Week 1 Lesson 1 – Nonviolence and the New Story

Key takeaways from this lesson: Human beings are much better, much more capable of living together and creating a better world for all than most of us realize! I need to emblazon that on my own heart and shout it from the mountain tops! We must remember who we are!

Question I continue to ask (and even more so after studying this lesson) is how can we remind ourselves and one another of just who we are? Maybe the answer lies in continuing to tell the nonviolence stories that we hear and read over and over again.  And listening for the new ones that are being told today.

Minimizing my exposure to commercial mass media is a challenge I am willing to take on. It is a challenge for me as well as for those in my household.  The other challenge for me in the Pledge of Nonviolence is to be creative enough to offer positive alternatives when I am faced with unjust situations. I don’t think on my feet well. So I am being challenged to spend more time thinking deeply about those situations and begin to look for creative, positive alternatives.

The insight about human dignity and purpose has really affected me this week. I feel like knowing this in oneself and seeing it in others creates an atmosphere where creative solutions are possible.  I noticed others mentioned this as well- remembering who we are!  This seems to be a vital quality of leadership.   As a movement teacher this is important to me, to help people discover the dignity in nature, in the body, in the breath, to discover a more integrated kind of knowing.
It is much more difficult at home, where we are all so comfortable with one another and in some ways a little sloppy.  I so rarely live up to my own expectations of the kind of leader I want to be at home.  We don’t have TV, but do have the Xbox, and a teenage son who loves video games, etc..   The best I have been able to do as a parent in this media deranged culture is to try to create a balance (and hopefully a contrast)  between that world and doing what I consider real and wholesome things- like being outdoors, with friends etc. .  Creating a world at home without media exposure hasn’t worked for us.  I seem to elicit strong resistance to change when I express my opposition too emphatically.   My strategy is to keep the dialogue open about what we see.

Like others, one of the more notable challenges of the pledge revolves around minimizing exposure to the commercial mass media. It seems that it really surrounds us from so many angles. I try and visit some of the alternate media resources at the end of “Search” which has been helpful. One of the aspects that I have found difficult is to avoid it when others that are close to you, such as your family members, are not interested in such a change of lifestyle and enjoy many parts of the mass media thus making it more difficult to cut ties to the extent that is considerably beneficial or may be desired.

Something I took away was that even though the commercial mass media may currently have its issues, it is encouraging to know and think they may be part of the solution. I sometimes can become dissatisfied with the media, for many of the reason mentioned in this first week, but I believe many people went into the profession not simply to gain fame or money and selectively filter stories to fit the current agenda of many of the big media agencies but to make a difference in their field, as it is one of considerable importance. Hopefully this is something that can one be day be channeled and converted into a more positive overall force than what I believe is occurring now.

Another item of interest that I found in the first chapter of “Search” was the freedom and importance of admitting mistakes and errors that have been made. I like the example of Gandhi stating the power of admitting errors one has made. I remember hearing about this belief and practice of his in the past and really was taken by it but it is something I feel I have forgotten to some extent. I believe that it takes great strength to admit errors, both privately and publicly, but it can have such a positive effect internally and externally. It also mention the apology many years later by George Wallace to the civil rights activists. Even though he is seen as being on the wrong side of history, to admit such actions that are so publicly well-known is really a great achievement. It is a gift of non-violence that it allows both parties to grow. Violence restricts the growth of both parties. One party can often wind up deceased in violence removing the ability of that individual to grow. The self-suffering of the activists allowed George Wallace the opportunity to grow, which he took advantage of, thus furthering us all along.

Like many of you, I was struck by how a simple narrative can completely change how we think about human nature. The story we tell about who we are can compel us to violently fight over scraps or work together with dignity. Human beings are so much better than we’ve been taught. We are capable of so much, but the Old Story gives us an excuse to languish in our weaknesses without striving for better.

It will be hard to live out the New Story every moment of every single day. I know I will fail often, but I think I will have to be gentle with myself even as I work on being more disciplined. Like many of you, media will be challenging. I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and I haven’t so much limited my media exposure as changed it. Instead of watching CNN all day, I listen to NPR’s 5 minute news summary in the morning. I’ve tried to cut down on tv, especially anything violent, and listen to radio podcasts that highlight interesting ideas instead. This has been easier for me than cutting out media all together.

It will also be difficult to police my thoughts–I’ve been known to have a petty streak that might not go away so easily. Action is one thing, but its harder to make sure the mean thoughts ingrained by popular culture don’t even cross my mind. I have a feeling it will take me a long time to master this kind of control over myself, but I’m working on it.

In thinking about ways to address the challenges of the nonviolence pledge, I am reminded of a book given to me by a friend, Self-Observation: An Owner’s Manual by Red Hawk.  There is one idea in particular that has always influenced me, that it is through simply observing our thoughts and behaviors that we are able to change them.  The author argues that if we have to make efforts to change, we are doomed to failure because eventually our will power will give out.  But if we simply observe – for example, I am having the urge to watch CSI?  I am feeling tired and want to relax?  How interesting that I find it relaxing to watch a program about psychotic criminals who inflict unspeakable pain upon other people?

Through this simple act of observing with detachment, we start to create a shift that ultimately results in change.  I have found this to be true with other behaviors I have recognized as unhealthy but found difficult to change, especially my “comfort food” habit.  As of yet I have not applied it to my television viewing…..

How interesting.  🙂