26 March 2012

Season of Nonviolence - Day 56

Welcome to Day 56 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 56: SELF-SUFFICIENCY

People need the dignity of work and the opportunity to provide for themselves and their families.  Economic self-sufficiency is a requirement for a nonviolent world.  
 
 "Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency."
~ Mahatma Gandhi

For Gandhi, economic self-sufficiency - symbolized by the spinning wheel - was a vital element of independence from colonial rule and from oppressive economic conditions.

Today:  I will discover the satisfaction of making something for myself instead of buying something - and from spending time in self-sufficient quiet reflection or meditation.   If I know someone who is looking for employment, I will offer to assist them with a resume, an application, making phone calls, or practice interviewing.

No comments: