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A Call to Action from Our Children and Grandchildren.
We Must Not Let Them Down!
WE, THE FUTURE GENERATION, ASK YOU TO CHOOSE US
Actions not words: Swedish climate activist, Greta Thunberg, speaks at the opening of the UN Climate Action Summit, New York, 23 September 2019
“You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. We are at the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can do is talk about money and fairy tales of eternal growth. How dare you!”
Greta Thunberg. Photo:un.org
‘Climate crisis: Imagine, perhaps life is for real and everything we do matters’
The Message to the World: Time is running out for a world at risk of war with itself, destroying the only collective home we have, Our Sacred Earth
The Time is Now to Take Action.
‘Time is running out for a world at risk…threats that were considered inconceivable, no longer are.’
Photo:littlesun.canalblog.com
At the GCGI we believe that the continuing and deepening climate and ecological crisis are the defining issues of our lifetimes and that our sacred earth, our home, is in the grip of an unparalleled emergency.
And we also know that our GCGI community, friends, and family are also equally passionate about the need for governments, businesses, education, media, NGOs, civil societies and individuals to take immediate action to avoid a catastrophe for humanity and for the natural world.
We must all standup and fight for a better ecological protection and be accountable to a most fundamental question: What it means to be human?
In her speech to Congress in September, Greta Thunberg said: “This is the moment in history when we need to be wide awake.”
I agree. Moreover, I am proud that over the past many years, the GCGI has been at the forefront of the struggle for a better socioeconomic policies, an informed and values-led education, simpler living, protecting the commons, loving and valuing mother nature and our sacred earth.
We have done these through our activism,advocacy, taking action in the interest of the common good, articles, blogs and conferences, some of them, I have noted below:
What kind of world do we want to sustain?
Can You Hear us and Mother Earth Crying?
A painting by Berrin Duma. Photo: turkishpaintings.com
Mother Earth is Crying: A Path to Spiritual Ecology and Sustainability
Biomimicry: Learning from Nature
Anthea Lawson, We Owe it to Our Humanity to hear you, to emulate you
Dr. Larch Maxey, We Owe it to Our Humanity to hear you, to emulate you
Visions of a New Earth: Responding to the Ecological Challenge- The Report
Pursuing Common Values: A Call to Recover our Moral and Spiritual Imagination, Transforming Society
The Power of Yellowstone: ‘for the enjoyment and benefit of the People.’
Sustainable Development Goals: Where is the Common Good?
The GCGI-SES Lucca Forum: Here's to 2018, Our Journey of Hope, caring for Our Sacred Earth
Eruption of Hope: Earth Day 2018
To Heal the World and People We Need to Save the Commons from Plunder
The beauty of living simply: the forgotten wisdom of William Morris
Slow Food for the Common Good to save the World
Can we price everything, or are somethings in life just priceless?
Are you physically and emotionally drained? I know of a good and cost-free solution!
A Sure Path to build a Better World: How nature helps us feel good and do good
Nature the Best Teacher: Re-Connecting the World’s Children with Nature
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A Must Read book by Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh
Photo:orondeamiller.com
...That we are actively seeking to harm nature and plunder our sacred mother earth – the very foundation of our survival – is a difficult concept to take on board, as it appears to defy logic, and the commonsense.. But the truth is that, given what we have been up to, our behaviour and actions often don’t make logical sense.
I first came across the idea of our hidden anger at Mother Earth from what I had learnt from the wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh, who wrote: “Some of us resent you [the Earth] for giving birth to them, causing them to endure suffering because they are not yet able to understand and appreciate you.”
Now, let me explain a bit more: Love Letter to the Earth
‘Dear Mother, there are those of us who walk on Earth but still wish to seek a Promised Land elsewhere, not knowing that you are the wondrous Pure Land, present in this moment. They are not able to see that the Kingdom of Heaven exists in their own hearts. They are not able to see that if their minds are calm and peaceful, then the very ground they are walking on becomes the Pure Land. We are able to play and enjoy this Pure Land day and night thanks to that insight, thanks to the practice of dwelling peacefully with mindfulness in the here and now. We have the Kingdom here and are no longer searching for it elsewhere. You have the capacity to carry us hundreds of millions of years into the future, after which you may manifest as another planet and we as other wonderful forms on you.
Respected Mother, you have children who are proud of themselves as brilliant mathematicians, skilled artisans, gifted architects, but few are able to see that you are the greatest mathematician, the most accomplished artisan, and the most talented architect. We only need to look at a branch of cherry blossoms, the shell of a snail, or the wing of a bat to see this truth. We have talented artists, but how can our paintings be compared to the works of art that you reveal to us in the four seasons? How can we paint such compelling dawns or create such radiant dusks? Our musicians are geniuses, but how can our songs measure up to your wondrous orchestra of Earth and Sky, or the magnificent sound of the rising tide? We have brave soldiers, knights, and heroes who have endured extreme heat and cold and traversed mountains and rivers, but how many of us have your patience and capacity to embrace? We have great love stories, but who among us has your immense love that includes all beings without discrimination?’- Adapted from Love Letter to the Earth by Thich Nhat Hanh © 2013. Reprinted via Tricycle, The Buddhist Review
The Earth, our home, just looks simply awesome, gorgeous!
