30 Days of Nonviolence
Be willing to accept the consequences of your choice of actions. Discern action based on your readiness for consequences.
1. Go deeper: Read Stephanie Van Hook’s entry on consequences below.
2. Practice:
1. Write down an action that you would like to take in the spirit of nonviolence. List all of the various consequences of taking the action, then consider if you are still willing to take it. If you’re not, what kind of preparation do you need to make yourself ready (i.e. to accept the risks it may involve)?
2. Continue to do this experiment until you find an action you are willing to take for nonviolence.
The world of advertising tries to lure us into the mindset that consequences–be they spiritual, psychological or physical–are problems to be solved, instead of lessons to be learned. If you overeat and get a stomachache, you can take a medicine to fix it, and never learn the lesson of moderation. Similarly, if in a moment of inattention, you were unkind to someone and it hurt YOU more than it hurt them, or worse, hurt both of you very deeply, allowing oneself to be with the discomfort of the situation can most often provide more wisdom and understanding than finding a way to numb the pain with drugs or alcohol or work. It will not be too surprising to some to learn that the German word for, ‘corporation’ in German means “a group with limited accountability.” Wow. Think about that. If we want to address the issue of corporate non-accountability, we would do well to start with a look at our own lives and asking ourselves if we have accepted the doctrine of ignoring the consequences of our daily actions!
On the other hand, consciously accepting the consequences of our actions with an open heart is a path that leads ultimately to transformation. In nonviolence we can take this lesson a step further. Actively accepting the consequences of taking a certain action can prick the conscience of others (it may have to do with our mirror neurons!). As one small example of this practice, Gandhi would publicly break unjust laws and ask for the full consequence to be given him and by his example, he encouraged others to do the same.