recognize greater societal opportunities . Mastering empathy could prove to be vital to the quality of our collective lives , may impact how humane our institutions become , and perhaps may be the catalyst to prod our respective governments into refocusing on a more conscientious approach to human rights . Empathetic behavior on a global scale may well be the critical skill set necessary to ensure the noble evolution of the human race and genuine caring for our planet .
When we focus on ourselves , our world contracts as our problems and preoccupations loom large . But when we focus on others , our world expands . Our own problems drift to the periphery of the mind and so seem smaller , and we increase our capacity for connection — or compassionate action .
- Daniel Goleman
This world cannot become a more peaceful and caring place without more people around the globe embracing these ideals . By giving voice to the oppressed and underprivileged we may also be securing our own continuing freedoms and privileges . In the apropos words of the great Nelson Mandela , “ Our human compassion binds us one to the other , not in pity or patronizingly , but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future .”
If we choose what is next collectively , meaning that if enough people turn towards each other envisioning a more conscious future together , we will have the power to create a more peaceful world . Social activist Margaret Wheatly offers this advice : “ We must develop the will to act . We can ’ t keep rejecting solutions because they require us to change … or give privilege to others ! We can either turn away or turn toward ” each other .
Getting to a Greater Peace
Developing a culture of peace truly begins with each of us . It starts by choosing to welcome a mindset based on empathy , a reality that actively seeks to undo hardships for the many based on privilege for the few . We must utilize privilege positively to fulfill the basic human rights of justice and peace for all people . Author Doug Noll , a full-time peacemaker and mediator contends , “ Peacemaking by definition seeks to disenfranchise those who seek unfair advantage , who prefer to maintain disparities that favor themselves .”
Why does this concept of a more just world , a more peaceful existence for all , sound so farfetched when in the past century alone in the United States we have passed a Civil Rights Act , enacted the right to vote for blacks and women , eradicated several terrible diseases , witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall , and now have technology to keep us connected with each other around the globe in an instant ? We absolutely have the ability to make very significant changes in our world if we recognize and focus on our vast similarities instead of our differences .
Imagine a world where people accept the premise that , firstly , each of us is a loving spirit above all else ; secondly , a being of this planet ; and then , only if necessary , identification by race , gender , country of origin , religious preference , sexual orientation , political persuasion , and all other personal ideations .
“ We must awaken to the best in us ,” writes author Guy Finley . “ The best in us is that yet to be awakened aspect of ourselves : our higher consciousness . Regardless of our respective circumstances , we begin by realizing our personal lives and our world both hold infinite possibilities .” Striving for peace and a sustainable world through ethical globalization should be the center of our universal focus , and , at its core , development of trust and harmony through compassionate behaviors .
Randi Weingarten , labor leader and educator , entreats us to develop the empathetic heart : ” Those of us who aren ’ t regularly subject to outright prejudice have a moral obligation to do the hard and perhaps uncomfortable work of digging into unconscious and semiconscious behaviors and attitudes …. That includes taking a look at our own privilege . Human rights should be availed to all . How can we move forward if those of us who have enjoyed privilege our whole lives don ’ t at least try to understand the reality of those who have not , and try to address it . We must reclaim the promise of a better America for all .” Only then will there be peace in America and the collective will to open our hearts globally to others .
And in the resounding words of Nelson Mandela , “ It is in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it .”
6 IMAGINE l SPRING 2016