Dear Friends,

The theology of our forebears was rather terrible in some respects, especially their beliefs about hell and a vengeful God, and their lives might have frequently been dour and grim. But they were not cynical, futile or unhappy because of that. They had a religion, however deficient it may have been in some ways, which developed resources of an inner strength to meet the needs of life. And in this they may have known something of that serenity so notably lacking in our own experience.

Much of what we call modern bad behaviour is seldom bad in the sense of being malicious. It is life without any depth of tranquillity. People can give themselves over to discourteous or excessive behaviour because they have missed the inner meaning and resource which would have shown them how superficial the purposes are that they seek. It is difficult to imagine people with depth and serenity of spirit being attracted for long by hectic living.

Serenity of spirit not only reflects itself in the quality of our inner life. There are far-reaching external consequences too. The broad extent and increasing popularity of an environmentally-friendly philosophy of living, clearly shows the general sense of concern. We have begun to rediscover fundamental ties between our inner peace of mind and our occupancy of the world. We are beginning to see again that if there is, for example, justice in our dealings with all peoples, the environment will be preserved and the land will be properly cared for. We have suddenly woken up to the fact that the exploitation of the earth and the ruination of its seas and atmosphere serve greed and selfishness alone.

As life becomes more and more complex, and its demands upon us increase, it becomes more than ever necessary that we possess a measure of real serenity and peace within ourselves. For it is upon this foundation that our hope for the future rests.

With every good wish to all members and friends,

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