Stairway to Heaven - The Ziggurat
One of the key words Gandhi used in expressing the meaning of nonviolence was ahimsa, literally ‘non-harm,’ the refusal to hurt others. It's the rock bottom of nonviolence. A second key word was satyagraha (a combination of the words for ‘truth’ and ‘holding firmly’) sometimes called ‘truth force,’ holding on to what is true and good, striving to bring about more humane conditions for people and society. King called it ‘soul force.’ Dr. Gerard Vanderhaar (daily quote for June 3, 2020 This Nonviolent Life – Daily Inspiration for Your Nonviolent Journey, Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service - https://paceebene.org/
I feel my ‘inner radical’ waking up, emerging as something both new and familiar. Not to re-engage in the political activism of my distant past (that system is broken, yet, until we change it, that IS the system), but to call forth the shifts and changes needed, individually and collectively, to bring new collaborative, cooperative systems forth.
Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me … let this be the moment now (Sy Miller and Jill Jackson Miller – 1955)
Words seem inadequate to express the depth of sadness and grief I’ve felt this week witnessing the discord and rage playing out across the United States. Sadly, I’ve seen it before both here and abroad.
Likewise, words don’t seem up to the task of lifting us out of the morass to a view above the fray. Above the fray we can imagine a different world: a world of peace; of harmony, of beauty and joy; of love. A world of understanding that we are one. A world where justice is not a system, but a way of being. A world in which ‘ahimsa’ is our way of life. Let this be the moment we pivot to peace.
Yet it is with words that we create our world. Our words beget action. The dissonance and outrage being lived out today stems, in part, from our failure to use words wisely, thoughtfully, with awareness and care. Rather than words of peace and nonviolence, we humans have declared ‘war’ on most everything: other cultures and countries, disease, poverty, racism and a host of other ills.
Surely by now we understand that war is not the answer no matter what the question. As so-called leaders declare war on each other and incite us to follow, WE must lead with a resounding ‘NO!’ We must render the words of separation, of competition, of violence null and void. We must toss them onto the trash heap of outworn concepts and ‘facts’ that science no longer supports. Separation has defined far too much of the history of humanity. We must weave science and spirit together again in our consciousness as surely as they are wed in the universe.
This is the work of pivoting to a new paradigm in which humanity along with all of nature on our planet can thrive. The work is deep and personal, each of us contributing to a larger collective. Our work is as simple as being thoughtful with each and every post or comment on social media. Gulp! And, simple is not easy. Our work is work of the heart. Commitment, discipline, and consistent awareness are required. Being counter to much of our culture, using words of peace will require acts of courage, different, yet no less demanding, than engaging in battle.
The world we’ve known with its illusion of separation is falling apart. Rather than putting Humpty Dumpty together again, it is time to pivot to a new story. Infinite possibility awaits our discovery and calls us forth to weave the world from a place of new understanding and new knowledge, using wisdom past and present to guide us step by step to a culture of peace.
My ‘inner radical’ agrees with author/activist Rivera Sun who declares that radical is the new sensible. As part of my pivot, I’ll be joining some of her summer trainings and offerings (you can find them here). I’ll continue to engage with nature and listen deeply to call forth wisdom from my past and discover what new wisdom emerges at this pivotal moment in time. We can do this. It is our time.
Mountain Morning Majesty