When: September 27

Where: Air Canada Centre

Who: 18,000 youth, educators and friends

Why: To inspire and celebrate the youth movement for global change

Join the movement: 'Like' We Day on Facebook. 1 like = $1.www.facebook.com/weday

Youth leading global change is the movement of our time.

We Day is the manifestation of this movement.

On Tuesday, September 27th, myself and others from my school attended WE DAY at the Air Canada Centre. It was an amazing experience and I was able to hear some amazing speakers, tell us stories about their experiences and what inspired them. There are other WE DAY events in other parts of Canada, so if you have the opportunity, I highly recommend you attend! 

Above: The speakers and other guest stars that we saw were Craig and Marc Kielburger, who founded Free The Children in 1995, which is the organization that runs WE DAY and many other amazing events! Also, Nelly Furtado, who generously donated $1, 000, 000 to Free The Children, and touched everyones heart with her story, especially when Susan came on stage to thank Nelly.

Above: Spencer West, who is in the simplest of terms, inspirational and fantastic, and wish him luck in climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in June 2012; which is his biggest challenge yet!  

"As a kid, every time I went out, whether to the grocery story or a restaurant, people would point and whisper, "Where's that guy's body? Where's his legs? He looks crazy!

Nobody even asked me my name first. People were seeing my disability, instead of me. So I changed my story a bit. When asked, "Where are your legs?" I would say, "I left them in my other pants" or "I was swimming in the ocean and this shark swam up and BIT THEM RIGHT OFF!" If I could get them to laugh, people were forced to see me as a person.

But humour didn't always help me get noticed. Especially in high school when all of the guys started to play sports. I knew I couldn't play football or basketball, so I did what most guys do when they can't play these sports, I became a cheerleader! As a cheerleader I was known for my cartwheels, but they were not much help after high school. Or so I thought.

I was struggling to find my way when I was encouraged to go to Kenya with Me to We to build a school. Upon my arrival I was surrounded by swarms of school kids, who bombarded me with questions about my life. A little girl raised her hand and said, "I didn't know this sort of thing happened to white people, too."

Suddenly, I understood that instead of trying to be like everyone I was different for a reason. I was different because I needed to show others that it doesn't matter what your abilities are or where you come from in the world. If you work hard, never give up and laugh a lot, you can achieve anything. Now, as a motivational speaker for Me to We, I've spoken to audiences around the world about courage, shark attacks and making a difference. I've even showed off my cartwheels. Changing the world one cartwheel at a time!"

Other special guests who attended this incredible event were Joe Jonas, City and Colour, Rick Hansen, Nikki Yanofsky, Mary Robinson, Dalton McGuinty, Danny Glover, Dr. Patch Adams, Classified, Kardinal Offishall, Kenyan Boys Choir, Neverest, Shawn Desman, Munro Chambers, Alslinn Paul and more guests. 

DID YOU EVER LOOK AT A PICTURE OF YOURSELF AND SEE A STRANGER IN THE BACKGROUND?

IT MAKES YOU WONDER HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE PICTURES OF YOU,

HOW MANY MOMENTS OF OTHER PEOPLES' LIVES WE'VE BEEN IN.

WERE WE PART OF SOMEONE'S LIFE WHEN THEIR DREAM CAME TRUE,

OR WERE WE THERE WHEN THEIR DREAMS DIED?

DID WE KEEP TRYING TO GET IN, AS IF WE WERE SOMEHOW DESTINED TO BE THERE?

OR DID THE SHOT TAKE US BY SURPRISE?

JUST THINK, YOU COULD BE A BIG PART OF SOMEONE ELSE'S LIFE, AND NOT EVEN KNOW IT.

We shall never forget
We shall keep this day,
We shall keep the events and the tears
In our minds, our memory and our hearts
and take them with us as we carry on.

Whether it caused the fatal end of one person, 

or three thousand people... 

The tragic events and actions that occurred that day, 

were both cowardly by the hijackers 

and heroic by all those who helped at the World Trade Centre.

Thank you God for giving us these people who were kind, 

noble and brave enough to face the dangers, 

and darkness of that day, which most of us will never forget.

