vision

One Movement is not an organization, it's not an even a movement as its name may
suggest.  It is about trying to be aware of and understand the effect we have others and the world through our actions and speech, even our thoughts.  Trying to be aware of the inherent unity and connection between everyone and everything in this world, and then build a life based on that awareness.

    The following are a few main ideas connected to this vision:

Unity

The greatest challenge facing the Jewish people today and the world at large is
disunity.  People are so disconnected from each other.  Relationships are filled with
judgmentalness and the inability to love and show respect despite differences.  
Judaism teaches us that if we want to increase peace in our lives, we should strive to find
the good points in all people.  Holding on to judgments about others pollutes our
minds, our hearts and our souls.  As Reb Shlomo Carlebach said, "If G-d gave me two
hearts, then I could hate with one and love with the other.  But G-d only gave me one,
therefore I have no choice but to only love."

Love is at the root of unity; hate, at the root of disunity.  To love another person means to
see the spark of G-dliness in him/her no matter how different that person may be from
you in belief or in action.  We were not placed in this world to judge others and label
them as good or bad.  The Divine Creator, among infinite other things, has that job
taken care of, and does it with much more love and truth than we ever can.  Us, we are here to practice love and kindness and create a world that is based on these principles.  As love increases so too unity.  As unity increases, the world is better able to receive the promise of redemption for all humanity.

Jewish Spiritual Identity

To be aware of one's true self is one of life's greatest challenges as well as
accomplishments.  Becoming an expert in any field of science, math, or the arts is far
easier than becoming intimately aware of who you are as an individual living in this
world at this exact time.

To know one's self, one must understand the context in which she/he lives.  What family
have I been born into, what culture, what religion, what country, what time period?  We
are all born into different life conditions that are specifically designed to help us manifest
our fullest potential.  Of course, seeing that can be difficult at times.  As Jews, we can
benefit by asking the following two questions:

              "If everything has a purpose, why was I born into this world as Jew?"
              "What does it even mean to be a Jew?"

It was once said, "In this great future we can't forget our past."  It is so important to
know where we come from, and what that means to us today, so that we can truly be
alive NOW and move consciously into the future.



 Awareness of Our Impact on the World

We live in a world today that demands our awareness of how our lifestyles impact other
human beings, other species and the earth as a whole.  We live in a time where our most
mundane, everyday actions have the ability to create and perpetuate pain and
suffering for human beings around the global as well as for other species, from the clothes
we wear to the foods we eat to the products we buy and use.

Unfortunately, the impact of our actions on the world is often unknown to us.  Who
would imagine that buying a certain kind of food or using a certain type of cleaner in
the home could cause destruction or suffering?  It's hard to believe, but it's true.  

Of course, simply being alive makes an impact on the world.  Living itself naturally affects other
people and other creatures as well as the earth.  Today, however, human beings have
created technologies and have acquired abilities that make our impact incredibly
more severe and far-reaching.  

An essential component in the development of a healthy self and a healthy world is
becoming aware of how our everyday actions do indeed affect the world around us,
both near and far-away.  Upon becoming aware, we can then work on ways to decrease
the negative impact we may be contributing to, in turn creating a world in which peace,
health, freedom and respect become the norms.