Striving Nonviolently in Egypt

I fell again to the temptation to react to a hint of persons talking behind by back negatively about me. So many people in the peace movement, like me, waste time competing, reacting and with too much talking. The answer, my friend, is to bear it, insults and all, and just keep on doing the right thing the best we can do.

Taking suffering on oneself and not returning it on others is a trademark of what we call nonviolence from Jesus on the cross to Nelson Mandela spending 27 years and coming out forgiving his enemies and still working to free his people. I often use the quote from Judith Brown in her book on Gandhi: “Gandhi defines his Satyagraha (or creative nonviolence) as ‘striving nonviolently to the point of sacrifice rather than fighting to attain one’s vision of truth.” But it is difficult, as Gandhi said “to be the change you wish to see in the world.”

One of my dear friends has been suffering, without much support, from a painful illness the four years. The other day I drove her to a pain clinic which was supposed to be the last time till December. However, the medicine they gave her caused more pain and she needs to go back tomorrow. Driving my friend in deep pain reminds how small the suffering I need to take, a few rejections and insults are so little. My suffering is self inflicted, caring what other people say about me, her suffering is imposed on her.

There is enough pain and suffering in the world and in my life that I need not seek more by reacting to negative comments about me, true or false. I am no Jesus, Gandhi or Martin Luther King Jr. but I can strive nonviolently in a little way by not reacting to violence of word or action but taking the small suffering on self and keep on striving nonviolently.

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