One of the central beliefs that inspires the work of World Goodwill is that it is only through the persistent application of the principle of goodwill that we can move towards a world governed by right human relations. Just like ‘goodwill’, ‘right human relations’ is a concept that has not yet received the consideration it urgently needs, requiring as it does an almost complete revolution of mind and heart. The various crises that continue to afflict us, of racism, of economic inequality, of ecological devastation, etc., are so patently examples of wrong human relations, that it should be obvious that the practice of right human relations is essential, on an individual, group, national, and planetary scale. We are fortunate that so many people of goodwill are taking up the challenge of applying goodwill in a wide diversity of situations, as seen in the last issue of this newsletter. As Alice Bailey remarked, “[o]ne interesting aspect of goodwill is that, as it develops in the human consciousness, it first of all brings a revelation of the existent cleavages which distinguish the political, the religious, the social and the economic life of people everywhere. The revelation of a cleavage is ever accompanied (for such is the beauty of the human spirit) by efforts along all possible lines to bridge or heal the cleavage.” ( The Rays and the Initiations, p.750)
Nonetheless, a possible quibble that some might feel could be raised about ‘right human relations’ is precisely the middle term, ‘human’. At a time in Earth’s history where some conservationists are warning of a sixth great wave of species extinction, a wave that for the first time seems directly attributable to human actions, what of right relations with the other kingdoms of nature? The answer lies in the fact that the application of goodwill is not limitable to one aspect of creation, but is a universal radiation that encompasses all beings. Thus, at the same time as it repairs the cleavages among humans, it also mends the sometimes troubled relations that we have with our fellow creatures. So right relations with the other kingdoms naturally evolves in parallel with right human relations.
There is certainly no question, though, that, just as in the human case, we still have very far to go in establishing relations with animals, plants and even the mineral kingdom that could truly be described as ‘right’. So it is worth pausing to consider where we are now, and to reflect on some of the fledgling initiatives, led by individuals and groups, that are healing the cleavages between us and other sentient beings.
GOODWILL IS… the bridge that unites the kingdoms of nature in wholeness.
