21 December 2012
Rebirth-day: the first worldwide day of rebirth
A great celebration throughout the world
a vital, living, breathing symbol of a new beginning
December 21st, the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere and the summer soltice in the Southern, is a day celebrated by mankind since time immemorial.
A fateful “end of the world” connotation, as widespread as it is unfounded, has been attributed to this day in 2012, proposing a theme that is recurrent in mythologies and religions as well as in the literature of fantasy and science fiction.
All imaginative factors aside, this date can take on a symbolic meaning, as it effectively corresponds to a climactic phase of human history.
The ecological imbalance created by exploiting and polluting the planet, the combined action of consumerism and population growth, causing a state of global unsustainability, the crisis of cultures that have determined the patterns of our common thought and practices – all have taken place in conjunction with an exponential growth of technological and scientific development that has given humankind unprecedented power to build and to destroy, and therefore extreme responsibility.
The whole of human society is now in the reckoning and so must face a historic transition, a complete change.
Humanity has gone through two paradises. The first, in which it integrated fully with nature; the second, in which it expanded into an artificial world of its own, which grew until it came into conflict with the natural world. It is time to begin the third stage, in which humanity will reconcile and unite nature and artifice, creating a new balance at every level and in every area of society: the Third Paradise (further information about the project).
“An evolutionary step in which the human intelligence finds ways to live in harmony with the intelligence of nature.”
Michelangelo Pistoletto
Early signs of change can already be seen in every field of human activity, from art to spirituality, culture to politics, economics to science, manufacturing to education. But collective awareness and responsibility at the global level are urgent if we are to start the ascent toward a new era of humanity.
On 21 December 2012, let us meet in streets and squares all over the world, and on the Web, to take part in the great inaugural celebration of the Third Paradise.
Let’s take this extraordinary opportunity to joyfully and eagerly create our future destiny together. Let’s participate, on this day, with whatever form of expression we choose (performance, music, sound, installations, images…) in a great common artwork.
Rebirth-Day: the first worldwide day of rebirth
The Rebirth-Day project is low-impact, sustainable and sensitive to environmental issues; it promotes a development model appropriate to a practice of containment and it uses the free collaboration of individuals and communities throughout the world.
The Third Paradise is a secular undertaking and is not associated with any religious denomination.
- The first form of participation is to talk up the initiative: tell your friends and acquaintances about it.
- Propose actions, activities and interventions inspired by rebirth – starting, for instance, from the sign/symbol of the Third Paradise, which can be presented in different forms in different languages and materials.
- Make your proposal on www.terzoparadiso.org
- Share your actions, activities and interventions on Facebook and Youtube
- As an immediate and practical form of support you can participate starting right now with a little exercise in renunciation – a renunciation no longer imposed by religious precepts, but taken up as a free choice that strengthens personal awareness. Global change is an outcome of individual energies. “Announce what you renounce” on www.terzoparadiso.org
- A selection of the materials published on the web will be presented in the within of the exhibition, Année un – le paradis sur terre (Year 1 – Paradise on Earth), by Michelangelo Pistoletto, to be held at the Louvre, Paris, in spring 2013.
