Daily Quote
Life is a magnificent manifestation where if we honor sacred Mother Earth, river of love will flow freely. New levels of spiritual awareness areupon us and by recognizing their beauty we can inspire every aspect of our lives.
Micheal Teal
Day 49
“Non-cooperation … will not succeed unless we create an atmosphere of perfect freedom,
unless we prize our opponents liberty as much as our own. The liberty of faith, conscience,
thought and action which we claim for ourselves must be conceded equally to others.”
M.K. Gandhi
The closer we come to change, the more violent becomes the struggle. Whether we are
talking about a war between nations or the kind of verbal warfare we see in the political
arena, this fact stands out. In the USA today, political parties have become nearly
irrelevant. The emotional and verbal violence between people has become so extreme, that
no intelligent or reasonable discourse is possible. Whether it is the pronouncements of the
extreme left or the extreme right, both sides have plenty of room to point the finger at the
other. It serves no useful purpose and only drives them further apart. Indeed, if we could
but look down from the “high ground” we would see that it appears like nothing so much a
children’s schoolyard game. Unfortunately it is a children’s game that is affecting the very
future path of our nation.
The “atmosphere of perfect freedom”, Gandhi refers to is the only path for the truly
nonviolent. This can only occur when we stop pointing fingers at our opponents and point
them only at ourselves. Granting them the right to the absolute freedom we demand for
ourselves, creates that “atmosphere of perfect freedom.”
Will those opponents attempt to restrict our freedom? Possibly. That is where noncooperation and nonviolence become our path. They may attempt to do so, that is the
violent path. But let’s be clear. Whether they play by the same rules we do is only
important in games, and this is not a game. If we allow their anger, their fear and their
actions to dictate ours, then we have already lost. They are always free to make their own
choices, but we’re allowing them to control ours.
If, instead, we step off of the playing field and embrace non-cooperation with their violent
game, we will ultimately win. Quickly or slowly is not the issue. The issue is noncooperation and nonviolence. Only through them can true freedom be established as the
law of life.
Affirmative Practice
Today, I will meditate on what freedom means to me. Today, in all my thoughts and actions, I will remember that even my most ardent opponents are entitled to all the freedom I demand for myself. This is the path of nonviolence.