The whole humanity is as one single body, and all nations and communities and races as the different organs and the happiness and well-being of each of them is the happiness and well-being of the whole body. If there is one organ of the body in pain, the whole body has to sustain a share of the strain of it. That by this message mankind may begin to think that his welfare and his well-being is not in looking after himself, but it is in looking after others, and when in all there will be reciprocity, love, and goodness towards another, the better time will come.”

-Hazrat Inayat Khan

I would also say that the living organism we call home is part of the whole and perhaps the most essential organ of them all because without it surviving we will not survive. It too must be looked after, and we must recognize that our actions cause pain and suffering to our only home. If we continue as we are, it will one day run out of resources, and it seems now that too many in power around the world do not care enough to change the course, to protect Mother Earth.

We take from it, and poison its body every second of every day and just like the human body that is mistreated it will become sick and die sooner than it would with proper attention, love and care. We must be forward-thinking, open and kind to the planet if we want it to survive, and if we want future generations to survive.

With each passing year, the world becomes smaller, and humanity grows closer through our interconnectedness. Our neighbors are no longer just those people on our street or block, in our city, state or even country. This ever-widening circle is changing, and with this change, it will become increasingly harder to live as we have in the past. We want to keep what is ours, what feels comfortable, what we are used to and we are slow to adapt and to accept change. Our misguided fears tell us that what we have is in jeopardy, so we cling to what we have, and we push to get more and to keep things the way they are. However, this is happening and is inevitable through our own inventions, and we need to release our fears.

If we keep our attention solely focused on self-interest and the set boundaries of old beliefs, then we are destined for even more suffering than what we are experiencing today. Our leaders and we must understand this fact, because if we do not, then our indifference to this change will lead to greater wars, death, and destruction. This denial of the inevitable, not letting go of the past and flowing with the natural evolution of our time will cause great suffering for future generations.

We must be a part of the solution and part of creating the future that we all want. We all want a peaceful world, a loving, safe and kind world. We want to have our needs met, with food, shelter, water and a way to support our families and ourselves.

We must start today to build a strong foundation for tomorrow. If we continue to hold tightly to the past and repeating our mistakes, then we will continue to destroy faster than we can heal. Then one day we will end up on life support with no hope for humanity or the planet. However, there is hope, and there is time if we see the truth and act now.