March 14:

“I believe in trusting. Trust begets trust.”

—Gandhi (Young India, 6-4-1925, p. 193)

The Buddha stated flatly that ‘trust is the best of relationships.’  In fact, it is so integral to who we are, that a lack of a healthy trust is a form of violence. For this reason, a discerning trust must be incorporated into our personal nonviolence. Gandhi’s vision is that we must learn how to develop our capacity to trust by offering it. For example,  if you are in a leadership role, give other people the chance to lead. This is especially true for our work with children–give them the opportunities to do things for themselves of which, if they were trusted, you would realize they are capable. While the net effect produced is that we ourselves are more trusted, the greater truth is that we trust because our security does not depend on outward events going our way. We trust, in other words, because we are secure; and conversely, magically, we become secure by trusting others where it seems reasonably safe to do so.

Experiment in Nonviolence: 

Push the envelope a little by giving someone your trust when you might have been reluctant to trust them.  See what results.

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.