Can We Envision Peace & Community?
I remember a time when we knew almost everyone on our block; a time when a neighbor was in need a whole community rallied to help. Today it is not unusual for people to be isolated from one another. As I reflect on my recent past, I have been guilty of contributing to the deterioration of the places I have lived. While living in Washington, DC, I barely knew my neighbors on both sides of my house. Unfortunately, it often takes a shared catastrophe for us to discover community.
I experienced discovering community living in New York City during 9/11. During this horrific event, the streets were full of people ready and willing to help one another. My daughter was missing for seven hours and I wandered the streets in despair. Complete strangers felt my pain and came to comfort me. Several stayed with me for the entire time. We all felt as one.
“A powerful community shares a common vision
and shared values with their fellow citizens.”
The manner in which we have responded to the catastrophes around the world has demonstrated that we have the capacity for community in times of shared pain. The earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, Hurricane Katrina, the fires in California, the tsunami in Asia, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the plethora of floods and disasters captured our attention, our compassion and moved a lot of people to action. I believe however that a true community does not wait for the shared pain; they see the pain in their neighbor’s eyes and cares enough to help, on any given day. A true community knows who lives next door and down the street and is concerned for the common good. A powerful community shares a common vision and shared values with their fellow citizens.
I believe that peace and community are interdependent. Imagine a vision shared by most people in the world community that is rooted in the powerful values of love and peace. I have never lived in an era of peace. War has been the status quo of my time on earth. I do however believe that most people around the world abhor war. I believe the day will come when war is regarded as a primitive and an immoral way to resolve conflict and our desire for peace will prevail.
"May the conscience and the common sense of the peoples be awakened, so that we may reach a new stage in the life of nations, where people will look back on war as an incomprehensible aberration of their forefathers"
Albert Einstein
I heard a fable about a time when the survivors of the great flood came together and made a plan to renew civilization. They decided to separate into four groups and set out in four directions to rediscover the world. The goal was for each group to bring their rich discoveries back for the benefit of all. One group went east, another west, one group went north and the other south. The group that traveled north learned to be highly efficient, organized, highly analytical and conservative – skills and perspectives they needed to navigate through their bitter cold environment and limited resources. Those who went east discovered the challenges of the dramatic topography, from the enormous mountain ranges to the vast deserts in the Middle East. They learned to work in sync with the ominous topography that overshadowed them. The group that journeyed west faced seemingly endless bodies of water. They learned courage, perseverance and independence for they had to navigate through the unpredictable oceans with no assurance they would find land on the other side. The group that went south learned the art of celebration, dance and song, for theirs was a world of vast resources, beauty and warmth. All of these discoveries, perspectives and skills were gifts that could have benefited everyone when they reunited - But something went horribly wrong.
As time went by, each group forgot that their mission was to explore their part of the world to bring their beautiful discoveries and the learning’s back for the good of the whole community. Each group began to form their separate culture and norms. Soon their norms became their beliefs, and their beliefs became their truth. They began to judge the other groups, and soon their judgments turned into hate and hate solidified their separation from one another. Eventually they began to venture out into the other groups territories. They fought and killed one another for their version of the truth; each group believing their truth was the truth. The community mission was long forgotten and prejudice, war and conflict became the way of life.
I believe the false assumption that we can live isolated and insulated from one another and from the planet that sustains us – is the root of most of our problems today. The global economic and environmental crisis has illuminated the fact that we are all connected. We all depend on one planet; its recourses and we are interdependent.
We have spent thousands of years learning to separate ourselves from one another and from our planet. We are only now beginning to understand that we are deeply and inextricably connected, interdependent and part of a greater whole. I am beginning to understand that the way out of my problems is the same way out of yours. I was talking with my dear friend Peter Senge and he made a statement that rings true “start anywhere and you will end up everywhere” - everything and everyone is connected in some way. The ripple effects our actions: how we treat people; our economic decisions; how we use energy; what we spew into the air and water, has a greater impact than ever before. What happens in Darfur, Gaza, Iran, Afghanistan, London, Paris, Mumbai, Ecuador, Detroit, and Rio de Janeiro or anywhere in our world, affects us all in some manner.
