Be the Cause

Walk for Hope Update

Posted on

It is happening!!!

Today, KPFK began to make announcements about the Walk for Hope on their esteemed radio station (90.7 FM for all you folks in the Southern California area… www.kpfk.org to listen on-line). Today alone, eight people registered for the walk through the website… and the night has just begun.

Tomorrow, the Aware Show on KPFK has asked me to speak about the Walk for about 10-15 minutes. 1pm if anyone wants to tune in.

Is all this an opportunity to get more walkers signed up? Most definitely. More importantly, however, it is just another opportunity to inspire service… and that opportunity exists in every moment of our lives. It exists as we face audiences of hundreds, and it also exists as we sit at Thursday meetings licking stamps on envelopes.

We can never know how many people will attend the walk until 9/11. At this point it doesn’t matter… we have already inspired service in each other. Irrespective of how many people actually attend, I know that the journey itself has been worth it. There is a volunteer out there that spent the day cutting and pasting signs for the walk… the opportunity to do service has transformed her life. She will not be a statistic on the day of the event, yet this Walk for Hope is for her.

Ultimately, we will never know how our actions contribute to the lives of others.

Why do we need a reason?

Posted on

“Why do we need a reason”, she replied.

I sat in silence outside the coffee shop attempting to comprehend those simple words. We had just spent the last 20 minutes discussing the beauty of the universe, the importance of kindness, and the possibilities of peace. As with every new volunteer, I asked the question, “Why do you wish to serve?”. Her response still leaves me empty.

“Why do we need a reason to serve!”. As if to say that compassion is something that occurs naturally. Countless days I had spent trying to rationalize our decision to help others. Now I am reminded that compassion is not an act of reason, but rather an act of utter joy. Sarwar mentioned to us not so long ago that service occurs with no thought. I wonder if we have found service, or if service has found us.

[…]

I could never fully express my gratitude for this opportunity of service. It is because of you all that this work goes on.

As a result of your efforts, I have been invited to a 7 day conference on “Leveraging Privilege for Social Change” that starts today. The conference brings together young individuals who are working for a thriving, just and sustainable way of life. Although my knees tell me that I am not so young, I am extremely humbled by the opportunity and also feel a sense of hope knowing that programs such as these exist. I know that you all are a major factor in this invitation and I hope to represent you all in the best way I can. If they ask me why we started Be The Cause, I already know my response: “no reason”.

As we travel this journey together… let us walk with silent minds and complete hearts… taking joy in the fact that we enrich our own lives as we benefit the lives of others.

Life,
Sukh

1 … 241 242 243 244 245 … 262