Nonviolence – The act of doing no harm. Similarly, the Golden Rule is the principle of treating others as one would want to be treated by them. I once heard someone call it a platinum rule, to treat yourself as you would want others to treat you. The intention of nonviolence is to cause or create no harm by treating yourself with respect, love, and kindness. We’ve somehow convinced ourselves that it is okay to allow negative self talk, toxic behavior, and self sabotage, but somehow never allow that onto our friends, family, and loved ones.
How we treat ourselves transcends our own feelings and emotions and floods onto others. When we feel good with ourselves, we flourish, and thrive, people see it and feel it around us. We have the ability to surround ourselves with people who despite not sharing similar qualities and values, feed off each other. Not only do we have the ability to attract people but we can influence them through our action and behaviors.
Practicing nonviolence is a way of life, a ritual that we must practice intentionally. It isn’t hard to be kind, but most of us aren’t mindful of it. Sometimes we walk around life aimlessly trying to get by, without thinking about the end goal. Our goal in life should be to live life to the fullest. To stay and be true to who you are. To be kind to self and others. To help the world evolve with you, so that tomorrow you can be more open and kind with yourself. We all contribute without knowing our impact, like the footprint we leave behind.
Recently, I have found myself asking, who am I and what do I have to offer this world? When I leave this life, all that is remembered are the memories I created and left with other people. What I want in this life – freedom from the past and freedom from suffering. What I hope to leave behind – a new generation of kind souls that live free amongst their peers. Ideally, it is not what we ask, rather what we do. Let us shift our perspective to what we have now and not what we had before. Let us live in the present and let us pass nonviolence onto the future.