About


Mending our hearts

and our communities with love, 

one heart beat at a time

 

OK, so the background before, the mini history is that it really started with mending, sewing together a colorful  Sukkah for the Jewish Holiday of Sukkot in community at OB! – Creating a shelter of Peace to surround all in community.

The Mini History of Occupying Hearts

I started drawing chalk hearts all over the place at Occupy Boston (OB), Dewey Square in the Fall of 2011. I’ve been involved with OB, and have close connections with the Protest Chaplains and the Faith and Spirituality Tent. I travel this world with a Spiritual, Art, and Justice-filled lens and suitcase.

 

I believe that we must “Occupy our hearts” first and foremost to be able to do all the hard, important work we  are called to do in this world.

 

One day, I started chalking around occupiers, cops, and federal officials in line at vendors for their lunch break, around the statue of Gandhi, and in front of the encampment tents. It was amazing to see the smiles that appeared on individuals’ faces followed by an entire community of folks surrounded with love.

 

The chalking expanded to more folks of all ages – including kids – drawing hearts on the sidewalk and chalking in community together.

 

I chalked on the statehouse steps for the two-month anniversary of OB – “Occupy Boston Peacefully” – and was detained for this.



I chalked a big heart on the Boston Common for the OB vigil when OB was evicted from Dewey Square.

 

I also chalked in Somerville for Somerville’s first GA.

 

And, while all this was happening, I created “Occupy Your Heart” stickers and shared these stickers with cops, occupiers, kids Pokies, and everyone else who I met along the way.


As of February 1, 2012, I have shared more then 15,000 stickers. They are all over the U.S., Haiti, Uganda, South America, and Europe.

So, why “Occupy your Heart”? We need to occupy our hearts in order to get to our core center to be able to do all the hard, justice-filled work in this world.

The Occupying Hearts Tour asks the Question….


What Fills Your Heart?

It is a tour of love,
of community, of conversation.

It is about sharing stickers as a reminder to do what we love.
It is about being creative together and learning to grow from our hearts.

It is about taking the time to be present.

I am so grateful to Cambridge Repro-Graphics and to Trisha, specifically, for all your help with printing stickers! I am also so grateful for the folks who invented sidewalk chalk!

I’m grateful for the weather to let me chalk so much this season (even though it is crazy how much our planet is hurting) and I’m super grateful to Christa Lamb for helping to build this website to share the love around the globe and for taking so many of the amazing photos on the Feb. tour!

“Love is something if you give it a way,
give it a way,
give it a way,
Love is something if you give it a way,
you end up having more” –Malvina Reynolds

Dear friends near and far, 

How are YOU occupying your heart for all the hard work we are called to do in this world? What fills your heart?

~ in creative peace and love,
Laura Evonne Steinman

“Justice is what Love looks like in public” – Cornel West