What the World Needs Now

I have felt for some time that the religion writer Karen Armstrong is a prophet for our time. As a self-taught religious historian (comparative religion) she came to the conclusion that compassion is what ties the religions of the world together. She found that the main religions all developed in a time of conflict and that their answer was compassion based on the Golden Rule of treating others as one would wish to be treated.

This last book of hers, Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life, is a companion to her Charter for Compassion initiative. The Peace Advocate has its own page for that Charter (See the tab at the top or go here.) and the Charter's website is here.

I have read several of Armstrong's books now. (See the Beautiful Books tab at the top or go here.) I have thoroughly enjoyed them and have learned much. They read fairly academically in a dense, but interesting manner. The first chapter in this book may read that way, but the main thrust of the book is much more practical and straight forward.

Armstrong begins with compassion from and for the individual and ends up with compassion from nations for the world. She stresses the meditation of the Buddha on the Four Immeasurables and she continues to stress the Golden Rule.

She emphasizes that the book is a how-to. I have now read the book through and hope soon to reread it and study it. Reading groups are encouraged and there are resources for them available. The Charter's Facebook page has a page of its own devoted to the book.

As the old song says:

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No not just for some but for everyone.

I believe that time is now.