January 1

My life is an indivisible whole and all my activities run into one another; and they all have their rise in my insatiable love of humanity.

-Gandhi (Young India October 15, 1925)

What might Gandhi’s impact have been if instead of professing that all of his activities were rooted in his “love of humanity,” he said that his activities were based in a distrust of others and love of his own good at the expense of that of others’? How many of us, however, carry this attitude into the work that we do–and to what effect?

Even if we do not realize it, our lives are an indivisible whole–an expression of our drives and desires. The way that we treat the people around us, for example, speaks volumes about the way we feel about ourselves. Where we place our creative energies and whether we use them wisely and constructively on uplifting those around us or whether we fritter them away on private, personal pursuits of pleasure and profit, expresses our awareness — or lack of awareness — of the underlying unity of life. The more isolated we feel from all of life, the more we feel that what we do in one area of our lives has no impact on other parts, and almost unconsciously, the more we make ourselves capable of violence. Likewise, the more we recognize the indivisible unity of our lives, the greater and deeper our sense of community, and the greater our natural desire to contribute to making the world more just and secure for everyone.

Meditation is a tool that we can all use to access our deeper awareness of our love of humanity. Nonviolence is the method we can use to put that awareness into action.

Experiment in Nonviolence: 

Consider Gandhi’s words, that a “love of humanity” is at the forefront of his vision. Do one thing today that helps to deepen your love of humanity.