Some changes are good

Some changes are better than others in my opinion. I have been thinking a lot about change lately, and this picture maked me think of it again. I guess because the moon has changed places with the sun, but whatever the reason, this picture to me represents change. Some things in my life seem to need to change, while other things keep changing no matter how much I wish they wouldn't.

I started reading a wonderful book last night that is making me change the way I think about violence. It was about Gandhi and his ideal of non violence, no matter what. The book told some stories from his life about how he faced extreme danger with extreme non violence. Things that I never would have imagined working were shown to be possible and effective. Shanties persistent use of non violence made a huge impact on the world. The book made me think seriously about what I claim to believe about turning the other check in the face of violence, ect. If Gandhi as a Non-Christian can fully embrace this doctrine of Christ, then surely I should at least consider it.

In fact, I may have some the opportunity for practical application of non violent response, since ZA is actually quite a violent place. I hope not, I prefer to leave some ideas in their theoretical form. But, just by living in ZA, I have begun to look at violence differently. The people here are scared a lot. Especially as the sun starts setting. They stop looking you in the eye, they clutch their bags close to them, and they walk quickly and silently toward whatever destination is safest. It feels tense, and by eight o'clock the street dividing campus is completely empty. I don't like being afraid, and I don't like seeing other people so afraid. It is like being in a self imposed prison where all you can think about is your personal well being. What if I don't get home? What if I get muged? Will they hurt me a lot? With so many thoughts pressing in it becomes impossible to wonder about the person who just passed you; who they are, where they are going. You can't even relax and enjoy the first stars coming out. Someone might see that you stopped walking and take the opportunity to mug you.

I can imagining Gandhi stopping anyway. It does not seem to me that he could have been very scared and still responded with non violence. Instead it seems that he evaluated the cost of the danger, and the cost of the fear, and decided that he would rather pay the price of encountering danger. I hope that in some small way, I will choose the same.