A Fierce Kind of Compassion
Fighting to save a planet is going to require a fierce kind of compassion, and it’s going to take all of us working together to pull it off. Just to makes things clear: compassion isn't soft or "touchy feely." It's action driven and it requires commitment to act. That action is at the heart of our work with compassionate cities and communities. If you take a look at our assessment categories in our Charter Tool Box you will see that the environment is prominent in our work.
We've been working diligently to plan a significant number of events leading up to and including the celebration of Earth Day. If you've never attended a webinar here at the Charter, Earth Week is not to be missed! Stewardship of the planet is the great work of our time and the greatest challenge to humanity thus far. It’s also the greatest opportunity for the world to create unity for a grander purpose. The Charter's Earth Week Series promises to reintroduce you to your home in ways that you may never have considered. We'll be looking at the science of climate change for the lay person and we're bringing together some environmental pioneer activists like Jane Goodall, Greenpeace, Chief Phil Lane Jr., Youth "Earth Guardians leader Xiuhtezcatl, "Yes" Magazine and much more. Mark your calendars for Earth Week April 16-22 and join us to discover what others are doing to steward the Earth and how you can be a steward too. Below is a preview of presentations and a link to register for the event. Click on this link to get a full description of all Earth Week presentations.
Saturday, April 16, 9 am PDT: Screening of "How Do Humans Heal a World? with Barbara Kaufmann, Walking Mood Studios, and Sommer Albertsen, Compassion Games Internation. Register here.
Barbara and Sommer will discuss grief and how we can process our feelings about what is happening to our planet in ways that are healthy, motivating and inspirational so we can move past it and go about the work of stewardship for the Earth. Complete description of the session.
Sunday, April 17, 9 am PDT: Climate, Compassion and Community Building: Sustainability with Justice with Paloma Pavel and Carl Anthony. Register here.
Climate change is a critical moment within our lifetime. Yet, the global breakdown of economy, environment and equity is also an unparalleled opportunity for a reimagining of our purpose on the planet and a comprehensive coming home to our place in the Universe. The Breakthrough Communities team offers this interactive dialogue and workshop to better understand how to approach climate justice from a place of compassion to transform ourselves, our communities, and the planet. Complete description of session.
Monday, April 18, 9 am PDT: Love this Place, Serve the Earth: Collaboration is Necessary for the Earth with Jon Ramer and Joey Crotty. Register here.
Jon Ramer, First first follower, Compassion Games International, will be showcasing LIVE a new song for Mother Earth. Joining Jon is Joey Crotty, a storyteller, writer and rogue techy supporting the Compassion Games. Complete description of the session.
Tuesday, April 19, 9 am PDT: Practicing Green Compassion: Can We Re-Green the World in One Generation? with Marc Barasch. Register here.
“A compassionate civilization is not a utopian fantasy; it’s an evolutionary imperative.” Marc Barasch, Green World’s founder says that environmental activism and sustainability is not enough; we have to implement holistic solutions for regeneration that aren’t competitive but include everybody and treat people and planet as an inseparable unity. From here on, it’s going to mean survival not of the fittest but of the kindest. Come and explore with Marc, how to re-green the world. Complete description of the session.
Wednesday, April 20, 9 am PDT: “The Science of Climate Change” with Dr. David Poister. Register here.
Although the techniques used by scientists to measure and predict the effects of climate change are complex, the fundamental physical and chemical processes that cause these changes are quite understandable. This presentation will explain these processes to give participants without a scientific background a basic understanding of climate change science. Complete description of the session.
Thursday, April 21, 9 am PDT: Shifts in the Culture around Climate with Sarah van Gelder of Yes! Magazine and George Price of the University of Montana. Register here.
Join us for a conversation with Sarah van Gelder, co-founder and editor at large of Yes! Magazine and George Price, professor of African American and Native American Studies at the University of Montana. The conversation will focus on cultural shifts that offer promise for a unified action against climate change. Complete description of the session.
EARTH DAY: Friday, April 22, 9 am PDT: Ignite Engagement for Earth Stewardship Across Generations with Jane Goodall, Chief Phil Lane, Jr., Rex Weyler and Xiuhtezcatl. Register here.
