Be Thankful

In the midst of being thankful for my big, adventurous and happy life I am also trying to take the time to be thankful for things that might otherwise be taken for granted. I can't help but think back to the time in Ghana when my friends and I started listing off all of the big and small things we were thankful for. Like food, drinkable water, electricity, internet, mosquito nets, hospitals, chocolate, education, new friends, the kindness of strangers and so much more.  We could not stop ourselves and the list went on for a long while. But the truth is, I am thankful for life itself. My life has been amazing, even with the hardships that I have faced I know that it is more than I deserve.

 I am thankful for the amazing year that life has thrown me  and all of the lovely people who have stuck by my side through all of the good and bad. I have witnessed unconditional love from my family and friends and with it I have learned anything is possible, even when it comes to going after your own dreams and happiness. Without that support my actions and decisions would have been a lot harder to make and be a lot more meaningless.

Most importantly I am thankful for the endless opportunities that I have here in Canada. The first example is sometimes I think "wow... how amazing is it that I have access to credit and can take out a student loan, just so that I can move out and be close to school? I can shape my life however I want? I can't believe how lucky I am!". Another example is how I visited a health clinic here in Calgary. I simply walked in and said I needed help, they took me in right away no questions asked, there were multiple nurses and doctors there to help, the office was clean, quiet and organized, they openly discussed my problem and their solution, but most amazingly I walked in and out free of charge. You might think, a typical visit to any health clinic in Canada right? Well when I compare this experience to my hospital experience in Ghana, I am overwhelmed with gratitude at how lucky I am to have such an amazing system. Not that the hospital in Ghana was remotely bad to say the least, it is just different than what I am used to and probably has less resources. Lastly, of course I have to be above all grateful for my education and job opportunities that are present in my life. These two things are really all anyone in the world needs to get there life moving in a positive direction and many people lack as much opportunity and choice that I have.

People of the world need to have equal capabilities and opportunities to make free decisions in life if there is ever to be true equality. Clearly... another "too-big" dream of mine.
Obviously there is also too much to be thankful for this thanksgiving! And I will go on using my gratitude to stay happy in my life so that I may spread happiness in the lives of others. Above all I am most grateful for continuously finding new meanings of grace as it has become the word which defines my life. I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and hope that you all take the time to also be thankful for the things that you would otherwise take for granted.

Development Perceptions

Well I am back at school and trying to get back into the swing of things, which let's face it, a busy summer has anything but improved my procrastination abilities.  But one day as I sat outside on campus on a beautiful sunny day, my friend began to interrogate me with questions to try and get me thinking about my honours thesis topic. She asked me "What were you expecting going to Ghana and how did your view change afterwards?" This really got me thinking.

Before going to Ghana I had this clear vision, or assumption rather, that everyone in Ghana actually knew what development studies was, because they live it and learn it. I was excited about this opportunity to finally be able to talk to people about development because not many people in Canada understand or care what it is. But what I found out when I was in Ghana, was that it was actually much harder to talk to people about development than I had thought. I came into it expecting that their knowledge would be very similar to mine, but of course this was not true and communication was rather difficult. I realized that they were totally aware of the development situations within their communities and in Ghana, but this was simply because they have grown up living it. Their surroundings and ways of living were completely normal to them of course, but coming from a privileged part of the world I saw everything differently and all I could see was ways things could be improved. Like housing quality, or home appliances or school tools for example. So when I would ask people "What do you need?" or "How do you think thins could be better?" I had a clear vision of these answers in my mind based on what I was used to in Canada. These presumptions didn't match the answers that the people would give me. They would simply say things like money or jobs, things that would simply improve their security of living so that they continue in their way of life. This did not necessarily mean requiring a change in the WAY they lived, which is what I was picturing. Then I realized maybe some of the things that I was picturing, these people had never been exposed to before so they didn't even exactly know how things could be different, and even if they did it probably wasn't necessary to their lives.

