On inspiration

Inspiration comes from the strangest of places.

There are certain places you expect to find inspiration, of course. In a good book, for example, or at a convocation address. For some, it might be watching a particularly pretty sunset that inspires you.

Sometimes, inspiration comes from within, too, but it often needs a spark. Recently, I have been finding these sparks in unexpected places and at unexpected times. When browsing Pinterest late at night, I often come across golden nuggets that make me pause, absorb, and then wonder at the world. Or, more precisely, I wonder at the moments that led to someone coming to that realization and sharing those words of wisdom with the world.

It's true, I've been known to have my very own moments of wisdom. I usually don't feel particularly inspired while dishing out my new world advice but in the following "pause, absorb, wonder" sequence, I realize that the thoughts I didn't really think about until they so eloquently flowed out of my mouth are actually quite useful and interesting. And yes, inspiring. In that moment, I am the spark.

Today is my birthday. It's as perfect a moment as any to search for inspiration and to evaluate the path that I'm on. It is also a perfect occasion to be thankful and count my blessings. Shelter. Water. Education. Health (mostly). Peace. Friends. Family. Democracy (in theory). Financial stability. 

Hope. 

Inspiration.

Yes, it's about the time of year when I ask you to take a few minutes of your time to learn about the World Partnership Walk and the great work done by Aga Khan Foundation Canada. As you may know by now, the World Partnership Walk is an annual event that raises funds and awareness to help alleviate poverty and build sustainable solutions in the poorest regions of the world. Now nearly 30 years old, the Walk has raised over $70 million for international development longterm programs and initiatives that help people help themselves, making it the largest and most successful event of its kind in Canada! Last year, almost 40,000 people walked in 10 cities across Canada to raise nearly $7 million! 

And here's the kicker. This is my favourite part. The part that continues to inspire me year after year, day after day.

100% of the funds raised by the World Partnership Walk go directly to fund international development projects. That's right! Not one cent is spent on administration. Every single dime, dollar and penny helps to fund projects that are identified and implemented by local communities, targeting the areas they find to be of greatest need. All projects touch more than one area of need, like revitalizing a rural economy, ensuring access to clean water and sanitation, strengthening community-based organizations and educating new generations of girls and women, to name but a few.

In previous years, I've written about the importance of spreading hope. On the amazing effect of hand-washing on reducing water-born illnesses. On the impact of your donation. On how fundraising campaigns shouldn't focus on negative, sad images but rather, on positive, uplifting stories.

Last year, I raised just over $2,000. This year, I'm simply hoping that my passion for making the world a better place one step at a time will inspire you to fuel my spark. Make a birthday donation to the World Partnership Walk. Inspire me to keep walking the Walk, year after year. Together, we can inspire the world to walk together towards a better future.

Join me on Sunday, May 27th, 2012 for the World Partnership Walk at Metro Hall in Toronto. Meanwhile, feel free to ask me any question at all about the Walk, my experience visiting some of the projects our donations help fund, or AKFC's approach of longterm, sustainable international development that helps people help themselves.

Any amount, from $10 to $100 will make a world of change. Click here to make a donation now.

Go ahead. Inspire me.

On birthdays

It's my birthday today!

On Facebook, when it's your birthday, you are showered with wishes from just about everyone on your contact list. That's a whole lot of email notifications.

This year, I'm not on Facebook (not by choice). Yet, I have been feeling just as much love, if not more. Why? My Twitter friends, upon learning of my date of birth - since Twitter doesn't tell everyone it's your birthday, you have to mention it first! - have been sending birthday wishes my way. And I am basking in the love.

I feel so incredibly blessed to be who I am, where I am, and have the love and friendship (and even acquaintanceship!) of so many wonderful people. It's a beautiful day and my school work is slowly but surely progressing. I have a follow up doctor's appointment this week to deal with my recent health issues. And I'm having a birthday bash next weekend, when my current school deadlines are more or less taken care of. How can I not be happy?!

It's easy to be critical of our selves and overanalyse every little action we take, whether its consequences are positive or negative. It's easy to feel bummed or frustrated or nostalgic - and I've felt all three this week. And that's okay! It's okay to feel under the weather. It's hard work to turn it around and smile instead of frown. My life philosophy of finding the positive in even the little things - like the sun shining - makes that task a whole lot more enjoyable.

I am thankful for all my experiences so far, and for those to come, because I know that, good or bad, they will make me a better person. And isn't that the point of life? To grow, develop and flow into a "better" person? It's not about the accumulation of wealth or stuff - though I do love my "things" and would be devastated if I lost the most precious of them. Still, I am aware that these are luxuries. Yes, even my comfy walkable boots.

So today, to celebrate the date of my birth, I have a simple request. Please, take any money you would spend on a present for me and donate it to someone who needs it a whole lot more than me. By contributing to the World Partnership Walk, you are helping me bring the hope and joy that fills my life to little boys and girls (and older ones too!) across the world. On June 12, 2011, I will walk in Major's Hill Park in Ottawa to symbolically represent the work that some of the poorest people in the world need to do daily, all day, just to be able to do the things I take for granted, like having a sip of water or opening the fridge door and finding it full of ingredients. Or turning up the heat when it gets cold at night, or the AC when it gets too hot in the summer.

So please, instead of treating me for my Birthday, let's put an end to global poverty together. That would be the best present ever. Click here to sponsor me for the World Partnership Walk, join my team by registering here, or create your own fundraising team here!