♥♥♥

If someone calls themselves a child of God, 

yet still have the indecency to say something so hateful, 

they do not know the meaning of brother or sister.

We are all together, serving as God's children.

To go against any one of His children,

based on the colour of the skin God gave him, 

is to directly disrespect the work God has created.

To go against any one of His children, 

based on the colour of the skin God gave him, 

is to show your cowardice and the way you see society.

To go against any one of His children, 

based on the colour of the skin God gave him, 

is to confess that your morals are weak, and you are unable to stand.

Martin Luther King Jr., I and so many others...

We all have the same dream, and expect others to open their eyes, 

and succumb to the truth of the tragedy caused in the past, 

and the truth of the tragedy that still continues to this day...

Dream Variations by Langston Hughes

To fling my arms wide
In some place of the sun,
To whirl and to dance
Till the white day is done.
Then rest at cool evening
Beneath a tall tree
While night comes on gently,
Dark like me-
That is my dream!

To fling my arms wide
In the face of the sun,
Dance! Whirl! Whirl!
Till the quick day is done.
Rest at pale evening...
A tall, slim tree...
Night coming tenderly
Black like me.

Music is the mediator between the spiritual 

and the sensual life.  -Ludwig van Beethoven

www.freehugscampaign.org/

"Ring around the Rosy

Pocket full of Posy

Ashes, Ashes,

We all Fall Down"

http://www.scaryplace.com/ringaround.html

How can you be FOR killing someone who never 

had the chance to live but AGAINST grown men 

and women WILLINGLY fighting for their country?

The destruction of life should not be defined 

as the sole act of harming those around you, 

but also those who are inside of you.     

Yours Truly; your pro-life advocate... 

Everyone you know now, was once a stranger... 

The Egg

Author’s Note: I wrote this some time ago and posted it here. Later on, someone posted the entirety of the text to 4chan without my name, and then reddit posted an image of that page. Somewhere along the way the authorship got lost in the shuffle. So to be clear: Yes, I wrote this. No, it’s not a repost from somewhere else. This page is the original source.

The Egg

By: Andy Weir

You were on your way home when you died.

It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.

And that’s when you met me.

“What… what happened?” You asked. “Where am I?”

“You died,” I said, matter-of-factly. No point in mincing words.

“There was a… a truck and it was skidding…”

“Yup,” I said.

“I… I died?”

“Yup. But don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies,” I said.

You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me. “What is this place?” You asked. “Is this the afterlife?”

“More or less,” I said.

“Are you god?” You asked.

“Yup,” I replied. “I’m God.”

“My kids… my wife,” you said.

“What about them?”

“Will they be all right?”

“That’s what I like to see,” I said. “You just died and your main concern is for your family. That’s good stuff right there.”

You looked at me with fascination. To you, I didn’t look like God. I just looked like some man. Or possibly a woman. Some vague authority figure, maybe. More of a grammar school teacher than the almighty.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “They’ll be fine. Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way. They didn’t have time to grow contempt for you. Your wife will cry on the outside, but will be secretly relieved. To be fair, your marriage was falling apart. If it’s any consolation, she’ll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.”

“Oh,” you said. “So what happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?”

“Neither,” I said. “You’ll be reincarnated.”

“Ah,” you said. “So the Hindus were right,”

“All religions are right in their own way,” I said. “Walk with me.”

You followed along as we strode through the void. “Where are we going?”

“Nowhere in particular,” I said. “It’s just nice to walk while we talk.”

“So what’s the point, then?” You asked. “When I get reborn, I’ll just be a blank slate, right? A baby. So all my experiences and everything I did in this life won’t matter.”

“Not so!” I said. “You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives. You just don’t remember them right now.”

I stopped walking and took you by the shoulders. “Your soul is more magnificent, beautiful, and gigantic than you can possibly imagine. A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are. It’s like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if it’s hot or cold. You put a tiny part of yourself into the vessel, and when you bring it back out, you’ve gained all the experiences it had.

“You’ve been in a human for the last 48 years, so you haven’t stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness. If we hung out here for long enough, you’d start remembering everything. But there’s no point to doing that between each life.”

“How many times have I been reincarnated, then?”

