Of the 7 billion people that will occupy this blue/green jewel called earth by the end of this year, roughly 3 of every 4 align themselves with one of hundreds of religious traditions. Over 5 billion people today believe there is a reality larger than themselves.
The capacity of that raw statistic intrigues me. What might WE (the collective 5 billion people) do together? Do it well? And make a positive impact on the world? It is simply mind-boggling.
Of course, there are hundreds of thousands of reasons why we can’t. Theology, ideology, cultural practices, yada, yada,… But there is common ground. Working with others around issues of disaster relief, poverty, hunger, and basic health are obvious great starting points. But what else? What other spiritual practices might we share that put us on common ground?
In my naivete’, I’ve chosen three practices that appear to be central to the foundations of many of main-line world religions that have existed for centuries: prayer, non-violence and hospitality. Mine is a mission to search, share and invite.
The result is a series of worship themes for the next few weeks.
- Prayer – August 14
- Non-violence – August 21
- Hospitality – August 28
What might happen if 5 billion people could be one in practices of prayer, non-violence and hospitality?
Hope you’ll join us if you can, or weigh in electronically, and most of all… practice, practice, practice.
Peace – Bill
1 response so far ↓
1 Robin // Aug 12, 2011 at 7:20 am
As someone who seems to be perpetually naive, I embrace the simplicity of your three choices. Interestingly, my mind sort of instantly translated “non-violence” to “peace.” Both are good. Thank you for the thought-provoking words, Bill.
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