Our eminent panel is headed by:
Jane Goodall, British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. She is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and the Roots & Shoots program, and has worked extensively on conservation and animal welfare issues.
Chief Phil Lane Jr., Ihanktowan Dakota and Chickasaw Nations, and Chairman of the Four Worlds International Institute. During the past 45 years, he has worked with Indigenous peoples from North, Central and South America, Micronesia, South East Asia, India, Hawaii and Africa.
Rex Weyler was a director of the original Greenpeace Foundation and a co-founder of Greenpeace International in 1979. Weyler was a photographer and reporter on the early Greenpeace whale and seal campaigns, and has written one of the best and most comprehensive histories of the organization.
Xiuhtezcatl, Youth Director of Earth Guardians is a young Indigenous change agent, environmental activist, public speaker, and eco-hip hop artist. youth around the world. He received the 2013 United States Community Service Award from President Obama and was the youngest of 24 national changemakers chosen to serve on the President’s youth council.
Complete description of the session.
This Changes Everything: A Special for Earth Week, April 16-23, please join our global #dreamstream of This Changes Everything brought to you by our Charter partner, Compathos>IMERSIV Film Club. All around the world, people are hosting screenings of this powerful new film in living rooms, libraries, and independent theaters. Our hope is that this film will be a conversation starter and an organizing tool for campaigners, organizers and community groups worldwide.
Directed by Avi Lewis, and inspired by Naomi Klein’s international non-fiction bestseller This Changes Everything, the film presents seven powerful portraits of communities on the front lines, from Montana’s Powder River Basin to the Alberta Tar Sands, from the coast of South India to Beijing and beyond.
Interwoven with these stories of struggle is Klein’s narration, connecting the carbon in the air with the economic system that put it there. Throughout the film, Klein builds to her most controversial and exciting idea: that we can seize the existential crisis of climate change to transform our failed economic system into something radically better.
The film is offered On Demand (VOD) on multiple platforms including Itunes and Amazon where the rental is $4.99 and purchase price is $9.99. Additional information here.
The Compassion Symphony: Our gift to all who read this newsletter is an invitation for you to listen to the Compassion Symphony by Nigel Westlake and Lior Atta sometime during Earth Week. Surely you will play over and over again. Compassion" draws from the rich worlds of Islam and Judaism to present a collection of profound and poetic messages surrounding the idea of compassion between human beings. The texts are largely a collection of poems, proverbs and songs that give us an insight into such wisdom. Their similarities are immense and their universality is undeniable. Far from the misguided commentaries that have so often steered humanity away from the true enactment of compassion, these texts affirm that attaining a greater sense of compassion is an ultimate goal, and letting it guide our actions is the ultimate wisdom.
End Notes for this Special Earth Week Newsletter
Emotional Intelligence and Compassion: This class is still available for enrollment throughout the month of April as an open access course (meaning you can start any date within the month of April. As with the previous class, students come from all over the world, which makes for interesting interactions. Learn more about the course and how to enroll.
Good News: We want you to keep sending us Good News stories so that we can share them with others. This story comes from Canadian Kathy Miller. Here are her words:
I belong to the Anglican Church here. Our Bishop, Logan McNemanie is in the process of walking the length of our beautiful island as a symbolic re-entry to the land and this time he is asking permission of the native people of this island to enter the land and stay. This to me, is a wonderful symbol, showing proper respect of the indigenous people of this land. It is also a penitential walk to acknowledge the devastation wrought to these people by colonial attitudes most recently through the residential schools. I laud the bishop's courage in acknowledging the wrongs done by the church, asking for forgiveness and looking forward to better, more respectful relations between the cultures of our country. I can only hope that other officials and leaders of churches and governments would follow his example and make amends for wrongs done in the past in order to go forward into the future on a more equal and compassionate basis.
Power Compassion: Tell others in your circle about the Charter for Compassion. Invite them to read the Charter itself and possibly sign it. Start a community initiative fueled by compassion. Help the Charter to continue to help facilitate such communities and to offer events as those described in this newsletter. Please donate to the Charter.
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