"A human being is a part of a whole, called by us the universe, apart limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." Albert Einstein
(I guess you know by now that I am an Einstein fan)
michelemariehunt@gmail.com
I experienced discovering community living in New York City during 9/11. During this horrific event, the streets were full of people ready and willing to help one another. My daughter was missing for seven hours and I wandered the streets in despair. Complete strangers felt my pain and came to comfort me. Several stayed with me for the entire time. We all felt as one.
“A powerful community shares a common vision
and shared values with their fellow citizens.”
The manner in which we have responded to the catastrophes around the world has demonstrated that we have the capacity for community in times of shared pain. The earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, Hurricane Katrina, the fires in California, the tsunami in Asia, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the plethora of floods and disasters captured our attention, our compassion and moved a lot of people to action. I believe however that a true community does not wait for the shared pain; they see the pain in their neighbor’s eyes and cares enough to help, on any given day. A true community knows who lives next door and down the street and is concerned for the common good. A powerful community shares a common vision and shared values with their fellow citizens.
I believe that peace and community are interdependent. Imagine a vision shared by most people in the world community that is rooted in the powerful values of love and peace. I have never lived in an era of peace. War has been the status quo of my time on earth. I do however believe that most people around the world abhor war. I believe the day will come when war is regarded as a primitive and an immoral way to resolve conflict and our desire for peace will prevail.
"May the conscience and the common sense of the peoples be awakened, so that we may reach a new stage in the life of nations, where people will look back on war as an incomprehensible aberration of their forefathers"
Albert Einstein
I heard a fable about a time when the survivors of the great flood came together and made a plan to renew civilization. They decided to separate into four groups and set out in four directions to rediscover the world. The goal was for each group to bring their rich discoveries back for the benefit of all. One group went east, another west, one group went north and the other south. The group that traveled north learned to be highly efficient, organized, highly analytical and conservative – skills and perspectives they needed to navigate through their bitter cold environment and limited resources. Those who went east discovered the challenges of the dramatic topography, from the enormous mountain ranges to the vast deserts in the Middle East. They learned to work in sync with the ominous topography that overshadowed them. The group that journeyed west faced seemingly endless bodies of water. They learned courage, perseverance and independence for they had to navigate through the unpredictable oceans with no assurance they would find land on the other side. The group that went south learned the art of celebration, dance and song, for theirs was a world of vast resources, beauty and warmth. All of these discoveries, perspectives and skills were gifts that could have benefited everyone when they reunited - But something went horribly wrong.
As time went by, each group forgot that their mission was to explore their part of the world to bring their beautiful discoveries and the learning’s back for the good of the whole community. Each group began to form their separate culture and norms. Soon their norms became their beliefs, and their beliefs became their truth. They began to judge the other groups, and soon their judgments turned into hate and hate solidified their separation from one another. Eventually they began to venture out into the other groups territories. They fought and killed one another for their version of the truth; each group believing their truth was the truth. The community mission was long forgotten and prejudice, war and conflict became the way of life.
I believe the false assumption that we can live isolated and insulated from one another and from the planet that sustains us – is the root of most of our problems today. The global economic and environmental crisis has illuminated the fact that we are all connected. We all depend on one planet; its recourses and we are interdependent.
We have spent thousands of years learning to separate ourselves from one another and from our planet. We are only now beginning to understand that we are deeply and inextricably connected, interdependent and part of a greater whole. I am beginning to understand that the way out of my problems is the same way out of yours. I was talking with my dear friend Peter Senge and he made a statement that rings true “start anywhere and you will end up everywhere” - everything and everyone is connected in some way. The ripple effects our actions: how we treat people; our economic decisions; how we use energy; what we spew into the air and water, has a greater impact than ever before. What happens in Darfur, Gaza, Iran, Afghanistan, London, Paris, Mumbai, Ecuador, Detroit, and Rio de Janeiro or anywhere in our world, affects us all in some manner.
"A human being is a part of a whole, called by us the universe, apart limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." Albert Einstein
(I guess you know by now that I am an Einstein fan)
Can we rediscover our common mission, shared values and our transcending truths? As humans don’t we have far more in common than we differ?
Michele
Transformation Catalyst
www.dreammakers.org
michelemariehunt@gmail.com
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