The third Monday of January every year is recognized as a federal holiday in honor and remembrance of the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It’s about recognizing his leadership of the civil rights movement of the 60s and his service to his community and his causes.

However, Dr. King, Jr.’s contributions were so much more than just the civil rights he fought for.

He had some very distinct ideals and principles he lived by and taught, ones that are still much needed in the world today.

According to the King Center, he had six principles of nonviolence, which were inspired by Jesus Christ and Mahatma Gandhi.

  1. Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.
  2. Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding.
  3. Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice or evil, not people.
  4. Nonviolence holds that unearned, voluntary suffering for a just cause can educate and transform people and societies.
  5. Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate.
  6. Nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice.

While he believed in and preached these principles of nonviolence, there is really a deeper meaning to each one beyond pacifist values – principles that should be embraced not just on his day of honor but to be lived each day by all of us.

The italicized words of those six principles are the true meaning of what it means to lead and live an honorable life of service:

  1. Be courageous – even when standing up for your ideals and values isn’t popular, it is right.
  2. Friendships and understanding of others create bonds that build communities and let us see how we have more in common with each other than our differences.
  3. Defeat injustice or evil by not judging others but by condemning behaviors and actions that do not uphold all within a community.
  4. Educate and transform people, even groups of people, by replacing their ignorance with tolerance and information so they can learn and know how to do better.
  5. Be Love – Love is the only way darkness, injustice, and prejudices can be cast out. When one is Love, everyone is lifted up and accepted.
  6. This final principle is believing in a greater, benevolent power. It’s believing life is meant to be loving and prosperous for us all, and that is really the meaning of justice. It’s living life believing things balance out for the greater good when we practice these values.

If most of us looked back on the last several years, we would probably agree how much so many of us have struggled personally and as a society. We’ve grown tired, weary, and disillusioned with the way things continue to be. With the strife, the imbalance, the injustices that continue to plague too many people and our communities as a whole.

It’s truly time we move beyond the symbolic gestures and lip service of one day and move into a state of actually embodying the above principles that Dr. King, Jr. taught. Only then will we find hope return and a thriving future for us all.

Ahndrea Blue is president and CEO of the Making A Difference Foundation. Contact her at (253) 212-2778 and ahndrea@themadfseattle.org.