Looking back to look ahead

Happy New Year! We feel positive entering a new year, with new opportunities to connect with each other, to broaden our understanding, and continuing to heal ourselves.

Despite the many negative experiences for humanity and our earth in 2020, there are many things to be grateful for! The pandemic taught us, to be grateful for the important things in life, like being able to feel love, having family and being healthy. And of course, our essential basic needs being met.

Being grateful can be an eye opening experience, once you focus on it: As Brother David Steindl-Rast puts it "The root of joy is gratefulness...It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.”

It may seem so obvious, but it may truly change your perspective on things. Rather than looking for the next thing, racing for another achievement or material gain, we can contemplate and feel strength through being grateful for what we have!

On that note it's a good reminder if we look at what we share in our humanity. With so many global conflicts, competition and self-destruction going on, there is a chance to heal if we work together and discover that we all have the same basic needs in common.

Many years ago, we wanted to convey this message by a design called "the Creator". At the center is a simplified drawing of pangea, the origin of all continents as one, which reminds us that we all come from the same source. Rather than separating ourselves, and further claiming land that may not even belong to us but the future generation, we can look for our commonalities and see how we can help each other to overcome our global challenges.

Wishing you all the best and hoping for the earth to heal!