Note: Weekend reflection offered by guest contributor, ~liz Sorensen Wessel

"I want to capture your hearts, I don't want to receive your claps. Let your hearts clap in unison in what I am saying and I think I shall have finished my work."  -Gandhi

 The United Nations has degreed October 2, as the International Day of Non-Violence; the birth date of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (born 10/2/1869 – assassinated 01/30/1948). Gandhi  led the Indian independence movement through non-violence and his impassioned belief in the supreme power of Love.

 Known by many as Mahatma (Sanskrit word for Great Soul) Gandhi believed that a culture of peace could not be realized through the controlling rule of any government but rather through transformation of the human heart. “Peace starts with people — it flows from the hearts of committed women and men. Communities, families, and individuals all have a critical role to play in defeating violence and creating a culture of peace.”

The following is an excerpt from Gandhi's moving speech given on October 7^th 1937, which offers insight into his transformational beliefs.

“There is an indefinable mysterious power that pervades everything. I feel it though I do not see it. It is this unseen power which makes itself felt yet defies all proof, because it is so unlike anything that I perceive through my senses.”

“I do dimly perceive that whilst everything around me is ever changing, ever dying, there is underlying all that change, a living power that holds all together, that informing Spirit is God. I see God’s Spirit as purely benevolent for I can see in the midst of death; life persists, in the midst of untruth; truth persists, in the midst of darkness; light persists. Hence, I gather that God is life, truth, and light. God is Love.”

Later in his life, when Gandhi was asked if he was a Hindu, he replied, "Yes I am. I am also a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist and a Jew."

 On this International Day of Non-Violence, may our hearts be continually transformed by the unseen power of Love, so that our homes, workplaces, and communities come together for the common good of all people and the earth.