“Oh lots. Lots and lots. An in to lots of different lives.” I said. “This time around, you’ll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD.”

“Wait, what?” You stammered. “You’re sending me back in time?”

“Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe. Things are different where I come from.”

“Where you come from?” You said.

“Oh sure,” I explained “I come from somewhere. Somewhere else. And there are others like me. I know you’ll want to know what it’s like there, but honestly you wouldn’t understand.”

“Oh,” you said, a little let down. “But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point.”

“Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don’t even know it’s happening.”

“So what’s the point of it all?”

“Seriously?” I asked. “Seriously? You’re asking me for the meaning of life? Isn’t that a little stereotypical?”

“Well it’s a reasonable question,” you persisted.

I looked you in the eye. “The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.”

“You mean mankind? You want us to mature?”

“No, just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect.”

“Just me? What about everyone else?”

“There is no one else,” I said. “In this universe, there’s just you and me.”

You stared blankly at me. “But all the people on earth…”

“All you. Different incarnations of you.”

“Wait. I’m everyone!?”

“Now you’re getting it,” I said, with a congratulatory slap on the back.

“I’m every human being who ever lived?”

“Or who will ever live, yes.”

“I’m Abraham Lincoln?”

“And you’re John Wilkes Booth, too,” I added.

“I’m Hitler?” You said, appalled.

“And you’re the millions he killed.”

“I’m Jesus?”

“And you’re everyone who followed him.”

You fell silent.

“Every time you victimized someone,” I said, “you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.”

You thought for a long time.

“Why?” You asked me. “Why do all this?”

“Because someday, you will become like me. Because that’s what you are. You’re one of my kind. You’re my child.”

“Whoa,” you said, incredulous. “You mean I’m a god?”

“No. Not yet. You’re a fetus. You’re still growing. Once you’ve lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born.”

“So the whole universe,” you said, “it’s just…”

“An egg.” I answered. “Now it’s time for you to move on to your next life.”

And I sent you on your way.

 http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2Y71nX/www.galactanet.com/oneoff/theegg.html

I may be too innocent to know what love is. 

I may not show you love the way it should be shown, 

but I'm always willing to love you the way 

I understand it and the only way I know how.

I am positive that she isn't the only one..

There are so many who feel the absence. 

There may not even be the weight of transcendence

If she could only feel his protection in love, 

She would not give power to her doubt.

She just sits and yearns for unity,

 But instead watches the cruelty, 

In which that she sees grows smaller and smaller. 

There, walks a void, a jealousy,

The life she sees in others, 

She wishes for her own fate, 

But as she sees clarity, her wishful thinking

Has not been destined for her community...

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one 

John Lennon (R.I.P. 1940-1980)

People feed on tragedy.. they find that it is the indication that the world is not completely falling apart. Ironic, isn't it? Well, they don't believe it's normal if the world is at peace, because they've gotten so used to  the tragedies that occur every day. For example, today's breaking news was an 8.9 earthquake in Japan with a possible aftershock and tsunami warning in British Columbia. It's been on the news all day. Back in the day, there would have been more sympathy for these people. I did have sympathy, but it wasn't unexpected.. Hopefully, soon, the world will one day find these tragedies alarming and will wish for their regular daily peace. What a wonderful world..


In remembrance for those who have died in this natural disaster... I hope Japan and its people will find their way and recover from this earthquake... Let us come together to help Japan..

"God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them."

-- Bono, U2

"I am my brother's keeper
This phrase we've heard before
It means to me that I'm connected
To everyone who does or does not pass through my door
Yes, it is very clear to me
And totally understood
That to my friends and family
Our sense of responsibility is good
But what about the others
Who live and work around me
Do I ignore their pain and sorrow
Because they are not in my 'family?'
I'm reminded of another phrase
Popular in my teenage years
We are all a 'Family of Man'
All connected by blood and tears
Fighting hunger and poverty
Struggling for clean air and good health
These are woven common threads
In our varied tapestry of wealth
We need to work together
As a nation of people who believe
That responsibility for a better life
Is a goal we can all achieve
For when we help our brothers
Here at home and across the sea
Ultimately what we create
Is a better world for you and me."

--Felicia Arnold