Time Out. We Can Do So Much Better!

Dear Members of the Human Family,

This moment seems like one of those times when we all could benefit from a pause and a collective deep breath. Recent events can lead us to feel as if we're coming apart. Cars can now be killing machines. Public displays of hate and violence erode our trust and respect for each other as we use fear and terror as weapons to harm one another.

Even though we may abhor it, hating hate only creates more hate. We need a different approach to coping with and transmuting these emotions. These times call for radical new ideas that serve the healing of our planet and all its inhabitants. We are on edge and at the brink of a moment of choice as a global community. The whole world is connected and watching, and we need each other now more than ever.

Reframing Our Dilemma
How can we channel these passions to do the most good for each other, our communities, our countries, and our world? What is needed to honor Charlottesville's Heather Heyer's mother’s call for “righteous action” without creating more division and hate? How can we transform the hopelessness and despair that come from watching us tear each other apart into a unified field in which we work and play together to create a just and sustainable world?

We recognize and respect that for some of us, making justice and peace may not be what we seek at this time. But how do the rest of us listen to each other past our differences? How can we harness our fire and passion so as not to inflame fear and pain but to build a global fire of commitment and compassion that serves as the warmth and light unto the world?

Unify and Act in the Face of Organized Hate
The path away from fear and hate moves us towards love and compassion — for ourselves, each other, and all life on Earth. As we pull back from organized hate, we stand for equality, inclusion and love. Turning from fear to love requires action that forgives, awakens and remembers our caring for each other and our planet. In the process, we discover and reveal win-win solutions that build bridges connecting peace, prosperity and a healthy planet. Compassion is the bridge that connects and unifies humanity.

The World Peace and Global Unity campaign was launched on June 21, 2017 by Unify, Compassion Games International, Charter for Compassion International, Indigenous-led Four Worlds International Institute, and many others. Its purpose is to catalyze and quantify the shared impact of globally synchronized activities, and events focused on peace through compassionate action and community service. The campaign is an opportunity to collaborate across divides, synchronize our shared intentions, and gamify our compassionate action globally.

The Global Unity Compassion Games go from September 9-24, which includes the 11 Days of Global Unity. During the 16-day “Coopetition,” individuals and teams challenge each other to act with compassion, connecting and collaborating across divides while serving others.

The campaign will peak on September 21 with the United Nations’ 36th annual International Day of Peace, and culminate with the World Peace Weekend on September 23-24 with live-broadcast events around the world and an attempt to set a new world record for a Synchronized Global Meditation.

The Campaign and Games focus and celebrate where we “get it right.” Let's amplify and elevate “models of hope” from all political persuasions and voices from every race, ethnicity, religion and faith. Here are just a few examples of the Champions of Compassion we will be honoring:

Reconciliation Canada
The impact of colonization on the First Nations and Native Americans has been traumatic and devastating. The Walk for Reconciliation taking place on September 24 revitalizes the relationships between Indigenous peoples and settlers to build mass support for finding a new way forward to build vibrant, resilient and sustainable communities. The Walk is an opportunity for people of all backgrounds to make a personal contribution to the reconciliation movement.

Combatants for Peace
Combatants for Peace (Hebrew: לוחמים לשלום‎‎; Arabic: مقاتلون من أجل آلسلام‎‎) is a bi-national, grassroots movement of Israelis and Palestinians who lead a nonviolent struggle against the occupation and support a peaceful solution for all peoples in Israel and Palestine. The movement was formed by Palestinians and Israelis who had taken an active role in the cycle of violence and decided to drop their arms and work together to promote a peaceful solution through dialogue and nonviolent action.

We are One Human Family
There are hundreds of other teams participating. Our collective wellbeing rests with the relationships we build today. Let's step out of our comfort zones, get to know our neighbors, and discover and reveal the compassion and love that's all around us. Let’s recognize our common humanity and the permanent connection with one another and the place in which we live.

The best way to predict the future is to invent it. We are this planet's present and its future. Now is the time for our global community to act as an authentically empowered network to joyfully take unprecedented unified action toward love and world peace.

Click here to watch a Call to Play video from Compassion Games Leadership Team members Sommer Albertsen and Jon Ramer.

Click here to read the complete Campaign Strategic Plan.

We, the undersigned, invite you to join us in this campaign for World Peace and Global Unity and participate in the Compassion Games from September 9-24. Game on!

Jon Ramer
CompassionGames.org
Adil Kassam
Unify.org
Chief Phil Lane Jr., Four Worlds International Institute
Marilyn Turkovich, Charter for Compassion
Campaign Partners
Play for Peace
United Religions Initiative
Parliament of World Religions
Lush Handmade Cosmetics
Maritz Family Foundation
Rick Ulfik, Founder of We, The World and the WE Campaign at WE.net
MarieRoker-Jones#CompassionConvos