Living the Vision

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” Mohandas Gandhi

How can one live a life free of violence? Gandhi believed that nonviolence was not just a philosophy, but a way of living. Throughout his life, he looked for ways to become more and more nonviolent. He tried to make his personal relationships and behaviors as nonviolent as his mass actions.

What is a nonviolent way of eating? Because he didn’t want to harm any living creature, Gandhi was a vegetarian. He also tried many strange diets he felt would purify his body. He often insisted that his family and followers eat the same way.

Gandhi believed that justice included the ability of people to buy things they needed to live. So he committed himself to living as the poor did. He wrapped himself in coarse cloth, spun by his own hand. At the time of his death, these were the only possessions he owned: two pairs of sandals, a pair of glasses, a diary, a prayer book, two dinner bowls, a wooden fork and spoon, a spittoon, a watch, two letter openers, and three little monkey figurines (symbolizing “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”).

How can one live a life free of violence? You can ask yourself the same question. You won’t necessarily make the same choices as Gandhi. Instead, you can live your way to the answers that work for you.