Day 22 - Patti Bowman

This open letter comes to you today from what my Canadian father always called the ‘Excited States. From here, in the early weeks of the 2026 Season for Nonviolence, it feels like the Exhausted States. Who would have known the mouth of one man could exhaust an entire  nation? Still, I am inspired by the relentless refusal to back down. Not so much by the endless  repetition of myths pretending to be made true by quantity alone.  

The great myth of our age is the myth of redemptive violence. Violence fails again and again in countless ways. Yet, again and again, it’s sold to us as pragmatic.  

Nonviolence is eminently pragmatic and the only land we own, as individuals. The privilege of  committing violence without consequence is bestowed by power, with a terms of use  agreement that is invisible, self-contradictory, and revoked without notice. Nonviolence is not naive. It is pragmatic, and frankly the only thing we have that we own outright.  

Peace is more than something we pray for, it is a practice renewed moment to moment by returning home again and again to justice, dignity and love, and this home is built on nonviolence. 

When I lose hope or lack courage, I’ll plant my flag on non-violence, and cling to justice, dignity and love. Love is so much more than a feeling we fall into. Love is a verb. Love is action after action after action. That action may be just walking through another day, leaving whatever we  encounter even a little better.  

Be a Bell 

Let this darkness be a bell tower 
And you the bell 
And as you ring, 
What batters you becomes your strength 
Move back and forth into the change 
What’s it like? This intensity of pain? 
If the drink is bitter, turn yourself to wine 
In this uncontainable night 
Be the mystery at the crossroads of your senses 
The meaning discovered there 

—bell hooks, Appalachian Elegy, 2012 

If you are weary, remember even bells do not ring without pause. Resonance requires intervals.  If the noisy gong and clanging cymbal of the voice without love makes the world weary, it is no  surprise that those who speak from love inspire hope and courage in us all, and I’m grateful to mark the memory of the courage, love and commitment to justice of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. King with you. Peace is the path and the pause, I hope to join you there.  

In love, dignity, and justice, 

Patti


Patti Bowman 
Newcastle, WA