Scilla Elworthy is an extraordinary woman – nominated 3 times for the Nobel Peace Prize. Humble, wise and passionate too. Given recent violent events around the world, her message is precious. She believes we need to know what we stand for, an to master our own fear when we encounter violence, or affected by it. ‘My fear grows fat on the energy I feed it’. She also makes a great point about anger, and how it can drive us into a position of blame, which is a position of weakness. It’s a very spiritual message, although she doesn’t mention the S word.
As a teacher of forgiveness, I believe that learning to forgive is an important tool in dealing with our fear and our anger, stopping blaming others, and empowering ourselves. It’s not something Elworthy mentions in this video, although she does talk about the importance of inner awareness in handling violence and bullying. However, when we do genuinely learn to forgive, the letting go of the anger and fear becomes so much easier – and vice versa.
If you know you need to handle lack of forgiveness in your life – whether it’s related to violence or not, please get in touch.
If you’re interested to learn more about Scilla Elworthy and her work, check out her bio on the Oxford Research Group website. And if you prefer reading to watching video, here’s a piece she wrote for the Guardian Newspaper’s Leadership column.