Season of Nonviolence - Day 15

Welcome to Day 15 of the Season of Nonviolence – 64 Days of peaceful wisdom honoring the lives and nonviolent principles of Mohandas 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.

Eleanor Roosevelt has urged, "You must do the things that you think you cannot do." Practicing these 64 Ways will challenge you to do things that you think you cannot do.

Day 15: REVERENCE

Reverence for all life is fundamental to Ahimsa; it is the ultimate rationale for nonviolence - for how can one willingly do harm to that for which one has reverence - and towards which one has the love that reverence engenders?

"In the main, reverence for life dictates the same sort of behavior as the ethical principle of love. But reverence for life contains within itself the rationale of the commandment to love, and it calls for compassion for all creature life."   ~ Albert Schweitzer
  
"Reverence is a virtue that prepares us well to belong to one another; it reaches out to those who have given messages of not wishing to belong.  When we approach others with gentle reverence, we bring gifts and share theirs with us."  ~ Paula Ripple
 
Today:  I open myself up to a feeling of reverence for all forms of life, especially each and every person that I meet during the day.   I'll take a walk outside and experience the beauty that surrounds me as I BE with the sky, the plants and animals, as well as my brothers and sisters.