i became a pacifist after certain events in my life made me realize i did not want to participate in cruelty anymore. to forgive myself i had to learn to forgive others. MOST especially george bush. i became a vegetarian. i spent alot of time reading (huxleys' "encyclopedia of pacifism" is awesome) and listening to MLK's speeches; went on several peace marches (the codepink movement, carried a sign "despite it all i still believe people are really good at heart" from ANNE FRANK, who should know); and quickly i began to see my life transform.

that's the part people miss i think. they don't realize what powerful magic they are participating in when they decide to turn the other cheek. unbelievable things began to happen to me. i was given a car by a neighbor. i found money on the street. anytime i needed something, i would find it, or be given it free; i had so many kindnesses shown me that i started feeling like i had a troop of angels on my side. i found out that holding a door open for a little old lady, spending time with lonesome people, whatever small good deed you can do, is a powerful thing, so much larger than you can believe. i think that is the true essence of pacifism. not the grand gestures, the peace protests, laying down in front of tanks......but the day to day resisting the inexorable crush of modern cruelty and apathy. a protest can function for the pacifist the way church on sundays does for the "sinners'....gives you an out, a feeling like you are doing enough. but if you can actually make pacifism happen in your PERSONAL life, with the meter maid, with the gas guy, the cashier at the grocery store- that's where the revolution is. ever since i became a pacifist i have felt blessed and lucky. and besides, i am selfish. i really dig being nice to people. even when- hell, especially when- they aren't nice to me. because you eventually turn em around. you really do. its powerful magic, the best kind, and every one should have a dose.

peace to all and thanks for this blog. god bless all of us. :)

 

the same exact thing happened to me! ever since ive embraced this way of life, it seems that luck is on my side! things work out for me constantly..ideas fall into place. problems are solved quickly. i take nothing for granted. this life is all we have. pacifism is my life
 

I don't have anything as profound as the woman before me, but for me, non-violence is not that difficult. I don't use sympathy/empathy so much as a respect for others outlook on life. Not everyone is compassionate, or patient. There are more than a few people who go looking for conflict. The type of people that have their belief's, and if yours don't fall in line with their's then they have conflict.

  So, for me, I just try to pick my battles. If it's something that's not particularly important to me, but obviously very important to them (politics, religion, etc) i just go along to get along. I can be very passionate about politics, and i can be VERY passionate about religion, though not in the way they would have me be. So when i come across a soul who is passionate but, how do i say, unenlightened, i just smile, and nod. I'd rather just go along to appease them than argue over something for which neither side can be convinced. There will always be issues, such as war, poverty, rascism, etc, that I will stick to my convictions, but as far as the little things go, well, you have to pick your battles.

 

GO HERE: THIS IDEA IS GOING PLACES:

DELIVER PEACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE!








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Jason,

I love what you say about PEACE. I agree with you absolutely that Peace begins with me. Yet this is such a hard concept for most to grasp. We live in a world of ideas and we get so caught in our words and pay little attention to our feelings. The only way to choose PEACE within is to practice NON VIOLENCE within ourselves.

How many times do we beat ourselves up and think that it is noble to do so. How many times do we put ourselves down everyday. How many times have we chosen to stay in abusive relationships that are violent to our SOULS. How many times do we judge people who disagree with us. I am not perfect at any of these but I practice every opportunity I get. I allow my feelings to surface without judgment so that I don't have to carry around anger, hurt and sadness and add to the energy field of VIOLENCE.

If we do not experience all of our emotions without judgements we could not embrace LOVE and PEACE, for they are inclusive not exclusive. Just as the color white is made of all the other colors of the spectrum, LOVE is the ability to experience and express all other emotions.

Namaste!
 

Thanks for your insight!

I think the keyword in practice non-violence is "PRACTICE"....

So often we forget how much time and dedication the masters have put into their art.

Like you say, when we choose to love and practice and embrace love and peace, we put nonviolence into action.

Then, even when we fall, we fall trying to fly.

Thanks again ShaktiLifeCoach!

In Peace,
Jason
 

I'm 47. Since my 20's, I've felt a calling to help the down-trodden. It began small, soup kitchens, group homes for children, the poor at the park in my community. My own daughters strived for my attention, so I back-burnered helping strangers and focused on them. They are now teens, and one of them lives among the homeless from time-to-time, by choice. Through her, I'm learning about the subculture which she deems her playground. I've taken in one of her friends, who is 22 and claims to have been on and off the streets since he was 14. He is kind, smart, kinetic. He gets bored easily, he smokes too many cigarettes and drinks too much beer. He is tiring of life on the streets and feels the yearning of higher education. I give him information, but mostly I just let him be himself and tell me about him and others he knows. I am learning so much through this young man. My hero is Dorothy Day. There is no greater joy than helping others to feel their own humanity. Thank you.
 

Hi everybody,

I became a pacifist within the last 1/2 a year. It happened when my brother came home from Iraq with very powerful feelings about how pacifism is the ultimate way of life. This got me thinking, and not too long afterward I became a pacifist. Unlike some of the people who posted before me I haven't had this "good luck", but the way I look at my life and the world has taken a dramatic turn for the better. Things that used to anger me now have no affect on me, everything that ammused me beforehand has now immproved greatly. I've kinda been having problems with trying to convince other family members and friends that pacifism is great, but few agree. It's nice to see that there are other people who feel the same way I do.

Lots of love to you all.
 

I grew up in El Salvador in the 1980s. If you're not familiar with that tiny Central-American nation, we were going through a civil war. On the one side you had an American-supported Army, on the other a group of activists formed by peasants, college students, doctors, teachers, even clergy.

Having lived through war, I know first hand how horrible it is - especially when you are a kid caught in the middle. It doesn't make a difference what flag each of the parties is carrying, it's all terrorism to you.

As a result of my upbringing, I violence is sometimes necessary, but it should be the LAST resort - quite contrary to the way Uncle Sam goes about life.

Peace!
 

My whole life is about contributing to this world's peace in any way that I can. Peace is my moto, beginning with the Peace of Mind all until the Universal Peace. "There is no way to peace. Peace IS the way".