LIVING WITHOUT VIOLENCE
Objective:
To encourage thinking and action about living without violence
Key Words:
consequences, conflict, knack, pebbles, sedately, laden, intercepted, abundance, possessions, forgive, gesture
QUOTATION:
BEHAVE ONLY IN A MANNER THAT YOU MAY LOVE YOURSELF FOR
DO AS YOU WOULD BE DONE BY
Discuss the meanings and importance of these two quotations.
SILENT SITTING
Asseyez-vous confortablement, vous n’avez pas de contact avec vos voisins –
le dos bien droit – les mains sur les cuisses – tournées vers le haut, comme des petites coupelles – voilà, c’est cela —
et maintenant -- vous imaginez tout autour de vous, une grosse boule de lumière dorée qui vous entoure et vous protège – elle représente votre espace, dans lequel personne n’a le droit de pénétrer –
Comme vous vous sentez en sécurité à l’intérieur de cette boule, vous respirez calmement –
A l’inspiration, vous sentez l’air entrer dans vos poumons--
A la pause, vous sentez l’air qui se répand dans votre ventre, vos bras, vos jambes et toute votre tête —
A l’expiration, laissez ressortir l’air de vos poumons et vous recommencez —
Vous sentez l’air entrer -- se répartir dans tout votre corps –
les muscles de vos jambes et de vos bras se relâchent, se relaxent – puis vous laissez ressortir l’air de votre poitrine – faîtes cela plusieurs fois –
Lorsque vous inspirez, sentez aussi la lumière dorée qui entre dans vos poumons et qui vient éclairer toutes les parties de votre corps
Cette belle lumière dorée, vous fait découvrir les zones d’ombres qui se trouvent dans votre corps, votre tête, votre cœur, votre esprit
Ces zones d’ombres représentent vos douleurs, vos malaises, vos peurs, vos colères, vos déceptions, vos tristesses, vos rancunes, votre jalousie, tout ce qui vous perturbe, vous dérange.
C’est comme avec le soleil, là où il brille, l’ombre disparaît.
Aussi, peu à peu -- sentez -- grâce à l’Amour qu’apporte la lumière dorée, --
sentez que peu à peu, vos zones d’ombre disparaissent, -- à l’intérieur de vous, tout devient lumineux, calme, tranquille – lumineux, calme, tranquille –
Et maintenant -- derrière vos yeux toujours fermésthink of a time that you regret because you were violent in thought, word or deed ...
See yourself doing that action ...
See the consequences of your action for the other people ...
And for yourself...
Silently say sorry to everyone involved, including yourself, for all the hurt you
caused ...
Feel yourself surrounded with love and forgiveness ...
Imagine yourself acting differently in this situation, so that no one, including
yourself is hurt ...
Think of a time when you did something to reduce conflict ...
Or stop something hurtful happening ...
Or imagine something you would like to have done ...
See yourself doing it ...
Feel the pleasure of achievement ...
Imagine good spreading out from your action like ripples in a pond.
1 --2 --3 -- vous êtes revenu ici, dans votre salle de classe, étirez-vous, ouvrez les yeux et souriez à votre voisin
STORY TELLING
THE MAGIC BOAT
by Tessa Hillman
When I was nine I lived in the country with my mum and dad, brother and sister. A small stream ran through the village and I spent a lot of time playing by the water, making little boats out of grass and floating them off down the stream.
My brother, Sam, although younger, could make better boats than I could. He seemed to have the knack of bending and twisting the grass into really good shapes which would float. He was able to load his boats with lots of little pebbles which we called ‘goods’. This meant that his boats travelled more slowly. Mine would always speed off down the stream and, either get stuck in the reeds, or be blown by the breeze into the middle where it would sink, or be carried away so quickly that it was soon lost to sight. Sam’s, on the other hand, would float slowly and sedately along carrying its cargo safely and gently.
We used to make up stories about the boats. One such story was about a boat, laden with goods, arriving far away where the stream had become a great river.
The boat was a real boat filled with fruit, vegetables and useful household goods. The people who intercepted and moored the boat to the riverbank, were from a village which was at war with its neighbours. They were starving. The people from the neighbouring village had attacked their village one night and burnt their granary and some of the houses. So food was in very short supply.
Seeing the boat, they thought that the gods had sent food supplies to save them. They started to unload it and no matter how much they took out, there was always more within. They found that whatever they needed was there, in the hold. Besides food, which was in abundance, they needed to repair the damage caused to their houses by the fires, and to their delight, found wood, tools, hammers and nails. There was also bedding and clothes: in fact, all their needs were supplied. They were overjoyed with the magic boat. They called a meeting to decide what to do.
“There is only one thing which we now need,” said a wise old man of the village. “And that is peace. If we have peace we can continue to live in our village without fear of having our new possessions taken from us. But will the boat supply us with such a thing?”
“How can the boat supply peace to us?” said another. “It may be magic, but surely only we can make peace ourselves?”
“We must go and talk to the people in the next village and make peace with them,” said an elderly woman who had been listening quietly to the discussions. “We must forgive them for what they have done to us and ask their forgiveness for the bad things that we have done to them and offer to share our good fortune with them. We must give them half of the goods as a gesture of friendship to prove our sincerity. Then we can all live in peace.”
And this is what they did. And as long as the two villages shared their good fortune with each other, they lived happily as friends.
Sam and I were happy for the villagers in the story, but it wasn’t always easy for us to live in the way they had chosen to, and remain peaceful.
QUESTIONS:
1 What name shall we give this story?
2 What was the villagers' problem?
3 What did the villagers do to solve their problem?
4 Why do you think the boy said, “...it wasn’t always easy for us to live in the way they had chosen...”?
5 What can we do to become peaceful?
6 What did you feel when you heard this story?
7 Does it remind you of anything in your own life?
8 What does the story mean to you?
GROUP SINGING
ON THE WAVY, WAVY BOAT
On the wavy, wavy boat Where the water’s deep
There I try to keep afloat Where the water’s deep
Tossing and turning, twirling and learning,
On the wavy, wavy boat Where the water’s deep
There I try and keep afloat Where the water’s deep
Nodding and bobbing, sinking and sobbing
On the wavy, wavy boat Where the water’s deep
There I try and keep afloat Where the water’s deep
Rocking and rolling, helping, consoling
On the wavy, wavy boat Where the water’s deep
There I try and keep afloat Where the water’s deep
Shouting and waving, singing and saving.
On the wavy, wavy boat Where the water’s deep
There I try and keep afloat Where thewater’s deep
Swaying and walking, laughing and talking
On the wavy, wavy boat
On the wavy, wavy boat
GROUP ACTIVITY
In groups of five, brainstorm in response to the following:
In order to reduce violence in thought, word and deed in this class (or school, or community) we need to ...
we need others to ...
Talk about how the ‘others’ might get to know about what you need from them.
Extension exercise/Links to Other Subjects:
Literacy link:
Invite the children to each write a letter to the class, starting with,
“Dear Friends, I am writing this letter to you to tell you how I would like to be treated.
I would like to be treated ...”
The letter should end with, “By writing this to you all today, it is understood that I will, of course, treat you all in the same manner.”
Each child can read out his own letter to the class.
Teacher's Note: This exercise is useful in times of friction.
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