“Art can, with words or wordlessly, through sound or in silence, shout a message, break a heart, invoke a laugh, evoke a tear, motivate, agitate, and elevate. And art can simply exist—a witness to joy and suffering, to hardship and hope, to what it is to be human in a given time and place.”
Harmonia Atlanta and the Charter for Compassion
As an official Arts Partner of the Charter for Compassion, our mission is in harmonious alignment with a commitment to encourage our world to be more compassionate and less caustic and fragmented. Music can bring people together in shared purposes for greater good. Harmonia Atlanta is committed to continue our history of community service and our partnership with Charter for Compassion by
- partnering with organizations addressing causes through our performances to heighten awareness, support, and compassion
- our commitment to enhance the lives of the participants at Plymouth Harbor, an organization that provides a warm, caring, and stimulating environment for older adults and respite for their caregivers, through our monthly leadership of sing-along time
- embodying principals of compassion in all of our relationships within Harmonia Atlanta.
Listen to the Charter
Read the Charter
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.
It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.
We therefore call upon all men and women to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.
We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensable to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.
Join Us and Sign the Charter!
We encourage all of our members, supporters, and friends to sign the Charter for Compassion.
Nonprofits Harmonia Atlanta Has Supported
