Mandala and crochet pattern (beginner level) for the Day of Living Together in Peace.
- Elena Acosta
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
Nihil Novum Sub Sole: From Meleager of Gadara to the Globalization Crisis
It is ironic that now, more than ever, we need to celebrate the International Day of Living Together in Peace. Nihil novum sub sole (nothing new under the sun). History remains the same... just when we thought we would advance as a species.
Meleager of Gadara, a Stoic from twenty-one centuries ago—a century before Christ—already said: "The only fatherland, stranger, is the world in which we live." It seems almost funny that there were such advanced groups of thought back then, while today, after pushing for globalization, we return to exclusion, violence, and the persecution of the past.
What is an Irenarch? Education for Peace as an Antidote to Barbarism
Four centuries before Meleager, Euripides said: "Just as the air can be traversed in all its parts by the eagle, so too is every country a fatherland for the noble man." The dream of the Cosmopolis, the world as a single city... has flown right out of our hands.
Social, civil, and political rights are violated day by day, minute by minute. We justify it with politics and economics, but the underlying truth is more perverse. It is the lack of civic ethics within an entire civilization. We do not educate to cooperate, but to excel, stand out, and compete. Society, understood as a fair system of cooperation for the mutual benefit of free and equal people, is today a poet's dream—a utopia.
A culture of peace is, whether some like it or not, recognizing the values that inspire living in respect for life in all peoples, no matter whose life it is. It means practicing attitudes that reject violence in all its forms, building dialogue and negotiation as an antidote to barbarism.
A culture of peace is one where traditions that attend to the development of everyone and protect the environment are respected. It is based on a commitment from everyone to adopt behaviors and lifestyles that truly promote equal rights and opportunities for ALL.
The realistic and responsible task of peace education requires us all to become "Irenarchs"—guardians of peace—cultivating it and keeping it safe throughout all stages of our lives.
Peace is worth it; we cannot turn it into a parody. War is born in the mind, and it is there that it must be eradicated. PEACE must flourish as an indispensable condition of life, for as Kahlil Gibran said: "You may muffle the drum, and you may loosen the strings of the lyre, but who shall command the skylark not to sing?"
Free Crochet Pattern: Living Together in Peace Mandala. Step by Step
Technical Specifications
Level: Intermediate
Geometry: 8-axis symmetrical structure.
Abbreviations (US Terms)
mr: Magic ring.
ch: Chain.
sc: Single crochet.
dc: Double crochet (vareta).
fpdc: Front post double crochet (abrazando el poste).
puff: 4-dc puff stitch.
sl st: Slip stitch.
hdc: Half double crochet.
tr: Treble crochet.
Pattern Instructions
R1: Create a mr. Work 8 sc into the ring. Join with sl st. (Total: 8 sc).
R2: Ch 3 (does not count as a stitch).
Sequence: [1 puff (4-dc), ch 3] in each stitch of the previous round. Join with sl st to the top of the first puff. (Total: 8 puffs and 8 ch-3 spaces).
R3: sl st into the first ch-space.
Sequence: [4 dc in the ch-3 space, 1 fpdc around the puff stitch from the previous round]. Repeat 8 times. Join with sl st. (Total: 40 stitches).
R4: In this round, the design achieves its full three-dimensionality by "hooking" the structure back to R2.
Over the 4 dc of the previous round: Work 2 dc, 1 fpdc (around the post of the 3rd dc of the base), and 1 dc.
Over the fpdc of R3: Work a group of [1 dc, ch 1, 1 dc] but attention: the hook must be inserted around the puff stitch from Round 2 (creating a deep spike relief).
Repetition: Repeat the entire sequence 8 times. Join with sl st. (Total: 48 dc and 8 ch-1 spaces).
R5: Support and Breathing Structure
Start: Join yarn in the first dc immediately following any [1 dc, ch 1, 1 dc] group from the previous round.
Sequence: Ch 3 (counts as 1st dc). In the next stitch, work: [1 hdc, ch 1, 1 hdc]. Work 1 dc in the next stitch. Ch 2. Work 1 puff (4-dc) directly into the ch-1 space (deep spike) from R4. Ch 2.
Repetition: Repeat 8 times. Join with sl st.
R6:
Start: sl st to the first ch-1 space (between the two hdc from R5).
Sequence: In the ch-1 space, work the shell: [4 tr, 1 picot, 4 tr]. Anchor the shell by working 1 sc directly into the top of the puff stitch from R5.
Repetition: Repeat 8 times. Join with sl st and fasten off. (Total: 8 shells).
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