So after Ghana I learned that no matter what the living conditions are (and trust me, from the places I experienced, their living conditions are entirely liveable compared to some parts of the world), people will continue on in their everyday lives without much concern for such things because it is simply the way they live and that's all there is to it. They are going to go on surviving in day to day life no matter what Government, NGO, or volunteer comes in from the West trying to change their lives. This leaves me with somewhat of a moral dilemma... Who am I to come in and try to help them? Who says they are asking for help? Why is this necessary if they are going to keep on keeping on? How are we to compare living conditions of Bungalows in Calgary to the Compounds in Wusuta? If both groups of people are content in life then why does it matter? To me it would seem that the Ghanaians even have a happier outlook on life than Canadians. Where does this leave me and the dreams I'm trying to achieve?

I guess this comes down to one underlaying fact that both groups are somehow aware of the fact that one group is more privileged than the other. The truth is that getting to experience Ghanaian culture and living has left me undeniably grateful for the way I live in Canada. I am grateful for my quality of education, quality of living, quality of health care and above all the endless opportunities that I have at my fingertips here. If one place can offer me all of that and another can't, then I suppose something must be missing somewhere mustn't it? This is not to say that Ghana must be made to be like Canada, but they sure do deserve a lot more than what the global system has dealt them. The same goes for the rest of the world. I suppose this comes back around to the reason I went into development in the first place, it is inhumane that so few people live in exuberance while so many suffer, and it is not right that developed countries prosper at the expense of the rest of the world. This leads me to conclude that the privilege that fate has shown me and the grace that god has given me must be shared and it is up to me to find the most sustainable and culturally appropriate way to do that. And hopefully I can instil that same desire within others along the way.

Let it grow.

Caring is the first step. 

Words of Wisdom

For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. - Audrey Hepburn

We Want Peace

Here is some more inspiration that I've gained over the past little while.
This is Emmanuel Jal's hit song "We Want Peace" off his new album "See Me Mama". Go out and listen to it! It's awesome I swear... I won a free copy and got it signed by Emmanuel himself! ;)

Emmanuel Jal is a former child soldier and refugee of South Sudan. Now that he's been rescued he uses his experience and pain to share messages of peace and create awareness for troubles in South Sudan and Africa. As you can see he is a famous hip hop star now, in addition to being a published author of his book War Child, a documentary, and the creator of the We Want Peace movement.

Additionally, Emmanuel Jal has his own charity Gua Africa to help support those Africans/Sudanese who went through similar things as himself. How many rock stars do YOU know that have gone through such trauma and come out on the other side stronger and fighting for change?
  CHECK IT OUT!

Gua means Peace, a universal message we can all try to embody and project in our lives.
"If we invest in education we can change Africa" - Emmanuel Jal

Azontooooooo

AZONTO!!! Gotta learn this before I go to Ghana, it's very popular there :) haha

Paradise

When she was just a girl She expected the world
But it flew away from her reach so She ran away in her sleep and dreamed of
Para-para-paradise, Para-para-paradise, Para-para-paradise
Every time she closed her eyes

- Coldplay

Inspiration

I feel your love. I feel your strong love. I feel the patience among unconditional love. I feel a strength. I feel your faith in me. I'll never let you down no matter what you do if you just walk with me and let me walk with you. I'm on this journey I don't wanna walk alone. Walk with me.

- Neil Young

Trying to find a little inspiration.

I am feeling a little restless in my tedious "first world" life, this usually happens every once and a while.  Everywhere I turn I am reminded of the material, superficial and consumerist society that I live in, the exact things I am beginning to turn away from, for indeed I am a hypocrite and have always been a contributor to this system. I feel restless in this situation because I start seeing all of these signs as my worldview changes, it makes me uneasy but I still continue living my life the same way. This relates to what will continue to be my life struggle.

I feel as though I continually fail to make the changes that happen inside of me to show on the outside. I can never seem to act on my values and beliefs enough in real life situations, in which I should be going out of my way to make them happen. The biggest example of this is my caring for people or situations less privileged than I and volunteering, but I never seem to make the time to do anything about it.

I struggle between always dreaming and turning it into a reality.

This seems a common theme among people, but still it resonates deeply with me and so I have decided I must find ways to inspire myself and document it in order to really make these dreams of mine come true. To try and increase the impact of my cause for my purpose in school. Hence, a new blog. Here is my first little bit of inspiration, that is possibly my biggest inspiration of all... I'm sure Audrey will be regular feature.

"For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others."
— Audrey Hepburn