“There would be no one to frighten you if you refuse to be afraid.” ~ Gandhi, Mahatma, 2. 302

Because of his spiritual orientation, Gandhi was often able to reorient us; for we constitutionally look at the outer world—other people, difficult circumstances—as inhibiting us. But however dire they may be, he discovered, we are always able to control the most important thing, namely not the situation or person itself but how we respond to it. This does not mean that there are not real dangers or that they do not sometimes overcome us: we are not omnipotent, in that sense. But it does mean, when we can become deeply aware of the truth he’s pointing out and not just give it our intellectual assent—which is a good start, to take it as an hypothesis —we gain a remarkable degree of freedom and agency. And among other freedoms, it seems to me, freedom from the resentment that accompanies the thought that others are dominating us.

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About Daily Metta

Stephanie Van Hook, the Metta Center’s executive director, launched Daily Metta in 2015 as a way to share Gandhi’s spiritual wisdom and experiments with nonviolence.

Our 2016 Daily Metta continues with Gandhi on weekdays. On weekends, we share videos that complement Michael Nagler’s award-winning book, The Search for a Nonviolent Future: A Promise of Peace for Ourselves, Our Families, and Our World. To help readers engage with the book more deeply, the Metta Center offers a free PDF study guide.

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