Sustainable Development

Ever had a theme song? You know, where a song just IS  a huge part of your attitude and you “adopt” it as Yours?

My current theme song is below the links I’ll offer in this post that relate to various aspects of Sustainable Development. It just happens to be from my last post and I wish I could put it in every post… Have everyone singing it, all the time… Make it the Spirit  of the stupendous effort  we all must make to turn greedy and immoral world-wide practices into a sustainable way of life… for our Whole Human Family…

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Bahá’ís Participate In U.N. Sustainable Development Session

Smaller But Stronger

Global Economic Crisis: Time for a Cultural Shift?

Trento Festival of Economics

Wikipedia  Article On Sustainable Development

Sustainable Development on Global Issues WebSite

And, to show that, even with all the information laid on the table, planners and government players still have a long distance to travel before they’re also playing the Sustainable Development Game, here’s an article from 2002:

Baha’is to stress spiritual values at World Summit on Sustainable Development

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And, Now , what I hope will be Your  Theme Song, too !!!

Spiritual Quote:

“Unity is essential if diverse peoples are to work toward a common future. The Earth Charter might well identify those aspects of unity which are prerequisites for the achievement of sustainable development. In the Bahá’í view, ‘The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established’.

“The unrestrained exploitation of natural resources is merely a symptom of an overall sickness of the human spirit. Any solutions to the environment/development crisis must, therefore, be rooted in an approach which fosters spiritual balance and harmony within the individual, between individuals, and with the environment as a whole. Material development must serve not only the body, but the mind and spirit as well.

“The changes required to reorient the world toward a sustainable future imply degrees of sacrifice, social integration, selfless action, and unity of purpose rarely achieved in human history. These qualities have reached their highest degree of development through the power of religion. Therefore, the world’s religious communities have a major role to play in inspiring these qualities in their members, releasing latent capacities of the human spirit and empowering individuals to act on behalf of the planet, its peoples, and future generations.”
Bahá’í International Community, 1992 June 06, Earth Charter

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The Numbers Make Me Thankful

 

Numbers make me thankful?

 Yep!

 See, tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the United States and, since I spend almost every waking hour either writing or preparing to write this blog, all aspects of the blogging process are important to me; especially, how many people are reading the posts and  where on the earth they are when they access the blog…

I may have been born and still live in the U.S. but I consider myself a world citizen. I try to write the blog from that perspective and I’m grateful when I see that people in other lands are reading it!

So, I decided to share the numbers I’ll be thankful for tomorrow during the Thanksgiving celebration.

First, the statistics for what countries you readers are in when you visit. There are a total of 53 countries represented and that makes me exceedingly thankful!!  All I’ll show you here are the top ten {The numbers in my stats counter are only the last 500 visitors}:

Even though 55.8% of you are from the United States, I’m thankful that 44.2% are not  from here! Also, even though it’s only 2% from Israel, that country is where the spiritual and administrative center of my Faith are located—gives me a warm thankfulness…

Next are the states and regions (again, only the top ten):

Sure, most of the top ten are states in the U.S. but number 5 is, thankfully,  Jakarta Raya!

Last are the top ten cities:

First thing I noticed is that spot 4 is a city and state in the U.S. that has no name… That may have been where I was back in the late 60s…

Number ten makes me have that warm thankfulness again since it’s the actual city that has the World Center of my Faith!!

According to WikiAnswers, Mexico, Japan, China, Australia, and Canada also celebrate Thanksgiving. And, according to enotes: “Many groups of people around the world give thanks, usually at a celebration following a major crop harvest.”

So, tomorrow, as I celebrate the holiday with friends from my favorite café, I’ll be thankful I live in a country that still has some  of the freedoms it intended to have and I’ll savor, along with the food and friendship, the fact that my efforts in this blog are visited by members of our human family from many diverse countries…

Spiritual Quote :

“Today, humanity is bowed down with trouble, sorrow and grief, no one escapes; the world is wet with tears; but, thank God, the remedy is at our doors. Let us turn our hearts away from the world of matter and live in the spiritual world! It alone can give us freedom!”
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 110

Path Toward Peace – Step Nine

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Resolving the impediments induced by the multiplicity of languages

Ever been in a foreign country, not knowing their language?

