Welcome to 2023! It's a new page on the calendar, a blank slate, an opportunity to make things better. This is the first of the commentaries during the 30-day Gandhi challenge.
Mohandas Gandhi wasn't perfect. He was a flawed human being like the rest of us. When he wrote his autobiography, he described his life as a series of experiments along the path of self-improvement. He tried different diets, he looked for ways to be frugal, including walking. (Gandhi sometimes got carried away with frugality, expecting his visitors to walk several miles from the train station back to his home.) At the age of 36 he took a vow of celibacy, and later began to fast for peace. These are among the experiments you are invited to try as part of the 30-day Gandhi challenge.
In 1909, Gandhi wrote Hind Swaraj, (“Home Rule”) advocating for Indian independence. In the book, he explained that it was “not necessary for us to have as our goal the expulsion of the English.” Instead, what was required was “learn[ing] to rule ourselves... Swaraj [self-rule] has to be experienced by each one, for himself.” In other words, it wasn't about replacing one set of politicians with another, and expecting the the people to be inspired... it was about the people inspiring the politicians, and leading them by example. Put another way, he suggested that people be the change they wanted to see in the world.
The 30-day Gandhi challenge is just one quarter of a constructive program, which can deliver solutions to America’s social, cultural, electoral, and legislative problems. These are interconnected issues, and so a proper solution must be as well. For those attending the first of the first of the month Zoom sessions on Sunday evening, I’ll fill in a few more of the details. In the meantime, each of these blog posts will end with a discussion prompt.
Are you optimistic for 2023?