February 26:

“If one single Satyagrahi holds out to the end, victory is certain.”

–Gandhi (Satyagraha in South Africa, p. xiv)

A person dedicated to “soul-force” or Satyagraha is a Satyagrahi. Gandhi reminds us that in Satyagraha, the struggle is less about numbers of resistors and more about the quality of our resistance. To that end, we may find that the act of one entirely dedicated person can be much more effective than large protests and gatherings of people who are not fully convinced of the power of nonviolence. We should take heart when Gandhi tells us that it only takes one person. Each one of us can be that person. We need not wait for or even expect others to stay the course with us. And yet, how courageous we must be to be willing to stand alone when it matters most.

Experiment in Nonviolence:

Would you be willing to stand alone for something important to you? What effect do you think it would have?

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.