(in progress)

What is it that makes us come together every year here, even if we did not prepare anything spectacular, being ill - prepared, sometimes even a bit chaotic and clueless, definitely imperfect ?

It is the coincidence of some very simple things that make us do this.

Number one, its the idea that we want a symbol that this earth belongs to everyone and that everyone belongs to this earth. The United Nations may be imperfect, they may be not the realisation of the true potential of our connectedness, they might be run and maintained by narrow national interests, but they are still the one place that symbolizes human unity as an aspiration, as a goal. We know that only in a common reality our visions can be truly embodied (1), and so we seek the place that represents rather than actually manifest commonality. We have the United Nations here in Vienna and the city has almost forgotten it, and here are some people that feel different about that fact.

Number two, the fact that Earth day - maybe we should also call it Earth Moment, to avoid the ongoing confusion - is a reality in space and time that is not set by any particular culture, but in itself represents the universality of cultures. Cultures are built on the cycles of nature that hold and nourish our life. Each culture has special attention to this very moment of awakening, of restart, of renewal, of the new cycle of life, that Hermann Hesse once characterised as the magic moment of beginning. The spring equinox is the moment when we start a new cycle of life and it is present as a basic fact in each culture.

Number three, it is the fact that the invisible quality of synchronicity is brought about by our insights and scientific awareness. It might not be convenient, it might not seem natural at all to gather in the moment that only astronomical observations anc calculations can determine, but it feels somehow right. Earth Day was and is not only meant as a celebration of our common ground, but also as a celebration of our common achievements. The science and communication that allows us to measure the exact moment when the sun crosses the celestial equinox are an elemental part of what we call into our common attention. We still have trust and confidence that there is a possibility to marry the awareness of the web of life and the preservation and expansion of this planets natural wealth with the betterness of life for humans, and that science and technology must still play a major role to play in this.

Number four, the Peace Bell. There are two peace bells at the united nations, the first one was casted by coins of contributors from many countries. It was presented in 1952 with the following words. "The bell embodies the aspiration for peace not only of the Japanese but of the peoples of the entire world. Thus it symbolized the universality of the United Nations. It is rung every year on Earth Day at the moment of the March Equinox ... in a simultaneous global ceremony involving distinguished members of the UN community and citizens worldwide.". This was taken over later by Earth Society Foundation. So the tradition of the Peace Bell is older than Earth Day itself, but is has beautifully blended.

These four simple things bring us together here and they are essential. If we had more artists or an orchestra to play us songs of spring, that would be nice. but it is not essential. We have the music of silence or of the U Bahn, that does not matter. We have the sound of the bell that now brings us into each new year with its ritual song. Our statement is our being here and the fact that we express our hopes and our passion for a global peace that is much more than absence of violence with the ringing of the peace bell.

Siehe auch: SchuleDesRades