If you haven't heard me talk about the Walk before, you can read some of my blog posts on the subject here and here, and read up about Aga Khan Foundation Canada, the non-profit non-denominational organization behind the cross-cutting programmes that 100% of the money you donate will fund. Discover why the World Partnership Walk is more than a cause, and then gather your pennies, loonies, or $100 bills and make me the happiest girl in the whole world today: http://www.akfcnetcommunity.ca/netcommunity/NailaJ

On my birthday wish

Those who are familiar with this blog (and me in general) might be expecting a post containing a birthday list. Well, think again.

After many years of making lists yet receiving presents that aren't listed and sometimes not useful - though you don't kick a gift-horse in the mouth and I am thankful for all your thoughts and presents - I decided to scratch that idea. Plus, I have a much better idea!

As I have aged - finer, like wine and cheese, of course - I have discovered that the best gift of all is friendship. So this year, I asked for the company of my friends for 2 cool events. The first was my trapezing/birthday dinner celebration. What a blast!! It's a little nerve-wracking at first but the professionals at Trapezium made sure that we all felt comfortable and safe jumping off the tall tall platform and swinging towards the genie. (You had to be there). Some of us had to conquer our fears to do it, but it was well worth it. I'd love to go back - the next class teaches you how to be caught, circus-style! Later that night, we went for a wonderful birthday dinner at Oyster Shack, a very nice Montreal restaurant.

The second event I'd love to have my friends participate in with me is the World Partnership Walk on June 6 at Place des Vestiges at the Quays of the Old Port. Some of you might have groaned just now, but hear me out.

Every year, we spend tons of money on stuff we don't need. I'm guilty of it too. I purchase books when I could just go to the library instead. I don't really NEED that $5 Starbucks hot chocolate or that new pair of shoes, and guess what? You probably don't either. (Okay, sometimes we really DO need those things, but as a general rule, we can live comfortably without them.)

Imagine if your budgeting concern wasn't for Starbucks but for medicine. Imagine having to decide between having one meal a day or purchasing pills from the dispensary so your sick parent, sibling, or child could have a fighting chance at surviving for another day, another week, another year. These are things we don't usually concern ourselves with because it is not our reality. But for the over 2.6 billion people who live on less than $2 a day, that concern is very real. Think about it. Three out of four people on this Earth cannot afford to eat. We share the same planet, the same values, the same hopes and aspirations. Why can't we help each other out?

This year, for my birthday, I would like you to take the $20 or $40 or $100 you were going to spend on my birthday gift and donate it to the World Partnership Walk. 100% of the funds you give will go directly to international development programmes managed by Aga Khan Foundation Canada that empower local communities to help themselves through cross-cutting projects like ensuring clean water and sanitation, strengthening rural economies, and educating new generations of girls and women.

Please, for my 1/4 century birthday celebration, give me hope. Hope for a better future for our brothers and sisters around the world, hope to inspire us to keep working to eradicate poverty, and hope for humanity. It's easy to give - you can do it online right now by clicking here.

As you know, hope is a dangerous thing. Let's start a social movement by helping some of the poorest people in the world. Let us be the leaders of the change we want to see in the world, for once, and let's see how far this spark of hope can go.

Thank you :)

It's that time of the year again...

... Birthday time, that is!

Sure, my birthday is still 14 days away, but that hasn't prevented people from asking me what I want.

Now, usually, I come up with a list for holidays and my birthday, but in recent years, I've found that I want less stuff. Either that, or the things that I actually want are very expensive. Most of the time, I'd like to receive immaterial presents like happiness or stability. Of course, you can't buy happiness - although I do truly believe that having a decent amount of money definitely helps... after all, how can you be happy if you can't feed yourself? - so my standard list is basically an Amazon wish list spin-off.

This year, once again, I'm stuck with the same problem. Except this time, I have a solution.

The one item on my birthday list this year is a 4x8 Centennial Plaza brick. Yes, a $200 brick.

Ever since I heard these were available, I've wanted one. I know it's not the best use of money, but it's an emotional decision. (Yes, I also understand that it's a brilliant marketing plan to make fans/taxpayers pay for the beautification of the "plaza" in front of the Lucien-L'allier train station).

But anyway. Here's the plan. If 10 of my friends want to get me $20 gifts... that would pay for the brick. I'm not a 100% sure, but I think I just might have 10 friends who would like to get me something for my birthday. Then again, I might only have 2 friends who think I'm gift worthy, and then they'd each have to spend $100 for this plan to work. Hmmmm...

I'm not vain; I know a lot of people can't afford gifts even if they'd like to give them. So even if the few gifts I do get end up paying for a portion of the brick, I'd be the happiest girl in the world! It's not that I can't afford one... I just think it would be so much more significant if my friends gave me this brick because it would have a double meaning and therefore be extremely symbolic.

So if you feel like participating in this historic gift idea... simply call (514) 925-5656 ext 8 and get me a Centennial Plaza Brick gift certificate!

PS: Thank you.

A simple birthday wish

A friend of mine posted this on her blog when she realized that an e-mail she had received was not junk mail, but instead, a simple birthday wish.

There is a 7 year old boy who lives in Lancaster, ON (Near the Quebec border) His name is Shane Bernier and he has lymphoblastic leukemia. He turns 8 on May 30th and his wish for his birthday is to break the world record for the most birthday cards. To do so, he must collect more than 3.5 milliion cards!!
Lets help....
His address is:
Shane Bernier
Box 484
Lancaster, ON
K0C 1N0

I encourage everyone to send this little kid a birthday card... Even if it only has 2 words in it.