It's my sense that we're in one of those precious moments in history in which we are being provided with the opportunity, even if briefly, to stand back, breathe deeply, and gaze at the Earth and at each other in the spirit of unknowing. And in this spirit, and in this unknowingness, to carve out within ourselves a deeper sense of reverence for the sacredness which surrounds us, and a deeper sense of humility in the face of the life process itself which sustains our very being.

We're in a time in which human diversity itself, which in the past has been responsible for so much bloodshed, hatred, and divisiveness, is paradoxically emerging as our greatest asset, as the cornerstone to true globalization. History and our future are quite literally compelling us to take up for the first time a common work. What we must know is that what we fashion must be so inspiring and so inclusive and so transformative that people everywhere will be empowered to transcend the specificities of their culture and their ethnicities and their beliefs, to engage in this common work. It may turn out to be the most important challenge confronting humanity as we stand on the threshold of a new century and a new millennium. All of us know what we must do as individuals, and as cities, and even as nations. The central question is:

Can we also discern what we must do as a human community at a time in which we are discovering, painfully and slowly, that in fact the world is one.

--James Garrison