Nonviolence - A Personal Practice

            Nonviolence is the personal practice of being harmless to self and others under every condition. The term “nonviolence is often linked with or used as a synonym for peace, and refers specifically to the absence of violence and is always the choice to do no harm or the least harm. I’m a person who doesn’t like violence or conflict in my life. There are many things going on in  the world that are violent and it hurts me to see that. I’m going to write about having respect for others, to have patience, and to love one another, even if you are enemies.

            The more we respect others, the more effectively we can persuade them to change. Never use humiliation as a tool–or accept humiliation from others, as that only degrades everyone. Remember, no one can degrade you without your permission. Before people say anything to anyone they should think about what they are going to say to that person. They should think, what I’m about to say, is it respectful to this person? Will they get hurt from what I’m going to say.

               I feel if people are respected by you, they will show you respect as well. I also think teaching children at a young age to show respect to their peers will decrease the violence that we are seeing everyday. We can teach them to use polite words, be kind, listen carefully, think first, take turns, be honest, and help others. By teaching kids this, they will have a better understanding of how to respect others as they grow older.

            Next I’m wanting to stress having patience. Patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. Patience isn’t just about not being angry with others, but also not being angry with yourself. It’s about being able to keep a cool head and proceed whatever the obstacles are. There are many benefits for having patience. They are: being able to control our actions; it helps us to make a calm and effective response to a challenging situation; and prevents others from getting hurt. I feel the last benefit I listed is very important because I don’t like to see people getting hurt. I like to see people happy and comfortable with where they are.

            In the Bible there are a few places where you will see it says to love your enemies. Like in Luke 6:27: “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” Also in Matthew 5:44: “ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” These two passages are just two examples of many  in the bible about loving your enemies. I feel love is a very strong word and a lot of people have a hard time with it. 
         Why I say that is because there are a lot of people that grow up in this world and are not shown love by their parents or extended family. If they aren’t shown it at a young age they wont be able to show it when they are older. Then they could have many enemies in their life and not know how to deal with those enemies. I think it is important to love our enemies because that is how I was raised and that is what I believe God wants us to do.

            In conclusion , I think if you have these three things I've mentioned in this post; respect, patience and love; then you will live a life with nonviolence. 

Kelsey Hansen

Guest Blogger