If I were to follow in the imagined footsteps of my own self, I should now be writing you about self discipline, discernment, or perhaps a whole other aspect of ethics that I may find myself holding close. After all, my previous post was about compassion. (It can be found here for anyone who is feeling a bit down.) Today, however, I think I'll stick to a brief summary on what I've been up to lately!
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1. A week in to January I finally picked myself up and attended one of my first protests. It was at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel where Stephen Harper was visiting that day.
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| Yup. |
What was I quickly realized that the energy in places like this is not only rich and tangible, but beautiful. The majority of people uphold pure intent and passion for causes that are critical to whatever comes next for our planet. Strangers are also greeted with sincerity, and everyone is willing to help each other out. While I recognize that protests as such may not always be the most efficient way to create immediate change, they cultivate feelings of community and raise awareness to some humongous issues that may otherwise be ignored by passersby. These are cornerstones to it all - trust, togetherness, and a willingness to connect and be open while standing side by side. Partnered with a desire to gain and spread knowledge, it's all great. I have met so many phenomenal people already. In my opinion, just the act of spreading simple human connection, reaching out to break someone's routine with a smile and a conversation... if somehow nothing else at all is achieved, this makes it all worth the while.
Admittedly I often let myself observe, camera in hand, to capture the event.
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| The streets were blocked off by the police for us. |
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| The two most important things: environmental activism and juice. |
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| Petitioning in the street. |
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2. One other place I want to briefly mention to you is something I've been fervently posting about on Facebook, which is the yoga studio Karma Teachers.
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| Check them out! |
They offer free or by donation yoga to anyone willing to take part. If you go to their website as I linked above, you can find more information on it. I highly recommend dropping by if you have the chance - it is one of the most loving and safe environments I've ever seen. I have only recently began attending, but it has already helped me open up both spiritually and socially in such crazy ways! I didn't think there would be a place that would have me laughing, dancing alone in front of strangers, befriending so many new people, meditating alone with an individual I'd never met.... Yet so it goes! It is a place of universal love and of the spreading of inner light. They offer meditation sessions as well as a variety of yoga classes.
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3. Alright, so this isn't a totally encompassing summary of my life lately, but I'll wrap this up with a few recommendations.
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a) A book.
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| I could speak of this book forever, but that would defeat the purpose. This book is beautiful, and carries peace, adventure, love, a human roughness, and, as stated on another cover, dignity. It is poetry, and the picture of the road to what may only be called enlightenment could easily look like. I found it heavily resonated with my own thoughts. You can check it out here. |
b) A comic.
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| 'Eden! It's an Endless World' is flawlessly drawn, yet is a rough, gory manga. It tells the story of survivors and different military groups in the thralls of an internationally devastating disease. It carries themes of politics, existentialism, and religion through out. It's worth the read! |
c) Music.
"Let's ride on the setbacks of ideas, embracing new directions, find connections..." |
Oh, and I also turned 21.
Anyways, thanks for your time my friends!
I hope everyone is doing well and remembering to smile.
Until next time! (:
