choose what I wanted without all that judgment and stuff (hopefully) affecting what I wanted to do."

[Prof. Sindor Aloyarc]

“That’s right!” Sin exclaims in response to Tarma’s question. “These are such personal kinds of obstacles, each one and everyone being different in what might be ‘best’ for the individual, but for me this was what choosing peace looked like. And I’m so grateful that I did! It’s gotten easier over the years, but by no means have I moved beyond the anxiety and guilt I often feel associated with a crossroad such as this, especially when it impacts others around me, even in small ways.”

[Prof. Maxim Trevelyan]

Maxim nods when Sindor eventually answers him and jots a few things down on his parchment paper. With each passing minute, the writing on it seems to get longer and longer. Some of it is connected to the discussion and some of it resembles more of a madman’s unconnected musings than anything of note.

Some other people in the rooms voice their opinions and Maxim notes those down as well, whether he agrees with them or not. All in all, it is a good fodder for discussion and to maybe revisit the topics in his own assignment.

“I like the analogy,” Maxim chortles. While it might seem too simple, it explains his feelings on several issues discussed at this month’s circle. Nothing intrinsic about sour milk either.

"You are a better person than me then, Sindor," he stretches as he ponders the answer. "Why am I obliged to choose peace when other people do not? Should I just allow to be stepped on?" Maxim adds, finding the idea perplexing, but knew some people choose to do it this way. "Of course, when it is other people that are part of the conflict and not just general circumstances. Then I agree on the matter with you."

He has nothing else to add for the moment, so Maxim decides to let some other participants raise their thoughts on the matter before rejoining the discussion.

[Prof. Sindor Aloyarc]

“Peace isn’t necessarily an obligation in my mind” Sindor considers, “so much as an option that may not even be the best pending on the aspects of what peace means to a person in the moment.”

Thinking a bit more, he adds, “In many cases, what one might not consider to be very ‘peaceful’ such as expressing anger, is much more beneficial and peace-forward to communicate rather than suppress, even if we’re a little heated when we do it as these are natural and healthy emotions. Not to say there isn’t a time and place to let something go, but that’s often not been my style in the past.” Sindor laughs.

“There’s definitely instances where we’re not meant to just accept things or feel good about them, but rather use that fire to fuel whatever direction feels right. Especially if we are feeling disrespected. This might mean a choice of redirection, or could also be about staying put and being with our anger, perhaps toward some other goal, if that’s the choice we’re vibing toward.”

Then, with a bit of a grimace, “Sadly when I’ve come up against this kinda thing in the past, it’s felt to me like a lose-lose situation, which makes me very angry. This anger often doesn’t dissipate right away regardless of my choice, and there are times where it never really leaves and I never truly feel ‘at peace’ with how things are or are working out ahead of me, but I still somehow feel at peace with the decisions made in spite of that. That it was the next best step for me at the time. It is, of course, all so very personal and subjective, but essentially this is what I was trying to convey in all my ramblings, about finding the balance between staying and going. It doesn’t always make sense to us, let alone somebody else, but when that voice inside tells us, hey, what about this (whether we like it or not), and keeps nagging away, it can be hard to ignore. Sometimes it’s ignoring that voice for long periods of time that keeps me from finding balance in my life, though in truth I haven’t always been in a space physically, mentally, or emotionally to devote the energy to something just yet, which may be another example of how I have not ‘chosen peace’ in the past because it wasn’t the right time for me to. Which is also completely valid, whether we ever are meant to or not!”

[Emily Spencer]

Emily looks over to Maxim and Sin, drawn into the conversation almost despite herself.

"You know, I have to agree. Peace can mean different things at different points in your life and totally dependent on the situation. Merlin knows, there have been times in my life when my actions outwardly seemed anything but peaceful, but they gave me the inner peace I needed. In the end, that was the best choice for me. Sometimes, selfishness is not a bad thing, you know. Also, extricating oneself from a potentially toxic situation may call for kicking a few doors down."


She gives a little laugh and takes another sip of tea.

"To return to an earlier topic, on the matter of faith, I find it, personally, to be something I could intrinsically not live without and still have peace. I know that the two are not necessarily always inclusive, but that's how I feel. Without hope or faith that the situation would improve by my actions or state of mind, I would have no inner peace."

Emily chuckles and whispers almost to herself, "I do hope that made sense!"