Unity is oneness of purpose, not sameness of persons. – Tony Evans
The essence of the beautiful is unity in variety. – W. Somerset Maugham
(image) There is a thinking-trap we can fall into, especially if we live a life of relative privilege, that ‘unity’ means homogeneity – ‘everyone the same‘ – or more specifically, ‘everyone like me’. It is difficult to feel ‘at one’ with people who fundamentally disagree with us. This is particularly true in debates about climate, women’s reproductive rights, immigration, economic justice, and our use of the Earth’s resources. In a beautiful essay, Mark Longhurst explores this tension between differences and unity.
Kosmos is happy to announce a special collaboration with our longtime ally We, The World for this year’s 11 Days of Global Unity September 11-21. You are invited to submit an essay, poem, video or other work to Kosmos to be considered for inclusion in our Fall Quarterly edition. You can choose any one of the 11 Ways to Transform Your World as the theme for your submission (see below for details). If your work is chosen to appear in Kosmos in September, you and your work will also be highlighted as a Featured Participant in this year’s 11 Days of Global Unity which may also include media and webcast appearances.
11 Days of Global Unity – 11 Ways to Transform Your World is a worldwide platform for the promotion of peace, justice, sustainability and transformation that annually includes as many as 700 associated events in over 60 countries around the world. It culminates on September 21st, the U.N. International Day of Peace. Participants in 11 Days of Global Unity have included Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Jane Goodall, Deepak Chopra, Daniel Ellsberg, Amy Goodman, Bill McKibben, Eve Ensler, Ralph Nader, Arun Gandhi, Marianne Williamson, Robert Thurman and many other visionary leaders around the world. Learn more about this below.
Also in this newsletter, we are sharing two more features from the Quarterly: a beautiful gallery of photos by Barbara Schaefer titled absence presence, and an urgent call by the Mamos majores, chief Elders of the Arhuaco and Kogi peoples, shared by Eva Willmann de Donlea.
Ordinary Mystic | Oneness, Domination and Difference
by Mark Longhurst, via Ordinary Mystic
(image) “Anyone who cares about our world today, is painfully aware how utterly far from union we are. Our cultural, political and moral landscape is filled with fragmentation, brokenness, seemingly irreconcilable beliefs, vitriol, scapegoating of the different, attribution of evil to the other side, and even imprisonment of those who look different or may come from a different country.
Which begs the question: what, on earth, does the mystical vision of oneness have to say to today’s reality? Is it just a pipe dream? Does unity need to be thrown out in favor of the cause of justice. Does taking sides with the poor, or the immigrant, or the incarcerated, mean giving up on oneness? But, how can there be true oneness without justice for all, especially the most vulnerable?” Read more…
Kosmos Call for Essays and Works | 11 Days of Global Unity September 11-21
Kosmos, in cooperation with We, The World invites you to submit an essay up to 1000 words, or other works such as video, film, spoken word, art, music and poetry. We will choose several works to publish in our Quarterly, on our website, and to be featured in this year’s 11 Days of Global Unity.(image)
The theme of the fall Quarterly is ‘All Consuming’, what we consume and what consumes us! We will talk about the Earth’s resources – food, water, fossil fuels – and other kinds of consumption, such as the media messages we consume and our mental/physical addictions. What does the word consuming bring up for you?
In this special collaboration with We, The World for 11 Days of Global Unity, we ask you to consider connecting our theme to one of the 11 Global Unity Themes for Change. These themes are:1 Unity, 2 Interdependence, 3 Environment, 4 Economic Justice, 5 Health, 6 Children And Youth, 7 Women, 8 Human Rights, 9 Freedom, 10 Disarmament, 11 Peace.
11 Days of Global Unity – 11 Ways to Transform Your World is is a worldwide platform for the promotion of peace, justice, sustainability and transformation that annually includes as many as 700 associated events in over 60 countries around the world. It culminates on September 21st, the U.N. International Day of Peace, which itself is celebrated annually by as many as 3,500 organizations in over 120 countries.
