“Soul of Nonviolence” is a podcast that reflects on a different nonviolence quote each week. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or via RSS.
“When you know who you are; when your mission is clear, and you burn with the inner fire of unbreakable will; no cold can touch your heart; no deluge can dampen your purpose. You know that you are alive. ”
– Chief Seattle, Duwamish
In this week’s quote from Chief Seattle, we build on the soul force — satyagraha — of last week and consider how finding soul force can show you who you are and give purpose to your life.
Once a person does the work to find out who they truly are, they no longer have to hunt for scraps of feeling important. This deep knowing, this inner fire makes a person invincible to the common pitfalls of daily life. Once living with soul force, obstacles, struggles and pain cannot bring you off your path. Instead, we can share in life, rejoice and live fully.
For this week’s homework, I encourage us all to bring our awareness to the present and feel for what it means to be fully alive. In getting to know the embodied feeling of aliveness, we can tend to our own inner fire and keep it burning bright.