...when our hearts are full we need much less

  • Why the Hope?

    The defining moment in my life that shifted the way I was thinking...and brought me to ubuntu.

  • Who am I?

    Great question. Tough to answer.

  • What I do

    In the sense of living and breathing and working and playing.

  • November 14, 2008

    Lets just say that this journey of mine, we'll call it a Soul Journey, started long ago. I can't really explain what I'm feeling right now, 4.5 months from my trip date, about to embark on the trip of a lifetime.

    I was overwhelmed with feelings back last May. In one weekend I felt a life change occurred, one of those life paths was carved out to me and it was up to me which one I chose. I was so lucky to have been sent to Ottawa for the Cdn Marketing Conference, a weekend that truly inspired me to be in the industry that I'm in. It opened my eyes to a breathtaking city, and sense of success and liberation.



    My boss, John, made sure to send me to that conference, where I heard John Wood speak, about Room to Read. I've played the story out a million times in my head, but basically, in the two hours that I heard him speak, I was ready to join him on his quest. I met more Compassion that day than ever before.I've told the story a million times, but I'll touch on it again:

    John spoke of coming from a middle class family to finding himself as the head of China operations at Microsoft, one of the most dominant figures in the business world. He worked overtime, all the time, and finally decided to take a "vacation." On a three week backpacking trip through Nepal, he came across a school that was in bad condition and contained absolutely no children’s books. The few books that backpackers had left behind were locked away and no one could touch them because they were so rare. At that moment, John realized that a part of why he succeeded at Microsoft, was because in his childhood he became an avid reader, so much so that it opened his mind, imagination and eventually huge doors of opportunity that would’ve never been possible without books and the knowledge he gained from them. He decided to start a book drive, which became so big it resulted in the not-for-profit organization Room to Read. Room to Read now builds schools, libraries and educational centres all across the developing world.

    I, too, feel that books have had an ENORMOUS impact on me growing up. They created a world where nothing was impossible and opened the door to a great education and career. So, when I had him sign my book “Leaving Microsoft to Change the World,” I told him I was interested in helping in anyway I could and he signed it “See you in Winnipeg.” Believing that this was a sign from the Universe, I set home on a mission.

    After successfully getting my company on board for a fundraising golf tournament and an unsuccessful attempt at the actual event, I decided I needed to first go to South Africa, understand my connection with this land, see what the issues there are for myself and find out what I could do to help this country.

    Hence the search for how I can get there to get to know people who can connect me with a way to help the land. After looking at the availability of various programs and locations, the conservation initiative felt the best to me. I'm very interested in environmental conservation and it is a field I one day may want to study, but most importantly it gives me a chance to be around people who work and live in South Africa all year round.

    As a volunteer, I will be working with many aspects of maintaining a wildlife sanctuary just outside of Johannesburg in a rare conservation in Pretoria. In addition to ensuring a pristine habitat for the wildlife there, we will also be preserving a type of vegetation that is increasingly threatened by agriculture, forestry and urban development.

    That one speech, one afternoon in May, 2006, truly carved out a new path in life for me. I've always wondered what my life path is. I think that to explore and find greatness and beauty in this life could be an answer, for me, for why I'm here. Maybe it's to be able to bring beauty to others life, or at least bring smiles to them. Maybe it's to be a shoulder to cry on when someone needs it, or to listen when no one else will. Maybe it is to show others the beauty that they have, but just don't realize...After all of this, I truly understand that the two TRUE answers I know: LOVE and KINDNESS. Seeing a smile, a compassionate hug or a lovestruck gaze, these make me truly content. A friends love, a Grandma's love, the love of a stranger who helps you out, or the love of your partner for 50 years, these are our true lessons. These two go above and beyond race, religion, age, language or attitudes. They are truly transferable and they are the reason we exist. So above all the feelings and friends I've met, those two are sticking to me forever.To those you love. To those you keep near you. To those that matter.Love.

    1 comment:

    1. So very Impressed Tamara...
      Your passion and commitment is above comprehension to the average Joe!
      Safe Travels and Enjoy...
      Please be Safe!

      Heeps of Love...
      Shane

      ReplyDelete