7 DAYS OF AFFIRMATIONS FOR NONVIOLENCE IN DAILY LIVING

Day 45, Mar. 15:

Today, I listen with an open heart to at least one person.

Stephen Covey says, “Seek first to understand and then to be understood.” Peace comes when people comprehend and respect each other’s viewpoints.  Today have one conversation in which you only ask questions to learn another person’s thoughts and show your understanding.  You might ask, “Is there more you wish to say about that?” until the person feels finished.  Notice the effect on that person of your extra effort to listen.

We learn to practice nonviolence one step at a time, one choice at a time, one day at a time. This is how each of us, in our own way, moves the world in the direction of peace. This is the Season for Nonviolence.

This is a part of 64 days of affirmations commemorating the Season for Nonviolence, the span of days between the deaths of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.  These writings have been adapted from 64 Days and Ways to Practice Nonviolence by the Global New Thought Movement and Compassionate Activism for Global Healing by the Association for Global New Thought and added to by Tanya Mayer and Paul Friedman. They are grouped in 9 categories: nonviolence toward self, in close relationships, in my communication, in recreation, in my perspective of others, in daily living, in work, for mother earth and in our world.