Shari Della Penna
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"Small acts of kindness can change and humanise our world."
   Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks 1948-2020
   ​Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, 1991-2020
                         Author, Advocate, Advisor

This Little Light of Mine

10/3/2017

1 Comment

 
​One light, one sun
One sun lighting everyone.
One world turning
One world turning everyone.

One world, one home
One world home for everyone.
One dream, one song
One song heard by everyone.
 
One love, one heart
One heart warming everyone.
One hope, one joy
One love filling everyone.

One light, one sun
One sun, lighting everyone.
One light warming everyone.
                        from: One Light, One Sun
                        by Raffi
                        illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
                        Knopf Books for Young Readers, 1988
Listen to Raffi sing it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4o-DaUyZ9g
 
       Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869. His name is synonymous with non-violence. His followers called him Mahatma, or “the great-souled one.” 
       In Ohio, the first week in October is Nonviolence Week, to coincide with Gandhi’s birthday. I marched in the kick-off parade and listened to the speeches at the rally immediately after. Tonight the Simeon Booker Award for courage will be awarded to Ken Nwadike, Jr., advocate and director of Hugs Project, Inc. A panel-led discussion on tolerance in America will follow.  Look here for more (a little) information about Nwadike and the work he does: https://powerofthearts.org/ohio-nonviolence-week-simeon-booker-award-for-courage/
       When I woke up yesterday, on Gandhi’s birthday, I was astonished and horrified to learn of another mass killing, this time in Las Vegas. The awful fact of it is beyond anything I can imagine.
. . .
 
       As horrible as they are, assassinations of world leaders are nothing new. The list is long:
            Julius Caesar in 44 B.C.E. ending the Roman Empire                         Achduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary started WWI
            Gandhi, himself in 1948
            Then the 1960s
            and the near-misses after that
But those killings, earthshaking as they were, focused on a particular person who held a particular ideology or stood for particular principles.
       My little brother played bad guys and good guys with guns. All the little boys did. I did, too. We knew it was violent. We knew it was pretend. He shot to kill (for pretend). That still disturbs me.
       And now. . .
      
       I learned the Six Principles of Non-Violence at the rally last Sunday.
         Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.
         Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding.
         Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice not people.
         Nonviolence hopes that suffering can educate and transform.
         Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate.
         Nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice.
       Putting those principles into action is hard, but it is crucial.
​       One good feeling will generate many more. One good action will generate many more.
 
Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me.
 
                                                                                                                                    --stay curious!
 
                  

1 Comment
Lynda Boucher link
10/3/2017 10:10:27 am

Well said! Interesting how each senseless and violent act hurls our minds back to recall others, such as Oklahoma City, Columbine, etc. The list tragically grows.

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         I'm a children's writer and poet intent on observing the world and nurturing those I find in my small space .



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