Do you really want to change?

Good Morning Lovely Readers


I had a truly wonderful "date" with #2 yesterday - some fabulous mother/son time, although I did have to wait for the end of the FA cup semi-final and all was well in this household because Liverpool won. I rarely put pictures of myself online, but I found this one the other day, of #2 and me, taken the day after his home water-birth 23 years ago and holding my precious bundle (9lb 1oz) of pure joy I felt such gratitude and today my heart oozes with pride at the incredible, caring and courteous young man he has become. My children are awesome and I feel so very proud to have been part of their journey. Byron Katie says our children are our teachers and I have found that to be so true.

We all need a hero - someone who inspires us and makes us want to do better. Mine is a man called Satish Kumar.  I met him a couple of years ago when he was giving a talk arranged by the Steiner School in Norwich and listening to him had a profound impact on me. His books are well worth reading and the dvd is a must for anyone wanting to explore walking as meditation.

 A former monk and long-term peace and environment activist, Satish Kumar has been quietly setting the Global Agenda for change for over 50 years. He was just nine when he left his family home to join the wandering Jains and 18 when he decided he could achieve more back in the world, campaigning for land reform in India and working to turn Gandhi’s vision of a renewed India and a peaceful world into reality.


Inspired in his early 20s by the example of the British peace activist Bertrand Russell, Satish embarked on an 8,000-mile peace pilgrimage. Carrying no money and depending on the kindness and hospitality of strangers, he walked from India to America, via Moscow, London and Paris, to deliver a humble packet of ‘peace tea’ to the then leaders of the world’s four nuclear powers.

In 1973 Satish settled in the United Kingdom taking up the post of editor of Resurgence magazine, a position he has held ever since, making him the UK’s longest-serving editor of the same magazine. During this time, he has been the guiding spirit behind a number of now internationally-respected ecological and educational ventures including Schumacher College in South Devon where he is still a Visiting Fellow.

In his 50th year, Satish undertook another pilgrimage – again carrying no money. This time, he walked 2,000 miles to the holy places of Britain, a venture he describes as a celebration of his love of life and nature. In July 2000 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Education from the University of Plymouth. In July 2001, he received an Honorary Doctorate in Literature from the University of Lancaster. And in the November of that same year, he was presented with the Jamnalal Bajaj International Award for Promoting Gandhian Values Abroad.

His autobiography, No Destination, first published by Green Books in 1978, has sold over 50,000 copies. He is also the author of You Are, Therefore I Am: A Declaration of Dependence and The Buddha and the Terrorist.

So, if you are looking for new ideas and a fresh way of looking at the world, read this man's work and let me know what you think. Do you have other heroes? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

In the meantime, have a wonderful day

Blessings

Mrs Thrifty

xxx