During the last few weeks, animals have been very much part of our social environment. In the kitchen, the dogs had the best places near the stove. It was always nice (and warm) to sit with them and scribble their ears. Meanwhile, attempts were made to get some discipline into the three kittens, who were …
The Way of the Leaf
After a tropical week it seems like the autumn has finally begun here in Gillingham. Time for an autumn story from Thich Nhat Hanh. He tells us that he is in the park, completely absorbed in the contemplation of a small leaf. He spents a long time questioning the leaf, and finds out that the …
The wolf and the lamb
I was introduced to the principle of non-violence by the books of Gandhi and Tolstoy. These authors made it clear that living non-violently meant that they did not eat meat. After I had been vegetarian for a few years, I began to feel like a hypocrite because I still ate the products of the animals …
Overcoming evil with good
Montgomery, a southern city in the USA, in 1955. African Americans, who make up the majority of the population, are being treated as second class citizens. Because of the so-called Jim Crow laws they have to use separate restrooms, restaurants and schools. In the city buses, ‘colored’ people can only use the rear seats. In …
Gandhi and Truth
Today is Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday and consequently the day of nonviolence. I would like to quote from the introduction to Gandhi’s autobiography. In between the text are pictures that Freddy took when he was climbing Mt Kenya in March. … I have given the chapters I propose to write the title of The Story of My …
The great little man
On September 21, the international day of peace, terrorists killed dozens of civilians in a shopping mall, including children and pregnant women. Most violence in the world is no longer in the news. Drugs murders in Mexico, guerilla wars in Congo. Violence always moves in circles. After the attack in Nairobi, the danger is that …