When I excitedly opened the cardboard tube containing the new Children Inspire Design map delivered to my door, my first reaction was perplexity. The world map had no countries identified on it, but did have whimsical animals and people. What’s the good of a map without, at minimum, national boundaries?
So I stared at it for probably a minute, trying to understand what artist, mother and social entrepreneur, Rebecca Peragine, whom I admire, might have been thinking by making this minimalist map.
“The earth is but one country…”
Then I soon remembered a quotation from Baha’u’llah that has inspired my life: “The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens.” I had thought about what this sentence means in terms of breaking down barriers for getting to know diverse people. I had thought about how seeing the earth in its entirety as one common home can help to shed the fear might be tacked on to the unknown places, people and belief systems that arise when we see the earth through a divisive lens. I had thought about how it offers a mindset that rejects an “us against them” mentality, and how useful it can be to embrace this idea early in life.
But I don’t think I had ever thought about it literally – what its physical representation on a world map could look like or mean to me. Until I saw this map. Suddenly, the absence of national boundary lines offered a sense of expansiveness, of freedom, and the possibility for peace. It connected with a concept that I consider to be deeply spiritual: If we are all God’s children, then efforts toward realizing our oneness are tantamount to an act of faith – like a prayer.
“Compassion for the Earth and All Who Inhabit It”
The next thing that struck me about this map was its title, “Global Compassion,” and the message at the bottom: “Compassion for the Earth and All Who Inhabit It”. When we aren’t bound by the lines that divide us, compassion comes more naturally.
When “compassion” enters a child’s vocabulary early in life, they have a greater opportunity to practice and understand it, to become experts at it. A thoughtful initiative to advance us in this direction is the Charter for Compassion, which begins:
The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.
One phrase that I had glossed over in previous readings of the opening of the Charter: “to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world” took on a new meaning for me. Without the traditional boundaries encumbering us, when “the earth is but one country” we can more easily step aside from the center of our world, and do things that are greater than our solitary selves.
The Map That Gives Back
In the spirit of global compassion, artist Rebecca Peragine didn’t stop with making her map; she’s also donating 100% of the proceeds to Future Fortified. Each print gives a month’s worth of nutrients to 20 children in Kenya; so we can each help make a dent in the alarming fact that 2 billion people around the world lack access to the essential nutrients they need to lead healthy lives. (See a lovely short video about the effort here; they’ve already surpassed 3,800 children with nutrients for a month.)
I asked Rebecca about her inspiration and she said:
“I chose to leave out national boundaries because I wanted to focus on the life of the print, meaning the animals and people who inhabit it. The message ‘compassion for the earth and all who inhabit it’ gives a sense of oneness, and I didn’t think showing geographical divides would support that.”
I realize it may sound naïve to imagine that hanging a simple wall map can start a life-long conversation with our children, to start envisioning and building a better world. But I firmly believe it – because I’ve seen it happen. I’ve spoken with hundreds, maybe thousands, of adults who remember a globe, map, or picture on their parent’s desk or the fridge or their walls or at a friend’s home that spurred them to consider their wider world. It made them more open to making friends who were different from them, changed their course of study, their career path, or the way they raise their children.
These small steps toward mindful compassion we take today can open up a whole new world – perhaps one that is less focused on our boundaries and more on our possibilities.
What steps do you take to teach “global compassion” at home, in the classroom, at work, or in your community? Please comment here and/or on Growing Up Global’s Facebook page to WIN a GLOBAL COMPASSION MAP! (Last day for comments is October 19; winner will be announced October 20.)
Tags: Bahai, Charter for Compassion, children inspire design, compassion, future fortified, global citizens, Rebecca Peragine, The earth is but one country, world map
Random House Publishing Group
Wow! What a beautiful map. Would look great on my children’s bedroom wall.
This map would be a fabulous addition to my classroom wall
What a thoughtful meditation on the importance of such images in our children’s lives. It may seem strange to give so much significance to something that seems so small, like the removal of national boundaries from a map, but I agree that they have a profound impact on how we (and our kids) see the world. I remember once seeing a map that flipped the world as we know it upside-down – what a change in perspective! Thank you for introducing us to this wonderful map and to what such representations can mean!
A beautiful map and beautiful ideas. We just hung a giant world map (with boundaries) in our kitchen and I have been blown away with my 3 year-old’s interest in it. She already can identify a good number of countries and asks me questions every day about it. I had considered hanging a world map taken from space for these same reasons and I LOVE this artistic whimsical representation as well. Maybe it’s about exposing children to as many different representations as possible so they can draw their own conclusions.
