Sometimes humanity is lucky enough to have a single individual who is able to break through all the preconceived notions of despair, hopelessness, and impossibility that overwhelm the rest of the world. They release in humanity the most powerful of forces, the force of love and harmony.
At that moment we see with great clarity what being human really means.
At that moment, we find what we are seeking, what seemed impossible the moment before. We reach that distant shore that we as humanity long for.
The video below is one such a story.
Here’s an exhilarating mass performance of the song “One Day,” sung in English, Arabic and Hebrew. The person who made it happen is reggae singer Matthew Paul Miller.
In 2018 he issued an invitation for people to come together and learn the song "One Day" with him in less than an hour. 3,000 people showed up, none of whom had ever met before. They had no reason to come together other than one man’s invitation to do so.
Not only did they all learn the song, they also learned to sing and harmonize the song in three different languages.
Here is the video of 3,000 Muslims and Jews singing together in English, Arabic and Hebrew.
That is all well and good, you might say. But you may also think that only a silly optimist would believe that song could be a way to accomplish peace, to release a people from hatred and violence, that song is woefully insufficient as a force against evil. I understand that.
But there are 3 countries that have another perspective and I heard all about it from my parents growing up. They came from Lithuania (across the sea from Sweden), one of 3 Baltic countries that was suffering deeply from Soviet occupation and suppression for much of my parents’ lives.
The other 2 countries are Latvia and Estonia. All 3 countries had military forces that were weak. All 3 countries had been completely overpowered by the Soviet might and merciless inhumanity.
300,000 Lithuanians were deported to the depths of frozen Siberia where most of them died. 80,000 were executed and buried in mass graves. 190,000 were thrown into brutal jails. This is devastating to a country that has a population of only 3 million.
The same was happening in Latvia and Estonia. They had nothing to fight back with. Nothing.
Except song.
The little-known story is beautifully told in a film called The Singing Revolution. The film was made about Estonia, but very similar was happening in all 3 countries.
The Soviet empire was powerless against song. In the battle of song vs bullets and tanks, song was victorious.
The film is broadly available if you like gripping true stories about human beings who make the impossible happen.
What does it take to create harmony?
It always starts with the individual. Individuals are the ones who ultimately transform groups, countries, and even empires.
It can start with just one individual. Someone who sees the infinite capacity for love and harmony, and the longing for it, that is present in all of us. Someone who issues the invitation to reach for the best in humanity and to harmonize, and provides a place big enough to hold all the people who show up.
Harmony, love and beauty have a power and a force all their own.
They are powerfully present as potential to be released in every one of us, every minute of every day. They have no borders. They have no limits.
One person communicating causatively can make a difference. One person can unite others. One person can create harmony.
The power is always in the individual. The power is always in you.
I believe in the infinite potential of humanity. I believe in the infinite potential of you.
Sending you my warmest wishes for a joyous and love-filled, Thanksgiving celebration, not just to my American friends but to all around the world.
I am thankful for all of you who are reading this.
Be the cause!