February 28:

“Mine is a life full of joy in the midst of incessant work.”

–Gandhi (Young India, 10-1-1925, p. 338)

(Image: Gandhi was a very brisk walker…) 

When Gandhi was asked why he never took a vacation, his reply was that he was actually always on vacation. In other words, his mind was at peace, not because he traveled, but because he was at the service of others. Joy, he felt, was the result of living for the welfare of others, not in living for himself.  And it gave him tremendous energy.

For example, while many of us feel that rising at 5 am is a challenge, Gandhi felt that it was sleeping in! Arising at 3:30 am, he slept for only four hours each night. He would walk miles a day (his recommendation to others was at least 10 miles, and early in the morning at that) and even young adults could not keep up with his brisk pace.  If his energy did not come from sleep or food (given his interesting dietary habits) or weekend meditation retreats (though he did meditate quite seriously during prayer meetings) or week-long vacations (though he did see much of the world), where did it come from? This question can only be answered in our own lives — from our personal attempts to rid our motives of our own pleasure and profit and focus on extending our awareness to everyone else. We can learn his secret experientially.

Experiment in Nonviolence: 

Do something unexpected and kind for another person today. Notice the effect the act has on your energy level.

Daily Metta 2015, a service of the Metta Center for Nonviolence, is a daily reflection on the strategic and spiritual insights of Mahatma Gandhi in thought, word and deed. As Gandhi called his life an “experiment in truth,” we have included an experiment in nonviolence to accompany each Daily Metta. Check in every day for new inspiration. Each year will be dedicated to another wisdom teacher.