Global Peace
“If we
could evolve to the point of global peace, the possibilities for
human creativity would be astounding, and that creativity would have
an impact in the universe just as human activity today affects the
planet. In the imagery of the great Catholic scientist-theologian
Teilhard de Chardin, an increase in our awareness is an essential
part of the evolution of humanity and the world in which we live.”
Thomas
Moore (The Soul of Christmas, p.45)
You may be tired of my
harping about human evolution, but I am convinced that we stand at a
crossroads; we will either go backwards, or go forwards. The tension
between the old ways of doing things—with the goal of powering over
rather than cooperating—and the new way, with equality and
diversity at its heart, has never been greater. The wars in
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Syria cost the US 4.79 trillion
dollars through 2016. Hundreds of billions were added during 2017,
and the projected budget for 2018 calls for 639.1 billion dollars
more. How might that money have been spent if we were not
continuously at war? How many children could be properly educated?
How might our infrastructure have been improved?
We have just come through
the season of Christmas with its theme of universal light. That
light—of peace and goodwill—has been growing for decades. We have
made steady progress toward its goal, but now critical mass is needed
to push it forward. If each human being takes their individual
consciousness seriously, and sees it as a personal responsibility, we
will move all of humanity forward—past wars and proxy wars, past
spiteful retaliation, past an eye for an eye—to a world in which
all the energy that is now spent on destruction can go toward
creativity to benefit the common good.
You may call me naïve,
and say that I don't know how the world works, and you would be
right, but I believe we can do this. I see the hostile backlash
toward the institutions of democracy and equality as hopeful—if we
were not making progress, there would be no need for backlash. We
must stand strong and push forward. Freedom from war and destruction
calls to every living thing on this planet, and all will be the
beneficiaries.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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