Smile – from the Heart
February 22, 2009 by
Filed under Videos
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Thank you for your heart of peace!
Journey to Smile
February 13, 2009 by
Filed under Journey Updates
An ancient and growing journey to smile
A seed, a friendship
An encouragement and a grieving
Perhaps
Also a meaning.
Habib, Aghans and the world wish to smile;
To be humane despite our hearts.
To ask together, like the dove,
Perhaps
We can raise the possibility of love.
Join the Journey to Smile …
VENUE World Heritage Bamiyan Buddhas
LOCATION Bamiyan Afghanistan
DATE 21 September 2009
Our Journey to Smile in 2009 wishes to gather Afghan college students and Afghan youth from every ethnicity,
as well as international volunteers from every country, to come together at the World Heritage Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan on International Peace Day,
21st September 2009,
to be an example and encouragement to the world
that wide-scale humane relations based on a humane love is possible,
in-humane our current global situation may be.
In 2009 AD, Afghanistan is in the depth of world conflict and self-interest.
Whatever our fellow humans, Obama or Osama or others, decide, the college students and youth of Afghanistan, together with all of humanity, wish to to encourage ourselves and others to SMILE.
By smiling, we are grieving over Mankind’s proud, in-humane and self-absorbed behavior. We seek to raise the possibility of a humane love by building wide scale humane relationships and thus enjoy the growth of a majority public practice of humanity’s shared hopes.
We hope to put courage and dignity into our lives and our world, to put delight into the hearts of children and all of Mankind, to suggest that whatever our shared condition, a HUMANE LOVE is possible.
While the US, NATO, Taliban and all other players decide what to do with a country that is not theirs and a world that does not belong only to them, is there ANY ONE PERSON who understands what the common, average citizen of Afghanistan or citizen of the world wishes for?
Some say realistically but sadly, ‘this Journey will NOT happen….’
What they are saying is ,’ Genuine love, humanity and peace belong only to the poets and the fables. Humanity doesn’t have what it takes.’
It’s sad because both Afghans and the world need encouragement.
It’s sad because reality, perhaps life itself, seems keen for us to remain frozen in the timid beliefs that humanity cannot have the HUMANE RELATIONS which the majority of us want, that the small minority of decision-makers must always have their self-interested ways.
We want address our own cynicism, to try, to face disappointment, to take our small steps, believing that when we embark on Our Journey to Smile, humanity has to grow and will not shrink back to its unsure and undignified days.
Our Heart on In-Humanity
February 13, 2009 by
Filed under Journey Updates
Why have we become in-humane? Why terrorism?
Why such pride in insisting that we are right and others are wrong? Why the ‘clash of civilizations’?
Why can’t we find genuine friends, whose words we can trust? Why such disparities in life?
We get the feeling that life shouldn’t be this way, at least, people, humans, shouldn’t be this way.
Are we not all human?
Are we losing the gift of a smile?
Afghanistan’s dilemma is the world’s dilemma: extremism, conflict, politics and self-interest. Afghans, like all of mankind, want peace.
In 2008, Bamiyan university students volunteered to address this hope through a 3 month Peace Workshop.
At the end of the workshop, 16 students from different conflicting ethnic groups lived together in the same dormitory rooms for one semester. It was difficult but they have taken a step.
Join us in this continuing journey this year, going towards 21st September 2009, International Peace Day, at the World Heritage Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan.
In the midst of pain, disappointment and apparent impossibilities, you and I, all of us, should encourage each other in our journeys to recover our smile.
Especially at such a disheartening time in human history as this.
‘ Let us always meet each other with a smile, for a smile is the beginning of love.’ Mother Teresa
Our Journey to Smile : Humane Relations seeks to build wide scale humane relationships based on humane love. In the midst of pain, we hope to raise a majority public practice of humanity’s shared hopes, by encouraging ourselves and others to smile.
In 2009, Our Journey to Smile seeks international volunteers, one from every nation, to journey with Afghan college students from different ethnicities, in our common journey for humane relationships.
We would celebrate this together on International Peace Day on 21 September 2009, at the World Heritage Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan.
Our Journey to Smile : Humane Relations is based on Humane Love
L – Listens
O – Others-first
V – Violence not resisted with violence, but with grief and forgiveness
E – Empathizes with all humans as humans, including those perceived as “enemies”
What Our Journey to Smile is NOT :
- It is NOT political or religious.
- It is NOT a charity. It is voluntary.
- It is NOT a new idea. A smile is an ancient need and wisdom.
- It is NOT an institution.
- It is NOT activist. It is non-violent.
Volunteer
February 12, 2009 by
Filed under Our Journey to Smile : Mission Statement, Volunteer
We are looking for volunteers, one from every nation of the world.
- To go to the World Heritage Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan on International Peace Day, 21st of September 2009, in support of Afghan college students in Our Journey to Smile.
Volunteers will also need to attend a Humane Relations conference before the 21st of September 2009 (date and place of conference to be decided). This is necessary to build Our Journey to Smile and to understand and nurture each other’s lives.
- Be committed to encouraging Humane Relations: Our Journey to Smile in their respective countries, through various long-term, voluntary activities.
Criteria for volunteers :
- Our Journey to Smile involves no monetary benefit / profit / salary.
- Volunteers are fully responsible for their own safety.
- Individual expenses will be borne by the volunteers themselves. They may raise funds for themselves, but not receive funds from political or religious groups.
- Our Journey to Smile has no political or religious agenda, therefore NO politicians or affiliates of political groups and religious professionals will be considered.
- Volunteers should not insist that their way of thinking, doing and living is THE best or the only or right way.
- Volunteers must be prepared to live with ANY nationality.
B. Support Volunteers
Support volunteers can
1. Help spread the message of Our Journey to Smile
This will be through the volunteers’ own network of friends. The wider the spread, the wider the scale of Smiles and Humane Relations we will encourage.
2. Stay in contact with us
Our on-line volunteers will look into establishing a system of updating support volunteers.
Until such a system of a regular email alerts or updates is set up, we request support volunteers to visit the site regularly for updates.
3. Encourage with letters to Afghans
Write or leave comments to encourage Afghans
4. Share experiences on-line
This would add to the Journey through real stories on humane actions and peace building from various countries eg on inter-racial harmony
Those interested to be either Bamiyan Journey Volunteers or Support Volunteers should email us at
volunteer@ourjourneytosmile.com
Those interested to be Bamiyan Journey Volunteers should additionally fill up and attach the Bamiyan Journey Volunteer Application Form in their email to us.
http://www.ourjourneytosmile.com/Volunteer/VolunteerApplicationForm.doc
(if clicking on the link above does not work, please try this:
copy the link, and paste it in your internet browser.
Download or open the document.
After you’ve filled up, please save the form with a different name, and send it back to volunteer@ourjourneytosmile.com.
Thank you very much.)
Those interested to be volunteers should contact us.