How to Resist Hate
"Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet."
- Maya Angelou
Listening to the news, reading the papers, I am often overcome with grief, and wonder how the human race has sunk so low? How can we possibly begin to repair the damage we have created. How do we deal with a bully without becoming a thug? How do we resist hatred? One thing is for sure, as Maya Angelou proclaims hate has not solved one problem yet!Scilla Elworthy is the founder and director of Peace Direct. She discusses this idea eloquently in her talk Fighting with Non-Violence. She believes that there are a few methods that do work to resist hate:
- The change that has to take place, must take place inside me first. My own response is the only thing I can do anything about. And I must develop self-knowledge to do that. Elworthy believes that meditation is one of the best ways to develop that self-knowledge.
- Mastery of Fear - her mantra: "My Fear grows fat on the energy I feed it."
- Using Anger as an effective fuel - If we can use our anger to fuel us, to empower us instead of control us, we can make real change. It is ok to be angry with the thing that is happening, but hopeless to be angry at the people.
- Change now happens bottom up, or "grassroots" - Working together and cooperating with others
- Using violence to change things is not only less humane, but less effective. Methods that connect people work. We need connection and unity.
- Courage and Committment
I think Elworthy's Ted talk is hopeful and inspirational. I encourage you to take time to watch it.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk3K_Vrve-E] I hope you enjoy listening to Scilla Elworthy. And I’d love to hear about how you resist hate.And as always thank you for taking the time to visit, I appreciate it.