What Keeps Us Separate?

On September 20th in honor of the United Nations International Day of Peace, GPIW in partnership with the Shinnyo Center for Meditation and Wellbeing in New York organized a reflection and dialogue on how compassion can help overcome the growing polarization in our society and restore a sense of unity and wholeness. Our dialogue aimed to help us look deeply into that which is keeping us from feeling connected to one another and to the natural world. To overcome these ills, we must re-establish within ourselves our relationship with the world, and stop thinking in terms of “us” and “them.” Everyone is “us”; there is no “them.” In reality we are in relationship with the whole world, and our actions affect all beings. On this United Nations International Day of Peace, we have the opportunity to look more deeply into the inner conditions for a more peaceful world.