Monday, October 24, 2016

[GMW #3752] Convene A Wisdom Summit For Creating A New Global Dream


[GMW #3752] Convene A Wisdom Summit For Creating A New Global Dream  Idea Dream - Robert Muller's Ideas 3001 to 4000
~ Idea 4147 ~
Letter to the Mayor of San Francisco - Dear Mr. Mayor, May I recommend to you that the city of San Francisco, the birthplace of the United Nations, convene at the beginning of this new millennium a Wisdom Summit on Creating a New Global Dream for the World, a title suggested by Mrs. Lola Kristof in a conversation during the recent first San Francisco Peoples' Assembly, on 29 June - 1 July 2001.

1. the heads of states General Assembly of the UN in 2000 which was supposed "to focus on means to solve our primary global problems and to reform the means of global governance in order to meet the challenges of the 21st century" did not come up with any proposals or initiatives;

2. Maurice Strong who was Secretary General of the two UN world conferences on the Environment in 1972 and 1992 is so concerned that he has come out with a book Where on Earth Are We Going, in which he predicts that within the next thirty years planet Earth will go to pieces;

3. In a recent study 600,000 middle and high school students across the US were asked if they thought the world would be a better place thirty years from now. Only 1% replied yes. When asked if they wanted it to be better thirty years from now, almost all replied yes; Santa Barbara, 9 July 2001

4. Have a glance also at the complaints of the Earth at the beginning of a speech of mine, excerpts sent herewith.* There exists an avalanche of similar views and preoccupations all around the world. Since no hope, light, plans and dreams come from governments, it would be wonderful if one of the great visionary cities of the world, San Francisco, the birthplace of the United Nations, would give the world reasons for hope by convening a Wisdom Summit of the best brains, thinkers and dreamers of your country. The US has given its dreams several times to the world, with the plans for the League of Nations, the Marshall Plan, the creation of the United Nations and others. The world is expecting a great new dream from the US for humanity and the whole world. That dream could come from the great inspiring city of San Francisco. The first ideas for such a Summit should come from you. If you desire I would be happy to give you my views too after a lifetime of service with the United Nations since the end of World War II. I wish you a great meeting with inspiring Mrs. Lola Kristof who is the mother of the idea of a World Wisdom Summit. Mr. Willy Brown Mayor of the City of San Francisco Yours very warmly, Robert Muller Former UN Assistant Secretary General Life-long Honorary President of the Global Peoples' Assembly *Pages 142-144 of Volume IV of 4000 Ideas and Dreams for a Better World.

Robert's The Miracle, Joy and Art of Living,
Volume III - The Seasons of Life
Chapter 6 - The Rich Age
She listened attentively, remained silent for a while, and then commented:
"My mind has been functioning at high gear while you spoke. I believe your friend is right, and I will give you a proof of it.

Do you know when exactly I had my heart attack?  It was on the anniversary date of the death of my husband.  I was sitting here in the kitchen all day long alone, crying my soul out, and lamenting about the beautiful bygone days. I just let go. Life had no meaning for me anymore. It was worthless, purposeless. I had no reason to go on living and fighting.  Living for what?  For me alone?  Well, at ten o'clock in the evening after several hours of such treatment, I suffered my heart attack and was taken to the hospital.

What happened to me proves the correctness of your friend's theory."

ANNEX
An Example - My Friends Theory


In the 1970's, when we were stationed at the UN in New York I learned from a friend who is a neurologist that the human brain is the last organ of the body to age: It becomes apparently more effective or 'younger' over most of a person's lifetime, as it creates ever more diversified and finer chains of neurons.  The human brain is an admirable, incredibly complex computer capable of branching out inwardly and of refining endlessly its capacity to store information, synthesize, summarize, conclude, and give with lightening speed instructions to the billions of cells and parts which compose the human body  But the brain 'grows' only as long as it is stimulated by the will, imagination, drive, or curiosity of the individual.  Once the stimulus disappears, neurons stop growing.  They atrophy and the brain loses its effectiveness as the central command unit of the human being.  Disruptions and malfunctions appear in the form of all kinds of physical and psychological ills.  Death not infrequently occurs after an individual has lost his will for life or basic drive.  This often happens when a person retires from a very active life and is confronted with idleness and a lack of objectives.  Indeed, why should a life continue if there is no will for it?

What I had learned might have subsided from my mind after a while, had I not been given shortly thereafter a vivid illustration of its truth.

We were visiting in Danbury, Connecticut, a cousin of mine from Alsace-Lorraine, Marthe Bogen, who had immigrated after the war with her husband and child to the United States.  My cousin Marthe is one of those extraordinary persons I have known in my life.  Few people in this world have gone through the amount of torment and miseries she and her family have suffered.  Her stories would fill a sizable volume.  Nevertheless, she has always remained the happiest and most optimistic person on Earth.  Her happiness engenders a tonic aureole all around her and accounts for the innumerable friends she has.  One spends a few minutes with her and life becomes beautiful, cheerful, bouncing, exciting, full of interesting stories, and laughter.  She irradiates a joie de vivre  that catches everyone who comes near her.  And of course people seek her friendship in order to benefit from this tonicity.  She is quite capable of stating in a great outburst of laughter:

"Do you know the latest news?  I have decided to donate my body to a medical school so that scientists and students may figure out by what miracle I have survived for more than seventy years with one lung, one eye, one kidney, an artificial hip, several sectioned nerves, and a host of other lesser defects.  They are going to have some fun with me on the dissecting table, believe me!"

We were therefore utterly dismayed when we learned one day that she had suffered a heart attack.  But she recovered soon and after her release from the hospital she invited us to her house in order to celebrate.  At coffee time, I told her of my friend's theory, for it seemed to me that her whole life was a living proof of it, except for her recent heart attack.
*

UN News: UN Chronicle, United Nations News Service, UN Wire Archive
References: Earth Charter, Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Rights of: Children,Women, IndigenousPeople
To Be Written: Rights of Nature, Birds, Animals, Fish, etc.

Daily Ray of Hope
-- San Simeon,
        California --
Photo by Pamela Link | San Simeon, California

The most I can do for my friend is simply be his friend.
~ Henry David Thoreau

More from Robert Muller: RobertMuller.org
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The first 4000 Ideas & Dreams
For A Better World

The Idea Dreams
- With An Index

Robert's Harmonic & Talk
Ode To Joy
Never Give Up (Audio Talk)

Decide to - poems
DecideTo Index
DecideTo Poems

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