Ever fallen in love with someone and couldn’t use words to express that love in their native tongue?

Ever wondered if translations really get the meaning across?

From MarketWatch: Across Systems to Demonstrate New Language Portal Solution

From the Korea Times: Book Reviews Loss of Native Languages

From the Kansas City Star: Learning a new language: It’s a small world after all

From WikiAnswers: “Scientists have counted approx. 6500 languages, half of which are, however, threatened to die off soon, as they are no longer passed on. Not counted in above figure are pure sign-languages or computer-languages.”

Also not counted are the multitude of business, political, religious, and neighborhood jargons and slangs.

Is a global language necessary?

Would having to learn your native language and a global language be too hard for people?

Again, is translation a guarantee that understanding has occurred?

What are some of the difficulties you’ve  experienced because of different languages?

Have a look at a slide presentation about the difficulties of learning another language.

Bottom line: Understanding each other is a major contributor to being at peace with each other…

Spiritual Quotes:

“The day is approaching when all the peoples of the world will have adopted one universal language and one common script. When this is achieved, to whatsoever city a man may journey, it shall be as if he were entering his own home.”
Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 249

“The races of mankind are not isolated as in former days. Now, in order to be in close relationship with all countries it is necessary to be able to speak their tongues.

“A universal language would make intercourse possible with every nation. Thus it would be needful to know two languages only, the mother tongue and the universal speech. The latter would enable a man to communicate with any and every man in the world!”
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 155

“A fundamental lack of communication between peoples seriously undermines efforts towards world peace. Adopting an international auxiliary language would go far to resolving this problem and necessitates the most urgent attention.”
The Universal House of Justice, 1985 Oct, The Promise of World Peace, p. 3

Read the Rest of the Path Toward Peace  Series

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Values for All of Us

Tomorrow is Labor Day in the United States–a federal holiday that began as an honoring of workers and has become a summer-ending Party . . .

From MarketWatch: Labor Day 2008: Building a New American Dream for America’s Workers

From the SunSentinel: Labor Day in Florida: Working class dreams are dying

From khsltv.com (California): Violent Crime Spikes in Chico Over the Labor Day Weekend

Holidays just aren’t what they used to be. Even if some folks celebrate Labor Day as honoring America’s workers, it’s usually honoring them as the most cherished workers, worthy of regard above any other workers. Some are, I’m sure. Yet, what about the World’s workers–those paid so little they work as slaves, those who work at staying alive–whose work is dodging bombs and guns . . .

Putting Americans, the workers or the massive parties, on a pedestal is counter-productive for America’s future–it’s globally dissonant–causes strife and contention from other nations.

This globe will never solve its problems as long as nations keep playing their trump cards against each other. A favorite American saying is, “United we Stand, Divided we Fall”.

Should a united America stand so tall she encourages a divided world?

Today’s Spiritual Quote:

“We assert that the emerging global order, and the processes of globalization that define it, must be founded on the principle of the oneness of humankind. This principle, accepted and affirmed as a common understanding, provides the practical basis for the organization of relationships between all states and nations. The increasingly apparent interconnectedness of development, security and human rights on a global scale confirms that peace and prosperity are indivisible — that no sustainable benefit can be conferred on a nation or community if the welfare of the nations as a whole is ignored or neglected. The principle of the oneness of humankind does not seek to undermine national autonomy or suppress the cultural and intellectual diversity of the peoples and nations of the world. Rather, it seeks to broaden the basis of the existing foundations of society by calling for a wider loyalty, a greater aspiration than any that has animated the human race. Indeed, it provides the moral impetus needed to remold the institutions of governance in a manner consistent with the needs of an ever-changing world.”
Bahá’í International Community, The Search for Values in an Age of Transition, p.3

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