This is such a lovely work of art. Ever since reading your suggestion to get a globe, I have been meaning to. Thank you for providing inspiration to us to strive for more.
This is such a beautiful map. As a child, I was always busy studying maps and reading about the world’s peoples. My family and i never really knew what the value of this was. I just knew i was supposed to do it. When I found Baha’ullah, i knew why.
An amazing design and message! It’s so important that we raise children with an understanding of the connectedness of the human race and the world.
I love the idea of living in a wrld that is peaceful and sees no boundaries between us in thoughts or surroundings. We may have different opinoins and look different, but as children we understand we all have the same needs. I just love the idea & hope that it inspires!
Such a beautiful map! What a wonderfully barrier-free way of opening children’s eyes (and reminding us adults of some basic common truths as well!)
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this!
“The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens.”
what else is there to say…wonderful.
I think this is why travel is so important! Get out and see the world! It’s the best teacher!
As a mother of one 10 month old baby girl I hope to give my daughter the gift of global compassion for all on this planet. Since she is still young I have simply started by reading her various multi-cultural books, so that she’ll learn about diversity first. My thought is that being exposed to a diverse set of books and experiences will give her an opportunity to learn what she likes, dislikes and ultimately tolerance. Also, my husband and I have decided we would like to start a 3 gift tradition for her birthday and any future children. I don’t know if this will teach compassion, but each birthday she will receive 1 physical gift (toy, clothing, etc), 1 experience (trip to Disney world, nature experience, etc) and 1 charitable gift – a gift she will need to give to another. It is our hope that she will grow to learn the value of each gift and ultimately favor the gift of giving (service, monetary, etc) and the experiential gifts most. Fingers-crossed — would love to win such a beautiful poster.
I am myself is not native american, so i teach my kids about cultures around the world and
diversity. We also have a lot of multicultural books with pictures of children around the world.
I love the compassion take on this map. We have been using another “tag” word a LOT recently at my house: difference. With the political environment, it is reinforced how much our daily lives are guided by “us and them” thinking. Whether political, or the mommy cliques, or the cool kids and the nerds, or… Having a map like this one around from when children are little and emphasizing that difference is first, our reality and what makes us great- and then constantly using compassion to remind ourselves of our similarities. So important to understand this concept!
wonderful idea. Your site motivated my to get some of the international university students to teach languages to young children in our small town. thanks
I love Rebecca Peragine’s explanation of why country borders weren’t necessary. It’s a great physical representation of “World Citizen”
This map looks great! Love the idea of compassion.
Thank you, Homa! What a great post and wonderful giveaway! Our kids have a somewhat similar map that doesn’t feature country borders and love it (so no need to include us in the giveaway, as much as I adore Rebecca’s map, it’d be nice for another family to benefit). It’s a great way to teach the kids that we are all part of one precious planet. They also love having a world globe in the living room and refer to it often as we learn about different peoples and parts of the world. Even our two year old will run to get the globe when he hears us talking about another country. We look for ways to teach our children global compassion every day – like discussing Kony 2012 with the older ones over dinner and asking what we can do to help – and through special opportunities, most recently taking them to hear the Dalai Lama speak in our town. The crowd was so huge, all we could see were his feet and the one world we could understand from his mouth was “naturally.” Nonetheless it was a great starting point for more discussions and awareness. Keep up the great work and wonderful discourse!
Global compassion, what a beautiful concept! I am american, my husband is brazillian, we had 2 young daughters (4 yo and 1 yo), in different countries and we live overseas from our families.. We understand globalization, its in our blood, our hearts.. We are compassionate people who love to help!
I hope this next generation who are used to organic food, hybrid cars and different sources of energy will be able to nurture the Earth and develope the global compassion state of mind, body and heart
Lovely prints from a lovely company! I’ll check their etsy shop, thank you!
Thanks to ALL of you for your beautiful and thoughtful comments (here and via facebook.com/growingupglobal). I am really inspired by your heart-felt ideas and sharing. Our random winner for this map is Laurel. I’ll be in touch to get your mailing address for @ChildDesign to send you the signed map directly.
ALSO: for those of you who really loved this map, may I ENCOURAGE you to consider buying one (or more – makes a great baby, birthday or holiday gift!). The fact that Future Fortified will use all the proceeds to feed many, many children makes it such a meaningful gift.
Thanks again and I am really excited about doing more with this blog – to connect, introduce great products and initiatives, and be in touch with so many sincere readers and parents of global citizens!