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Written by: Kamran Mofid

Published: 23 December 2013

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 'A Christmas Carol’ is entertainment that delivers profound emotions-Photo: Via medium.com

This was the caption of an article in the Telegraph (Monday 23 December 2013) on Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol”.  The author, Simon Callow, eloquently describes Dickens’s genius to show how compassion that begins on one day can last all year round.

I enjoyed reading this article very much and wish to share the gist of it with you.

‘It’s Christmas 2013, and Dickens, who died in 1870, is, as usual at this time of year, everywhere; above all, of course, in his little book, A Christmas Carol, which appeared 170 years ago, in 1843. Neither Christmas nor Dickens, it appears, is showing the slightest sign of the demise so widely predicted for both of them. In fact, each reinforces the other. The story is somehow quintessential Dickens. “The mystery of Christmas,” said the Catholic polemicist G K Chesterton, “is in a manner identical to the mystery of Dickens.”

‘Far from being intended as a celebration of jollity and plenty, the book had its starting point in towering anger: like many people, he had been outraged by what he read in the 1842 Parliamentary Report on “The Employment and Condition of Children in Mines and Manufactories”, with its harrowing illustrations of children – starving, pneumoconiosis-ridden – condemned to work underground for 10 hours at a time. He determined to deliver what he called a “sledge-hammer blow” on their behalf.

‘He thought first in terms of a pamphlet, which he intended to call “An appeal to the people of England, on behalf of the poor man’s child.” He pondered it long and hard, but it was when he was in Manchester, addressing the Athenaeum Institute, an organisation devoted to the education of working men and women, on the subject of ignorance that the story of A Christmas Carol came to him, and he realised what form his sledge-hammer blow would take.

“My own heart dies within me,” he said in the speech in Manchester, “when I see thousands of immortal creatures condemned without alternative or choice, not to what our great poet calls 'the primrose path to the everlasting bonfire’, but one of jagged flints and stones, laid down by brutal ignorance”.

‘And it is Ignorance and its constant companion Want that are at the centre of A Christmas Carol, making their appearance as Scrooge parts company with the Ghost of Christmas Present, before his terrifying encounter with the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come.

‘In the end, this is Dickens’s story: someone who sees value only in monetary terms joins the human race again, understanding that money is only meaningful insofar as it can contribute to the general good. Dickens’s sublime notion of attaching this story to the idea of Christmas is what in the end has made it a story for all time: Scrooge’s affable nephew Fred neatly makes the point to his life-hating uncle early on. “Out upon merry Christmas! What’s Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, and not an hour richer?” says Scrooge indignantly. (emphasis added)

‘I have always thought of Christmas time,” says Fred, “as the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.” (emphasis added)

‘If we can manage it at Christmas, asks Dickens, why can’t we manage it all the year round? “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” But first Scrooge has to learn to understand what Christmas is. The first time he says “Merry Christmas” to a fellow human being is an emotional high point in the story. And that, perhaps, in the end, is what Dickens achieved in A Christmas Carol: he made Merry Christmas mean something. If we let it.’ (emphasis added)

Read the full article HERE

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Christmas Message Holds True: A life so lived is to seek together the essence of the common good

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Written by: Kamran Mofid

Published: 18 December 2013

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A Christmas and New Year Message from Kamran and Anne Mofid

This is the time of the year when we need to stand back and remind ourselves of what are the most valuable gifts that life has offered us.

"Do not live entirely isolated, having retreated into yourselves, as if you were already [fully] justified, but gather instead to seek together the common good." Epistle of Barnabas

Let us see where we stand. Although our world today is facing major global challenges, we remain positive and hopeful for a more humane and just future which we are creating together: A world for the Common Good.

Those seeking and taking action in the interest of the common good all over the world are hopefully showing the path to so many wandering in darkness while hungering for hope. In such a world let us go about giving love, compassion, kindness and generosity to all. Let us serve the poor and broken ones, serve our brothers and sisters, and serve birds and beasts and all creation. A life so lived, is serving the essence of the common good.

These many crises are a wakeup call to action, to see things as they are. Impending catastrophe for our species and our planet is gathering strength unless we act in time. We should search with an open mind for the wisdom we need to transform our socio-economic and political system to a sustainable path, grounded in ecological reality, with respect for justice and dignity for all, and our appreciation for nature and our kinship for all living things.

We should not allow ourselves to be led away from this Path. It is crucial at this juncture in human history, perhaps as never before, for us to transcend the body to have flight into the higher regions to “know-thyself” and to see that we are all a drop in the Great Ocean of Consciousness. Radiate love to all creation.  Let us breathe this out through every pore of our body: 'love and peace be unto all, the world over'. This power of peace and goodwill, has the power to overcome the forces of destruction that have coalesced around us.

