Day 41 ~  March 11th ~ Openness
Quotes
“It takes courage to live openly.”
~ Rev. Marjorie Lipari

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”
~ George Bernard Shaw

“I would rather have a mind opened by wonder than one closed by belief.”
~ Gerry Spence
Reflection
Openness means keeping our minds and hearts available for new experiences, ideas, and relationships. It means working to move beyond the boundaries of the familiar, in particular the walls that can be erected by tribe and tradition. 

Openness and curiosity are two of the primary conditions for discovery. Openness feels risky, because it means venturing onto unfamiliar ground, but can also be full of unexpected delights....
Picture
Edmonton City Hall during the 2015 Edmonton Peace Festival
...When we are open, we notice that life is constantly presenting us with new information and opportunities for growth. (Wisdom Commons)
Affirmation
Today I ask:  Isn’t the energy we use to self-protect and self-defend better used cultivating the courage to live openly, being available, able to feel empathy, able to understand? When I can be open to these opportunities for growth, I can use this as a way to find nonviolent ways to resolve differences.
Martina Cornejo, age 8, Argentina
Peace Pals International
Daily Action
There is a Turkish proverb which says, “He who builds himself a fence, fences out more than he fences in.” Be open to understanding ideas and people that you have previously opposed or excluded.
Melody Yeh, age 10, USA
Peace Pals International
Action for Teens
Try not to build fences around yourself to keep people out. Being open-minded helps you learn things about people that you never would have otherwise. You don’t have to agree with someone’s life, but you learn more if you don’t shut people out.
Action for Children
Today, find some information about a holiday or religious celebration that are not part of your own tradition.
Quote
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
~ Charles Darwin

"If we open our hearts, we will also find other hearts open - it is always mutual."
~ Abbott Leo von Rudloff

"Creativity has always depended on openness and flexibility."
~ Siri Hustved