“Once, while Mahatma Gandhi’s train was pulling slowly out of the station, a European reporter ran up to his compartment window. “Do you have a message I can take back to my people?” he asked. It was Gandhi’s day of silence, a vital respite from his demanding speaking schedule, so he didn’t reply. Instead, he scrawled a few words on a scrap of paper and passed it to the reporter: “My life is my message.””
~ Eknath Easwaran from Your Life Is Your Message
Gandhi chose to have a day of silence as part of his message to the world. His message was peace and that is how he lived his life.
We all have the opportunity to go beyond “walking our talk” and living our life with meaning and purpose.
It is up to us to choose what matters and then live by it. In doing so I believe we also connect to a higher consciousness.
I recall 5 years ago when I was asked what was most important aspect of my life? My answer was “yoga”. Yet I wasn’t truly living it. I was fitting it in around my life. I was “doing” it rather than “being” it.
Living true to our beliefs, our values and what we cherish, creates meaning and purpose that expands beyond our individual selves.
So, how are you living your life?
Everything shifts and changes with time. What was important to us 10 years ago may not be as relevant today.
Is the way you are living your life now, your message to the world? … Or perhaps it’s time to realign and find out what’s truly important.
If you were to shift towards a more authentic way of living, where could you start to bring about change?
Let your inner wisdom guide you towards transformation and living your life with meaning.
Its never too late 🙂
I think Gandhi had it right. Peace is the answer inner peace for me and I need to sit and be mindful more often. Thinking about going back to Yoga or Tai Chi both grounded me. After a large does of not being well, these practices are most definitely what I need.
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Kath, think you for adding to the conversation and sharing the direction you want to move towards 💛
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Wonderful message, Gandhi Ji gave to India what nobody could have hardly imagined, an example of winning battles with peace.
I do Yoga too and on my way already to aligning myself with what gives me happiness 🙂
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Thank you Alok. He was a remarkable human being. I am glad you find happiness and alignment in yoga 😊
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Very thoughtful questions, Val, that do bear repeating frequently as we continue to evolve. Thanks!
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Thank you Eliza! I agree. Self inquiry is a powerful practice. xo
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Interesting piece for me today, as I have been pondering the last few months, but more potently the last few weeks some personal changes. Letting go of others in a new way that may or may not cause these relationships to change. Seeing areas I need to no longer participate in, because they aren’t true to my own evolution, so this piece was particularly salient for me today. As always, I am sure it wasn’t a coincidence. _/I\_
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Thank you for sharing Noelle. Wishing you clarity and peace of mind in the time ahead. xo
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Great post. “What is my message?” I love his simple, yet powerful words. Thanks Val. 🙂
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Thank you Karen 🙂
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This is a wonderful message, Val. I’m embarrassed to admit, I often live my life in a rush. I’m working on slowing down, but it’s difficult. Thank you for this.
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Thanks Jill for sharing. Perhaps your message right now is “trying to slow down”. 😉
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We absolutely live the message we send to others and leave behind! ❤ 🙂
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I like this Suzi! Well put 🙂
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Love your message to the world, Val!
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Thank you Ann! Yours is not too shabby either 🙂
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Building community. Whether at work, whether in my personal life, whether taking a yoga class… 😉
Diana xo
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And so it is 🙂 Thanks Diana! xo
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Wonderful message. Today I am seeing the nursing manager about why she is making it so difficult for me to visit residents other than Anthony (some of whom are old family friends); she is insisting on family permission etc. Wish me luck!
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Gandhi has been a giant hero in my life since my childhood when my wonderful mother told me about him and his life and message. We would go to the Self-Realization Fellowship in Pacific Palisades near where I lived and sit together taking in the shrine, lake with its swans, and lush natural beauty. It was said then in the ’50s that some of Gandhi’s ashes were held in the shrine. Seems unlikely to me now, but it has stayed with me. Thank you for this message today!
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A valuable reflective exercise, Val.
* Animal rights matter to me. Being a vegetarian allows me to live in accordance with that value.
* Sustainable living matters to me. Downsizing and simplifying my life allows me to live in accordance with that value.
* Etc.
When we live true to our beliefs, there is harmony between what we do, what we say, and what we think. That inner integrity and authenticity allow us to feel integrated and whole without constantly looking to others to bolster our self-esteem with applause, accolades, and acknowledgment.
We find ourselves thinking, “who I am is who I want to be.”
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So well captured Nancy. Your message is clear … and beautiful! xo
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Love me some Gandhi! Great post Val x
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He is an inspiration Julie isn’t he!
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He is 🙂
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Doing over being…you have given me much to think about here Val. Thank you.
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Thank you Lisa for pausing with this one 💛
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So, how am I living my life….
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The best question of them all David. xo
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Just be a decent person; that is all we ever have to do. H ❤
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So profoundly simple Hariod! ❤️
On the other hand, sometimes I’d rather be indecent. Its a word that conjures…
Aren’t they all 😉
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I’ve often been called “profoundly simple”. 😉
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To me you are simply profound ❤️
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I’m glad it’s never too late, because I feel like I’m always a work in progress, always working towards letting my life be my message 🙂
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“I am a work in progress” is also a wonderful message for life Kate!! ❤️
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I needed this one today Val, thank you. My life needs changes and I am working on it 🙂
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Thank you Irene … and good luck with bringing about the change that’s important to you!
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Thank you Val, it will be big changes.
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Profound!! Thank you!! 🌺
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Thank you Alania. May you live yours well 🌻
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Pingback: Living From The Core | Spirit Lights The Way
Powerful post. Some time ago when I was trying to think of people who embodied Jesus, Ghandi and Martin Luther King came to mind.
Since my life has been on a much smaller scale, it’s trickier to find models. But since we are each unique, you are right, the challenge is to find our own core and live from that and it does change as we age.
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Thank you Eileen for adding your thoughts to the conversation. We can be our own role models too 🙂
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