Each action has a reaction. As we sow goodness and kindness, so we shall reap love, wisdom, peace, and harmony. Let our physical sojourn be sweetly ethical, loving, co-operative and tolerant. We must remain watchful. We are not perfect. There may be failures on our part and misunderstandings amongst us. The former, should be met with by the motto of forgiveness and reconciliation and the latter by reconciling them to mutual loving contacts, mutual respect and the consideration for the common good.

This is what our Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative is all about– a heart-based social participation movement that acknowledges and encourages the goodness that surrounds us each and every day. It is our collective opportunity to collaborate locally, nationally and globally to inspire and highlight the kindness, caring, dignity and honesty that is the natural and greater part of our daily experience. Simply stated, “Every one has a heart; it is time to let it shine.” Ultimately it is our heart that guides us and our compassion that motivates us to help one another.

The courage and dedication of countless people striving to live for the common good; in peace, genuine kindness and in harmony with one another and with the Mother Earth is extraordinary. Despite the many ongoing challenges, we at GCGI, strive to set aside our differences and work diligently in our daily encounters with each other in order to truly serve and help one another.

Christmas happened over 2000 years ago, when the Baby was born; but in a very real sense it is happening all over again. The newborn "babies" are all men and women who are becoming global citizens, committed to human solidarity, economic and ecological sustainability and consideration for the common good. Let us pray for them and work with them, that we all may grow in wisdom and stature for the good of humanity and all the creation.

And let us in 2014 we all come together and share a common belief in the potential of each one of us to become self-directed, empowered, and active in defining this time in the world as opportunity for positive change and healing and for the true formation of a culture of peace by giving thanks, spreading joy, sharing love, seeing miracles, discovering goodness, embracing kindness, practicing patience, teaching moderation, encouraging laughter, celebrating diversity, showing compassion, turning from hatred, practicing forgiveness, peacefully resolving conflicts, communicating non-violently, choosing happiness and enjoying life, by coming together as global citizens in a world community that cares enough to make the radical changes needed to create a new world for the common good.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Kamran Mofid, Founder, Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative (GCGI)

Anne Mofid, Founding Executive Secretary, (GCGI)

Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative (GCGI): Where we connect our intellect with our humanity

To understand, appreciate, and face the challenges of the contemporary world requires us to focus on life’s big picture. Whether it is war and peace, economics and the environment, justice and injustice, love and hatred, cooperation and competition, common good and selfishness, science and technology, progress and poverty, profit and loss, food and population, energy and water, disease and health, education and family, we need the big picture in order to understand and solve the many pressing problems, large and small, regional or global.

The “Big Picture” is also the context in which we can most productively explore the big perennial questions of life - purpose and meaning, virtues and values.

In order to focus on life’s bigger picture and guided by the principles of hard work, commitment, volunteerism and service; with a great passion for dialogue of cultures, civilisations, religions, ideas and visions, at an international conference in Oxford in 2002 the Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative (GCGI) and the GCGI Annual International Conference Series were founded.

We recognise that our socio-economic problems are closely linked to our spiritual problems and vice versa. Moreover, socio-economic justice, peace and harmony will come about only when the essential connection between the spiritual and practical aspects of life is valued. Necessary for this journey is to discover, promote and live for the common good. The principle of the common good reminds us that we are all really responsible for each other – we are our brothers' and sisters' keepers – and must work for social conditions which ensure that every person and every group in society is able to meet their needs and realize their potential. It follows that every group in society must take into account the rights and aspirations of other groups, and the well-being of the whole human family.

One of the greatest challenges of our time is to apply the ideas of the global common good to practical problems and forge common solutions. Translating the contentions of philosophers, spiritual and religious scholars and leaders into agreement between policymakers and nations is the task of statesmen and citizens, a challenge to which Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative (GCGI) adheres. The purpose is not simply talking about the common good, or simply to have a dialogue, but the purpose is to take action, to make the common good and dialogue work for all of us, benefiting us all.

What the GCGI seeks to offer - through its scholarly and research programme, as well as its outreach and dialogue projects - is a vision that positions the quest for economic and social justice, peace and ecological sustainability within the framework of a spiritual consciousness and a practice of open-heartedness, generosity and caring for others. All are thus encouraged by this vision and consciousness to serve the common good.

The GCGI has from the very beginning invited us to move beyond the struggle and confusion of a preoccupied economic and materialistic life to a meaningful and purposeful life of hope and joy, gratitude, compassion, and service for the good of all.

Perhaps our greatest accomplishment has been our ability to bring Globalisation for the Common Good into the common vocabulary and awareness of a greater population along with initiating the necessary discussion as to its meaning and potential in our personal and collective lives.

In short, at Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative we are grateful to be contributing to that vision of a better world, given the goals and objectives that we have been championing since 2002. For that we are most grateful to all our friends and supporters that have made this possible.