Is there common ground? Part one
We all share the one planet
The global village is crying out for change toward a more equitable world for all. The cry for change is challenging the current Western values system, a system that centres on individualism. A new values system will require a new human identity, one orientated by a principle of interconnectedness via unity with diversity. But given the complex nature of Western societies, where is the common ground that can underpin such a shift in cultural identity and values system?
This and subsequent posts will outline three particular aspects of common ground that can orientate a new values system. The first two aspects involve big picture perspectives that lift our gaze toward relocating our human identity within a greater Story of Life itself. The third aspect reaches into the very heart of what it means to be a human being.
Common ground 1: planet Earth
The first big picture aspect involves what Barbara Hubbard named as “big history” (Conscious Evolution). Big history relocates our human identity within a science-based evolutionary universe theory that is commonly known to be 13.8-billion-years in the making thus far. Within such a big history context we realise that we all share the one planet, one planet we have named as Earth. Earth is part of the Milky Way galaxy.
When we contemplate pictures of Earth sitting like a tiny ball in a huge expanse of darkness, we realise there are no state, nor national boundaries. There is simply land mass, oceans, and cloud. This planet Earth sustains us all, no matter our cultural, religious, or spiritual belief systems. If we could allow such an understanding to drop beneath the confines of an intellectual concept and seep into the utmost marrow of our being, we would recognise that we each participate in a greater story of Life itself. In turn, we would naturally choose to work for the common good of all life – human, flora and fauna, and planet Earth itself.
Spiritual practice
Contemplate the picture of planet Earth (opposite) within the light of the following questions:
1. Does the understanding that we all share the one planet intersect, or not, with your experience of identity-in-the-world?
2. How does your religious/spiritual/philosophical tradition engage with the understanding that we all share the one planet?
3. How would the understanding that we all share the one planet change the way you act in daily life?
The next post will outline - common ground 2
