"For many of the younger spiritual generation, their identification is not so much with the 'I' as with the 'we.' They are often referred to as the 'we generation.' Ideas of inclusion and solidarity are not foreign to them. Their motivation is much more to be part of the solutions of the problems of our days than to retreat into islands of supposed self-sufficiency. I spoke with a young adult recently whose words were very indicative of the new emerging trend of thought. He said to me, 'I would rather feel like I took a stand for what is right and meaningful than to accept a corporate promotion, if such a promotion deprived me of the ability to make a difference in the lives and struggles of others.' He consequently refused a high-paying job and chose a more rewarding one where he felt socially useful. In my work as a coach and spiritual teacher, I have repeatedly encountered such an attitude among young and spiritually motivated individuals, one of 'I belong to the world, and my life must serve much more than myself and my family.' The younger generation of spiritual seekers seems to have begun to repudiate the narcissistic tendencies of isolation and self-absorption. This phenomenon is a crucial fuel to the emerging new wave of socially engaged spirituality.
"Groups of spiritual activists are forming in every city of the world, often arising spontaneously. Some of these groups are emerging within traditional religious institutions, while unaffiliated spiritual seekers who do not belong to any creed or denomination are forming independent groups for Sacred Activism. The common cause stirring them is the passion to manifest love-in-action and compassion in service of justice. They are insisting, in their institutions and communities, on a vision of the spiritual life that is engaged in humanitarian service and in the pursuit of social justice and environmental protection. They have become like salt, spread everywhere, which alchemically transforms its environment. They are not waiting anymore. They want to strive for the wisdom of the 'dream of love.' They want to live for the 'dream of God for a loving planet' now. They have come to know that the spirit of God is in our quietude and inner calm, and also that the spirit of God is in our discontent and drive for a humanity of solidarity. Coretta Scott King's appeal summarizes this mounting urge for spiritually based action very well. She called for a nonviolent movement dedicated to peace and justice, a movement that would span the globe with its refusal of injustice and its love for the 'beloved community' — a term that her husband Martin Luther King Jr. made endearing to so many.
"We are coming to understand that to be spiritually engaged is to love fully and to act out of such an unbounded sense of love. To be spiritually engaged is to be a nonviolent agent of change, for love is not only a worthy intention, but also the goal and the means of our actions. The ideal of living from love, and designing social and global relations inspired by love, is a vision that is still beyond our reach. However, this vision is our guiding star. It is the ideal that challenges us to grow and evolve beyond our actual limitations. It invites us to rethink the design of our civilization from the perspective of the great social ethics that issue from love's reach. 'May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,' Jesus taught his disciples to pray. He asked us to seek the kingdom of God first: the manifestation of love's kinship, the sense of justice and solidarity. Albert Einstein advised us to seek not success but the pursuit of a life rooted in a high sense of ethical values.
"The aspiration to manifest love and the nobility of an ethical life were clearly seen in the works of forerunners of spiritual activism like Florence Nightingale, William Wilberforce, and Sojourner Truth. They strove to heal the wounded on the battlefield and to abolish slavery. They manifested miracles, yet with errors, imperfections, and lacks. Their work was no less heroic, precisely because they aspired in the direction of the divine star of peace and justice. Today all those who are working for human rights, gender equality, earth rights, and the protection of the abused and the downtrodden are heroes of the soul. From Belarus to Colombia, from Liberia to Egypt, from Australia to the United States, and to the four corners of our world, these women and men who value love, reject violence, and deeply care about people, the environment, and animals, these are the gems of our evolution and the precious offspring of the earth."
