Lesson 7 (Family Program)

“The path of nonviolence requires much more courage than violence.”

-Gandhi-

Activities for Month Seven

(Print Version Here) 

Here’s a list of the activities for the month.

Find descriptions below.

• Journal
• Family Meeting
• Gandhi Searches for Truth, Reading and Discussion (for whole family)
• Search for a Nonviolent Future, Reading and Discussion (for older teens and adults)
• Mealtime Activity
• Wisdom Tradition Passage
• Nature Activity

 

Journal

William Martin created a parents’ version of the Tao Te Ching. Here is Chapter 2 of his wonderful book. Reflect on it.

Take Care with Labels

When you teach your children that certain things are good,

they are likely to call all different things bad.

If you teach them that certain things are beautiful,

they may see all other things as ugly.

Call difficult things, “difficult,” and easy things, “easy,” without avoiding one and seeking the other,

and your children will learn self-confidence.

Call results, “results,” without labeling one as a success and another as failure,

and your children will learn freedom from fear.

Call birth, “birth,” and death, “death,” without seeing one as good and the other as evil,

and your children will be at home with life.

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Notice today how your children label things.

“This stinks.”

“That’s stupid.”

Don’t correct them.

Just notice and consider how they learned.

Start today to teach a different lesson.

 

Family Meeting

Suggested topic for this month:

When we hurt others, we hurt ourselves. When we are kind to others, we show kindness to ourselves.

 

Reading and Discussion with Children from Gandhi Searches for Truth:

Chapter Seven’s focus is on the interconnected nature of our world family, and how nonviolence is the key to raising human dignity. What does dignity mean?

Why did Gandhi go to South Africa? On which continent is South Africa? How many continents had Gandhi visited by then?

What did Gandhi notice when we arrived in South Africa? What did he do when someone tried to treat him unfairly? Why did Gandhi start to gain attention from others around him?

Is there a situation in your life where you have challenged something unfair with nonviolence? What was it and what happened?

 

Reading and Discussion for Adults

Read Chapter Seven of Search for a Nonviolent Future.  Yay! You are almost through the book!!

 

Mealtimes

Learn about what kind of food is available in South Africa, and add one element of South African food to a meal this month in celebration of Gandhi arriving there!

 

Wisdom Tradition Passage

Pick a passage that speaks to your heart this month. Share it with your family and reflect on it together throughout the month.

 

Activity in Nature:

Take time to observe both a sunrise and a sunset this month with your family. Do something special to celebrate it.

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