You have to know how to
dream. When we think about the founding of CARP, the
founding of the Unification Church and the Family Federation
for World Peace, there was nothing in the beginning. If we
were transported back forty years and we stood looking at
the things around us, we would see nothing except a handful
of people. All the things that materialized as time
progressed were in the heart, the spirit, the imagination,
conviction and dedication of those few that had gathered.
From a providential
standpoint, we have entered the stage in which we need to
build a nation of Cheon Il Guk. We need to substantiate that
ideal on earth, so that it no longer is a concept but
becomes a reality for the world to see. Amen? No-men? How
many people are in this auditorium today? Twelve hundred? If
that was the dream of all of us, why couldn't that come to
pass?
When we talk about one
world - when we talk about one Korea - based on the culture
of heart, true love, why couldn't that happen? Unimagining
minds, those who are not willing to dream, who are not
willing to risk themselves for something larger than
themselves, will never realize this dream. Yet if you want
to be a leader, if you want to be somebody who can transform
history and rewrite the pages of history as we move forward,
you must stimulate your hopes, stimulate your dreams,
stimulate your aspirations and aspire for great things. At
the CARP convention, I spoke of the greatest dream of all.
We all have aspirations on many different levels. It all
leads to one apex goal. What is that one apex goal? That one
apex goal is the one that resonates with God. I explained
that that goal is to create one world under God.
Difference Between the UC
and Other Religions
What is the difference
between the Unification Church and Family Federation for
World Peace and all the different denominations of the
world? If all the religions are professing the existence of
one divine being or one divine source of humanity, what is
the difference? I will tell you what the difference is: Our
perspective of Heavenly Father is very intimate. God truly
is the parent of humankind, not some omnipotent being who
does not want to have a relationship with humanity but wants
just to wallow in His glory. God is not some being looking
at how human history is unfolding in some detached manner.
He is intimately involved in humanity. God wants to be
reunited with humanity in a relationship that is more
intimate.
If we look at all the
different kinds of relationships that we have with others,
those relationships that are closest we usually describe
using a familial term, do we not? When we have a good
friend, we say, "He's like a real brother," or "That guy is
like a real older brother." When we look at someone older,
we say, "He's like a father to me" or "She's like my
mother." We sometimes say, "That kid is like my own child,"
right? You see the people who are closest to you as your
family. Why? Because those are the deepest among human
relationships. They're the hottest relationships, right?
Don't we use familial terms to represent the closest
relationships? Why is that? In our experience of love in
interacting with others, those familial relationships are
rooted in true love and rooted in blood. Therefore, they
embody the closest form of relationship that we experience
in our lives.
Now, think about God. If
human beings were designed by God in the image of God to be
the love partners of God, what type of relationship do you
think God desires? Do you think God desires a master-servant
relationship? A teacher-pupil relationship? Or a friendly
relationship? God wants to experience the joy, the
fulfillment and the love that can only be experienced in the
deepest of all relationships, which is familial. That is the
intimacy of relationship that God desires. That is why those
who carry the culture of heart are those who embody the
character of God, because that is God's nature; that is the
spark of the Divine that separates humans from animals. That
you can share in that divinity only comes from possessing
the dignity of being able to embody that character of true
love.
Young People Are Those Who
Like Dream and Challenge
I love climbing mountains.
Do you like that? Have you ever slept up there? Without a
tent? Without a sleeping bag? When it's snowing? Don't do
that. I did that a couple of times, but that was crazy. When
I look at young people - as a father - doing crazy things, I
become worried. When I think of it, because I've had that
experience - it is so cold that you can't sit. That's why
you have to sit like this, crouching. And you have to sleep
like that. It was so cold that my feet and hands started
freezing, but because I was so stubborn, I didn't make a
fire. I'm so stubborn that it doesn't matter if I die. It is
such a challenge. It's so challenging that I can't even
begin to talk about it to you young people. STF,
fundraising, how hard is that? It's meeting total strangers
and talking to them. What's so hard about that, compared to
survival?
So everything comes into
perspective. No matter how much a person suffers, if the
mind can find something fun or interesting in that, it is
not suffering. It's fun. You young kids, have you ever
thought that way? Or is suffering just suffering to you? Try
it. Don't think it is hard. Change your attitude. Then your
suffering is not be suffering. Try it. That is mind over
body. The mind is subject and the body is the object. That's
why, when I see young people, I think it's great that they
go through challenges. If I want to designate a number one
person, that person has to go through challenges. Am I
right, or are you just listening to a crazy man?
Wow, we are crazy. One
more time: Amen? No-men? (Amen!) Oh, good energy, very good.
Try it. When you face a challenge in life, don't think about
that challenge as being difficult, but think of it as fun.
It's exciting; it's stimulating. And then you know what?
That challenge is no longer a challenge; it becomes a
friend.
You young people must
answer this way if you are asked, "Do you want to suffer
again?": You have to say, "Yes, I want to go through that
suffering again!" Even though you might be old, if your
heart is young, I'd say you are a young person. Whether you
are a young person or an old person, in my definition, has
nothing to do with age. Young people are people who like to
dream, who like to grow through challenge, and so forth,
because that is how you grow. Old people are those who do
not like challenge, who do not want to grow, who do not want
to be stimulated. I know many people young in age whom I
would classify as old.
So to only the young
people out there - if I put you through a challenge, would
you want to go and face that challenge over and over again?
Yes or no? I cannot hear you. (Yes!) Really? You want to
face challenge again? That is why I like young people.
I've deviated from my
subject. What were we talking about? One world, one Korea,
and transforming the world through the culture of heart.
What have we accomplished to this point? We've established
that to dream, to have passion and conviction for something
greater than one's self, is something that one should aspire
to. In essence, this is what CARP is about. Yet, CARP is not
an organization that is merely inspirational. No, no, no. We
have a purpose. We want to aspire to fulfill the greatest
dream of all, yes or no? What is that greatest dream? To
build one world under God. How do we build that one world
under God? Through the power of true love. How do we harness
the power of true love? Through the individual
transformation of all of you, where you become true subjects
that inspire true objects, be it an individual, group,
campus or the world. And you will harness the power of true
love through living for the sake of others.
