People starve, communities fall apart, violence thrives, families fade, and nature disappears, and we continue on with our lives   as if nothing is wrong. But like a whisper in the back of our minds that stays   with us always, we have the feeling that something has gone awry. We have lost our faith in each other, have we forgot how to just LOVE. Politicians are corrupt, lawyers win cases without justice being served; it seems that everything and everyone is for sale. Nothing remains sacred. We feel that perhaps we can only truly rely on ourselves. When these negative beliefs become widespread, we disengage from the outer world,  recoiling into our own personal lives. As we withdraw, we see our society  rushing aimlessly toward an unknown future without any sense of morality or conscious purpose to direct it. Awash in a sea of knowledge, we lack the wisdom to guide our own destiny.

We must consciously  choose a set of core values that every one of us can embrace despite our many differences and values like compassion, freedom, equality, justice, sustainability,  democracy, community, and tolerance. Then we have to go about deliberately  building our society as a place that increasingly reflects and nurtures the  growth of these values in the world. We create this world by having each of us   individually choose to live and act in ways that more closely reflect our own personal values and those values we share as a people. We must begin by creating  a vision of a better world. We can all imagine what a better world might look  like – a world where peace, justice, compassion and tolerance prevail or where each person has more than enough food, shelter, meaningful work and close friends. Think about the world that you would like to live in. Let yourself  imagine the possibilities of a world that you could be proud to leave for your   children. What does a world look like with more love, acceptance, patience, understanding and equality? This vision of a better future will provide you with  an inspiring goal to work toward and will keep your passion alive for the  journey ahead.

When we understand that we are ONE consciousness, there is no one to fight. I pray that aggressors the world over will lay down their arms.