This International Day of Non-Violence marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, the renowned global icon of peace, and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence. As someone who decided to dedicate her life to spreading peace, you will understand how much this day means to me, and how important its message means to our planet. Turn on the news, and you are immediately reminded of the hatred, fear, and diversity that serves as the source of our violent world. I know it’s easy to be disheartened and give up — to believe this is just the world we live in, and there’s nothing we can do about it.
But, that is not the message of this day, nor is it the message that I have been sharing around the world. Peace is within reach, my friends. In fact, it’s at an arm’s length — achievable in this lifetime. And don’t let anyone tell you differently. It’s up to each of us to believe in Gandhi’s words, then, more importantly, take them into our hearts and live them.
We must be the change we want to see in our world.
This doesn’t mean talking about peace, writing about peace, complaining about the lack of peace. It means we must BE PEACE. We must find the stillness in our hearts — the part of us that is eternity — then begin to put love into all that we do and think and say. We must love our children, our friends and family, our bosses and the work we do. We must even love those who upset and anger us the most. Even more. We must love all.
As Gandhi also says, “the day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace.” I believe this with all my heart — with the core of who I am. I know that true peace comes from within, one person at a time, which is why I always say, and will continue to say, Inner Peace is World Peace.
Put your stamp on this International Day of Non-Violence in the only way that matters — by being the change you want to see in the world.
