A Season for NonViolence

Each year between January 30 - April 4, there is a national 64-day educational, media, and grassroots campaign dedicated to demonstrating that nonviolence is a powerful way to heal, transform, and empower our lives and our communities. Inspired by the 50th and 30th memorial anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this international event honors their vision for an empowered, nonviolent world.

Voices for Peace:
A Season for Nonviolence

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You are invited to carry the vision for this season of nonviolence by adopting these contemplations and observances for 64 days and taking the pledge of nonviolence.

Week One - Acceptance

Acceptance of others, their looks, their behaviors, their beliefs, brings you an inner peace and tranquility instead of anger and resentment. - Source Unknown

January 30

Today, even though it is different, I honor the road that others travel.

January 31

Today, I know that nothing is impossible to a willing heart.

February 1

Today, I whine less and hope more.

February 2

Today, I realize I spend so much time with myself I might as well learn to like myself and what I do.

February 3

Today, I accept the differences in others. Together, we can become greater than the sum of both of us.

February 4

Today, I will spend some time releasing judgments.

February 5

Today, I see the best in others.

Week Two - Kindness

We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.
- Mother Teresa

February 6

Today, I am a little kinder than is necessary.

February 7

Today, I do small, unseen acts of kindness.

February 8

Today, I repay a kindness done to me in the past by paying "in kind" somewhere else.

February 9

Today, I speak only kind words.

February 10

February 11

Today, I speak with kindness, respect, and patience to everyone I talk with on the telephone.

February 12

Today, I begin a ripple effect of good by an act of kindness toward another.

Week Three - Humanity

As we grow as unique persons, we learn to respect the uniqueness of others.
- Robert H. Schuller

February 13

Today, I see the potential for peace in others around me.

February 14

Today, I respect the uniqueness of another culture.

February 15

Today, I give of my true gift.  One that only I can give to the world.

February 16

Today, I listen with an open heart to at least one person I normally wouldn't.

February 17

Today, I find the heroes around me.

February 18

Today, I identify something special in everyone I meet.

February 19

Today, I practice praise rather than criticism.

Week Four - Forgiveness

Forgive, forget. Bear with the faults of others as you would have them bear with yours. Be patient and understanding. Life is too short to be vengeful or malicious.
- Phillips Brooks.

February 20

Today, I let go of one feeling of anger or resentment.

February 21

Today, I let go of the past by forgiving.

February 22

Today, I forgive myself for the wrongs I've done.

February 23

Today, I know the ultimate test of a relationship is to disagree but to hold hands. I reach out to hold hands.

February 24

Today, I deal with the faults of others as gently as with my own.

February 25

Today, I forgive someone who has hurt or harmed me.

February 26

Today, I turn an enemy into a friend.

Week Five - Patience

All things pass. Patience attains all it strives for.
- St. Theresa of Avila

February 27

Today, I treat everyone as if this would be the last time I would ever see them.

February 28

Today, when I could be otherwise, I am patient and kind with my co-workers.

March 1

Today, I live in the quiet joy of patience with my loved ones.

March 2

Today, I drive with tolerance and patience.

March 3

Today, I love myself, even with all my foibles and limitations.

March 4

Today, I am patient and understanding of the faults of others.

March 5

Today, I choose one area in my life to exercise a patient attitude.

Week Six - Respect

When people honor each other, there is a trust established to synergy, interdependence, and deep respect.
- Blaine Lee

March 6

Today, I will learn something great about another culture.

March 7

Today, I befriend someone who I don't know.

March 8

Today, I choose to be aware of what I talk about and speak only good of others.

March 9

Today, I say, "Thank you," to someone who would not expect it.

March 10

Today, even when I disagree with others, I treat them with respect.

March 11

Today, I respect other's difference of opinion.

March 12

Today, I greet all with a smile and a thoughtful word.

Week Seven - Joy

Laughter can be more satisfying than honor, more precious than money, more heart-cleansing than prayer.
- Harriet Rochlin

March 13

Today, I will do one thing that will put more joy and laughter in my life.

March 14

Today, I don't wait for people to be friendly, I show them how.

March 15

Today, I laugh often.

March 16

Today, I will meditate for at least five minutes on how I can share happiness.

March 17

Today, I watch as impossible situations turn into miracles.

March 18

Today, I laugh at those things I've called troubles.

March 19

Today, I choose to be happy during an activity I don't usually enjoy.

Week Eight - Compassion

Compassion and love are not mere luxuries. They constitute non-violence in action.
- Dalai Lama

March 20

Today, I recognize my actions directly affect others.

March 21

Today, I will spend today, "listening without defending."

March 22

Today, I make a conscious choice to see from another's perspective.

March 23

Today, I will listen.

March 24

Today, I know forgiveness is the "giving, and so receiving, of life." (G. Macdonald.)

March 25

Today, I will allow myself to observe my violent feelings but will not act on them.

March 26

Today, I take five to ten minutes to appreciate people who offer challenges in my life, especially those who I find frustrating.

Week Nine - Service

Two kinds of gratitude: The sudden kind we feel for what we take; the larger kind we feel for what we give.
- Edwin Arlington Robinson

March 27

Today, I perform an act of kindness to the planet, like picking up trash or recycling paper.

March 28

Today, I find happiness through giving loving and expecting nothing in return.

March 29

Today, I realize the impossible is often the untried.

March 30

Today, I choose to use my talents and skills to serve others by volunteering a portion of my time.

March 31

Today, I speak the universal language to all I meet today by smiling.

April 1

Today, I serve others without their knowing.

April 2

Today, I acknowledge another for their service.

Week Ten - Peace

If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace.
- Thich Nhat Hanh

April 3

Today, I express peace in my thoughts, deeds, and words. I model peace by the way I live my life.

These principles of nonviolence were adapted by the Colorado Springs/Pikes Peak Area Task Force for:
A Season For Nonviolence
January 30 -- April 4

Inspired by the memorial anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.