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Dear friends,
Last week I finished teaching a course called "Coming Back to Life: How to Work for Social Change Without Burning Out" drawing from the work of Joanna Macy. As a class we spent our first week focused on gratitude, answering questions such as, "What do you love about being alive?" and "Someone who has watered the good within me is..." Ever since that first session in May, I've felt my heart opening to more gratitude and, as a result, I've felt more joy in my life.
In light of all the tragedies we hear about from the news: the oil spill off the coast of California, people killed in the flooding in Texas, deaths near and far of men of color, I turn to gratitude not as a dismissal or denial of the suffering; I turn to it as a source of strength and renewal to keep working for change amidst brokenness. It is human to feel hopeless or numb. It is easy to focus on everything that is not working. At the same time, we have choice of where we go with these feelings. As Joanna Macy reminds us, by reconnecting to our love and joy (even for a moment--a bird call, a smile, a cup of coffee), we can find fresh energy to live and work for justice and peace.
So I invite you to pause as you're reading this and write down 3 things for which you're grateful today. Try this as a quick experiment. Notice how you feel afterward.
If you feel stuck, we at the Gandhi Institute have some celebrations I'm excited to share:
- If you don't know yet, three of our staff are currently learning about nonviolence in South Africa! Kit, Malik and Yahoda are traveling as part of the Satyagraha Tour, led by Arun Gandhi.
- Second, we hosted our first webinar on May 5, in partnership with Laurel School staff and teachers, which is a school in the Los Angeles area. This was our first webinar to share how we teach nonviolence to youth! We co-created it based on the teachers' questions. Read more below!
- Third, our partnership with Groveland Correctional Facility, a medium security men's prison (45 minutes south of Rochester), continues to unfold. This year Groveland celebrated the Season for Nonviolence for the third year, and at the closing ceremony, the superintendent of the prison reported a drop in violent incidents within the facility. Incarcerated men have taken the lead to host a nonviolence book group and study Nonviolent Communication with books the Institute donated. In August we will host our first prison-community dialogue, to explore and challenge stereotypes held about both civilians and our incarcerated brothers and sisters.
In the midst of the suffering, there are lots of moments of beauty and love, waiting for us to notice them. Let's soak them in as nourishment for the challenges we daily face.
With love from everyone here,
Shannon Richmond,
on behalf of the staff
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Join Us at These Upcoming Events:
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Community Race Dialogues
When: June 4, 4:00-6:00 PM
Where: Sully Library, 530 Webster Ave.
Rochester, NY 14609
When: June 28, 6:00-8:00 PM
Where: Pittsford Library, 24 State St.
Pittsford, NY 14534
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Gandhi Institute Nonviolence Intensive
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
June 30 - July 2
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM each day
Gandhi Institute, 929 S. Plymouth Ave
Are you interested in exploring applied nonviolence? In this intensive we will be exploring:
-transforming conflicts using Nonviolent Communication
-how to use our rank and privilege for positive social change
-how to use our distress about local and global problems as power to help others
This experience is designed for social workers, teachers, students, activists, people of faith and anyone interested in the principles and practices of social change through nonviolence.
Only 15 spots available!
Registration is required. For more info and to register click here
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Volunteering in the Garden
You are invited to come to the Gandhi Institute and volunteer in the garden whenever you have time to. We have left a white board out with a list of different tasks that need to be done along with a bin containing gloves and shovels for gardening/weeding.
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Planning Our 2015 Open House & Gandhi Birthday Party!
Would you like to be a part of planning our 2015 Open House and Gandhi Birthday Party? We would love your creative ideas and support! In the past we've enjoyed Bhangra dance by UR and RIT students, cupcakes from Small World Bakery, stories from Nonviolence Club students, an Empathy Labyrinth, and more! Help us make this year's event another beautiful community celebration!
The party will be Sunday, October 4, 2015.
Please email our volunteer coordinator Izzie, if you are interested: mkgandhivolunteers@gmail.com
 
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Sustainable Greenhouse
 
This past month we hosted a presentation centered around the greenhouse that we plan to build on site. A number of grad students from RIT's sustainable architecture school presented their design that they've been working on for the past semester. The greenhouse will serve as a crucial source of produce for the neighborhood. Key components include a rooftop solar panel which will make the structure virtually off-the-grid as well as an aquaponics system that provides both fish for consumption as well as waste to be used for nutrients to promote plant growth in the greenhouse. If you are at all curious about how you could possibly contribute to this project, or learn more, feel free to contact Gandhi Institute director Kit Miller kmiller@admin.rochester.edu.
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