The Peace Company Celebrates the Season for Nonviolence
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi are the 20th century saints of nonviolence. They showed us that the moral force of love is indeed stronger than the coercive force of oppression. Every year, for 64 days between the anniversaries of the deaths of these two great men (January 30 and April 4), we celebrate the Season for Nonviolence, when individuals and groups all over the world are encouraged to re-commit themselves to nonviolence as a way of life and as a road to peace and social change.
Dr. King said, ?“Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love.?” I believe that violence arises from ignorance. Only if we believe we are truly separate from one another can we hate (and fear), and therefore hurt, one another. Once we remember the truth ?– that we are one; deeply and inherently inter-connected ?– love blossoms naturally as respect for all living beings with whom we share a place in the vast web of life.
In this 2004 Season for Nonviolence, we at The Peace Company hope you will remember this core unity of being, and engage yourself in the study and practice of nonviolence ?– whether at the personal, local, national, or global level. As more and more of us remember, and act on this knowledge, we can and will change the world.
Gandhi says, ?“Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.?” To help you do your part in unleashing this force, The Peace Company has gathered a variety of resources relating to King, Gandhi, and nonviolence.
If you already have a copy of The Peace Book: 108 Simple Ways to Make a More Peaceful World, we invite you to read chapter nine: ?‘Peace and Nonviolence.?’ If you don?’t have a copy of the book, you can order it now. In that chapter you will find a Self-Test on Nonviolence and a Nonviolence Inventory of Your Home and Family. Click here to download Chapter Nine of The Peace Book, 'Peace and Nonviolence' and access these simple tools, so you can start your Season for Nonviolence from where you are today, and move forward with clear intention and commitment.
Gandhi tells us: ?“We are constantly being astonished these days at the amazing discoveries in the field of violence. But I maintain that far more undreamt of and seemingly impossible discoveries will be made in the field of nonviolence.?” It is up to each of us to make these discoveries, and to use them to build a world where Dr. King?’s ?‘Beloved Community?’ is not a dream but an everyday reality. Thank you for doing your part.
In peace,
Louise Diamond
CEO, The Peace Company
