Sometimes it is difficult to look at something like non-violence. It might feel as if someone is asking us to give up our favorite habit. In reality, non-violence is really just movement towards kindness, compassion, and peace. It’s not giving anything up, but adding qualities to our life that make us, and the people around us, happy. And really, isn’t that what we all seek?
As I work toward letting go of worry, it’s hard. It’s work. But it also feels like a gracious offering. A nod of affirmation that I, too, deserve expansive, tranquil energy in my life. And think of the blessings this bestows on those who share my life?
Is there a way to look at your own practice of ahimsa as a movement toward something greater? Can you shift your perspective? I think a beautiful analogy is imagining that we are looking in a cave, complaining about the dark, the damp and the cold. But, all we have to do to escape that confining discomfort is turn around and lift our face to the sun. It is our choice. Always.