Photo:nasa.gov
The following reflection is from the opening paragraphs of the book (chapter 1) , ‘Love Letter to the Earth’
‘At this very moment, the Earth is above you, below you, all around you, and even inside you. The Earth is everywhere. You may be used to thinking of the Earth only as the ground beneath your feet. But the water, the sea, the sky, and everything around us comes from the Earth. We often forget that the planet we are living on has given us all the elements that make up our bodies. The water in our flesh, our bones, and all the microscopic cells inside our bodies come from the Earth and are part of the Earth. The Earth is not just the environment we live in. We are the Earth and we are always carrying her within us.
Realizing this, we can see that the Earth is truly alive. We are a living, breathing manifestation of this beautiful and generous planet. Knowing this, we can begin to transform our relationship to the Earth. We can begin to walk differently and to care for her differently. We will fall completely in love with the Earth.When we are in love with someone and something, there is no separation between ourselves and the person or thing we love. We do whatever we can for them and this brings us great joy and nourishment. That is the relationship each of us can have with the Earth. That is the relationship each of us must have with the Earth if the Earth is to survive, and if we are to survive as well.’
Learn more about Thich Nhat Hanh: The Life Story of Thich Nhat Hanh
Read a few related and complementary articles from the GCGI Archives:
Mother Earth is Crying: A Path to Spiritual Ecology and Sustainability
Visions of a New Earth: Responding to the Ecological Challenge- The Report
Pursuing Common Values: A Call to Recover our Moral and Spiritual Imagination, Transforming Society
The Power of Yellowstone: ‘for the enjoyment and benefit of the People.’
The GCGI-SES Lucca Forum: Here's to 2018, Our Journey of Hope, caring for Our Sacred Earth
Eruption of Hope: Earth Day 2018
To Heal the World and People We Need to Save the Commons from Plunder
The beauty of living simply: the forgotten wisdom of William Morris
Can we price everything, or are somethings in life just priceless?
Are you physically and emotionally drained? I know of a good and cost-free solution!
A Sure Path to build a Better World: How nature helps us feel good and do good
Nature the Best Teacher: Re-Connecting the World’s Children with Nature
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Hope, the common good and our duty to the future
From Perpetual and Deepening Crisis to an opportunity for discernment, to shape a new vision for the future and to heal ourselves and our world.
The time is Now to Be A Crusader for Hope and the Common Good
Photo:geezgwen.com
Dear Friends of the GCGI,
Welcome to the first issue of our newsletter. We are pleased to share the first issue of our new quarterly newsletter, keeping you up to date with all the latest news and postings.
It was George Bernard Shaw who once quipped, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” Ask anyone and they will tell you how true this is. Healthy communication is a prerequisite to healthy relationships, friendships, and more so in the world of activism, cultivating friendship and working together in the interest of the common good.
I hope you enjoy this new way to keep you informed of the work of our GCGI. From now on, instead of a few emails, here and there, I will send you four Newsletter each year: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, beginning with this, our Autumn one.
If you wish to contribute to these Newsletters in any way you wish, short articles, stories, announcements, news, and more, please contact me.
Moreover, if you no longer wish to receive the newsletter, please email me with the word: UNSUBSCRIBE
Composing a New Life: In Praise of Wisdom
Photo:bing.com
Composing a New Life, it’s all about taking the broadest possible view of ideas, people, places, and things to make better choices for the long term. At the centre of it all is the notion of wisdom and taking action in the interest of the common good.
Do you hear that voice calling you, calling us?
Do you have an eye for justice and sense of duty? Then, these questions are for you.
The Age Of Perpetual Crisis: What are we to do in a world seemingly spinning out of our control?
In these troubled times let us be ordinary and enjoy the simple pleasures of life
Are you physically and emotionally drained? I know of a good and cost-free solution!
The beauty of living simply: the forgotten wisdom of William Morris
‘Baba’s Wisdom: Inspiration for a Simple, Happy Life’- A Reflection
Crisis in Trust and Perpetual Global Crisis
We need to come together to stop the plunder of the commons
University students are crying out for mental health wellbeing modules
A Must Read Book about how Adam Smith can change your life for better
The World would be a Better Place if Economists had Read This Book
In Praise of Darwin Debunking the Self-seeking Economic Man
How to make the Nobel Prize in Economics Noble?
In Praise of Youth on International Youth Day- Monday 12 August 2019
The Value of Values: Values-led Education to Make the World Great Again
Death and Destruction on Brothers’ Road to Serfdom
Interfaith Spiritual Music to Heal the World, GCGI 1st Conference, Oxford 2002
Todi-Week 2019- A Reflection: Where we came to imagine and co-create a better world together
The Unrealized Horrors of Population Explosion and High-Rise Living in Iran since the Revolution
- The Unrealized Horrors of Population Explosion and High-Rise Living in Iran since the Revolution
- ‘Baba’s Wisdom: Inspiration for a Simple, Happy Life’- A Reflection
- The Most Compelling Story of Boris Johnson’s Madness and his Nonsensical Brexit
- Crisis in Trust and Perpetual Global Crisis
- To Heal the World and People We Need to Save the Commons from Plunder