This Blog aims to:

This Blog aims to share with and let people know that there are MANY examples of people out there making a positive difference in people's lives. They are making the world a better place and so can you. All great things have small beginnings. Join me in my mission to make the Shining Lights Collective a reality

Sunday 24 June 2012

So proud...

this is a long post, so please be patient...it's incredibly important to me  


I simply have to share this story that i was told today, while i'm still on such a positive high from it. The day started with me rushing a breakfast and heading to work. For the first few hours i was quiet, just going about my task, basically i felt like an expressionless zombie (the negativity of the previous night had sort of mentally broken me i think, "i get knocked down, i get back up again" should explain it). My mood started to pick up towards the end of the shift when i started to enjoy the thought of seeing a movie or just relaxing at home. A friend whom i was working with suggested coffee and a long overdue 'chin wag' (translation: chat/talk/conversation) and after almost 2 hours, i was a changed man. 


First i will describe the story (the short version), what i was thinking at the time and then finally what thoughts/lessons i took away with me. 


The Story: Through volunteering my friend met a young girl with whom she instantly formed a connection and this bond grew stronger and stronger the longer the camp went on. The camp was for those kids who were less privileged then others in one way or another. This particular girl had led an exceptionally hard life up until the point of the camp, the poor girl experienced an abusive childhood, was forced to mature way too early and her parents were largely absent in their responsibilities. She became a 'mother' to her elder siblings and largely missed out on simply 'being a kid' and that's what the camp was designed for, to allow these under privileged kids a few days where they can just be silly, get u[p to mischief and have fun. 


Now by and large, volunteers don't have any contact with these kids once the camp is over as there is potential for the kids to be let down and hurt even further, mostly through promises that can't be kept. My friend however was so deeply touched and moved by this girls plight that she could not simply stand by and do nothing, she couldn't stand by knowing that her new friend was simply being swept under the rug and forgotten about. She could not bear the thought of this child experiencing any more of the hardship that she had grew up with, it broke her massive heart every time she thought about it. Someone needed to be this little girls champion and give her hope. My friend did just such a thing. 


Keep in mind, there's been thousand's of volunteer camps, in Australia and overseas, and i have NEVER heard of a child's life being so positively changed as in this story. My friend provided a safe place to stay when the girl needed it, she became someone (possibly the first) whom the girl could trust and open up to and not feel that her vulnerability would be abused, she became her angel. The girl was taken from a school where bullying was prevalent, where kids were sent to be forgotten about to a prestigious school via a scholarship...via a few miracles of their own. My friend saw potential in this girl, saw a desire to be someone, observed her creativity, her intelligence and saw to it that the girl was placed in an environment where she could explore her full potential. Long story cut short, this girl is excelling in her new environment, is enjoying all the experiences that come along with growing up, being immature, being a kid and has a chance to even travel to new york and perhaps become a professional dancer! 


My thoughts: What an amazing girl i was talking to. Who has done what she had done? no one that i could think of, it just doesn't happen. I was incredibly proud of my friend and amazed at the lengths that she went to to enrich the life of another. It instantly restore my faith in humanity. I felt humbled in her presence, i was in awe...you name it, i felt it. I grew more inspired the more she spoke about what had happened and just how much this girl meant to her. I'm not religious by any means, but i think i even felt blessed to have this person in my life, incredibly lucky at the very least. I remember thinking that i wasn't surprised at all by the story in the sense that my friend just has one of those passionate, non-selfish, caring, giving personalities. I hoped she felt truly good about herself because she did a wonderful thing. I was hooked on every word and the more i thought about her own troubles, the more positively amazed i was that she did what she did. It takes incredible courage to stand up for another, especially when faced with troubles of your own. I can't do justice to the way i felt, so suffice to say, try to truly imagine yourself in my shoes 


The lessons/what i took from it: It's quite simple ONE PERSON CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. If this story isn't EVIDENCE then i don't know what is. I also got a real sense of what my friend valued the most and it helped put my own issues and insecurities into perspective. I felt that this needed to be shared in the hope that YOU TO WILL BE INSPIRED LIKE I AM


I might be just one person but i really, to my core, am inspired to make this world a better place. So inspired right now that i want to create a movement to be called the SHINING LIGHTS COLLECTIVE. This is NOT A JOKE and WILL BE SOMETHING I SHALL DEDICATE MYSELF TO. I urge you to start a SHINING LIGHTS COLLECTIVE chapter wherever you live, have the courage to make a difference. Use facebook, youtube, any outlet you have to share and spread the word. Comments are welcome but id love for your related posts to be linked to this particular blog.


Now get out there and make a difference 

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