Welcome to Day 18 of the Season of Nonviolence – 64 Days of peaceful wisdom honoring the lives and nonviolent principles of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cesar Chavez.
Nonviolence begins with learning how to be less violent and more compassionate towards ourselves. We learn by building the courage to speak and act with respect, honor and reverence for our own being.
Day 18: FREEDOM
"Our ultimate freedom is the right and power to decide how anybody or anything outside ourselves will affect us." ~ Stephen Covey
One of the truths of life is that we cannot make another person change; we can't make anyone love us or be kind to others. But we are free to choose how we respond to others in our lives when they do not see things as we do or treat us in ways that we find unacceptable. We are free to leave an environment or relationship that we find toxic; we can remove ourselves from family and community members under challenging circumstances. But we are also free to choose to stay, to bring love and light into these situations and not take things personally.
Be mindful today of the interactions between you and others. Exercise your freedom to not to take things personally on the drive home from work. Notice if you are being reactive and allowing someone to push your buttons. Do you fall into old behavior patterns? Set an intention to remain aware of how your words or actions either inflame or cool tensions? Journal about the choices you make in these interactions and identify changes you are willing to make in your attitudes and actions.
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