Saturday, October 31, 2009
ALIF-The Motivation
by: Nasir Al-Amin
*Adam is one of the children ALIF works with in Ethiopia. In this video, he takes us on a quick walk to his home. Adam is one of the millions of vulnerable children living in Ethiopia. And like so many, his strength of his spirit is a source of motivation.
Together we can create viable opportunities for impoverished women and children!
Join ALIF it’s mission of service:
www.ALIF.us
www.OVCS.blogspot.com
*Not his real name.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Life & Control...
Source: www.YogaJournal.com
"Life doesn't give you breathing room, but if you stop grasping for control of the uncontrollable, you can learn to breathe through it all." (Chris Colin)
Friday, October 23, 2009
ALIF-Maladjusted
By: Nasir Al-Amin
"There are some things in our social system to which I am proud to be maladjusted to and to which I suggest that you too ought to be maladjusted." -MLK
This is the home of a impoverished family in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. ALIF works with the family and on this day we went to conduct an interview, yet the home is located next to the toilet for that neighborhood. The small permeated this home and that of the surrounding homes. We were unable to facilitate the interview at the home, as the smell was unbearable. This was one of many concerns for this family.
Together we can create viable opportunities for impoverished women and children!
Join ALIF in this mission:
www.ALIF.us
www.OVCS.blogspot.com
This is the home of a impoverished family in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. ALIF works with the family and on this day we went to conduct an interview, yet the home is located next to the toilet for that neighborhood. The small permeated this home and that of the surrounding homes. We were unable to facilitate the interview at the home, as the smell was unbearable. This was one of many concerns for this family.
Together we can create viable opportunities for impoverished women and children!
Join ALIF in this mission:
www.ALIF.us
www.OVCS.blogspot.com
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Living a Life of Purpose: What's in your hand?
“What’s in your hand? What do you have that you’ve been given talent, background, education, freedom, networks, opportunities, wealth, ideas, creativity. What are you doing with what you have been given. That to me is the primary question about life. That to me is what it means to be purpose driven.” –Rick Warren
Monday, October 19, 2009
Secret of Happiness...
"The secret to happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never forget the drops of oil on the spoon." -Paulo Coelho
Friday, October 09, 2009
Monday, October 05, 2009
The Spirit of the Warrior
Although we have been made to believe that if we let go we will end up with nothing, life itself reveals again and again that opposite: That letting go is the path to real freedom.
Just as when the waves lash at the shore, the rocks suffer no damage, but are sculpted and eroded into beautiful shapes so to our character can be molded and our rough edges worn smooth by changes.
Through weathering changes can we learn how to develop a gentle but unshakable composure. Our confidence in ourselves grows and becomes so much greater that goodness and compassion begin naturally to radiate out from us and bring joy to others. That goodness is what survives death, a fundamental goodness that is in every one of us. The whole of our life is a teaching of how to uncover that strong goodness, and a training towards realizing it.
(Tibetan book of Living and Dying)
Just as when the waves lash at the shore, the rocks suffer no damage, but are sculpted and eroded into beautiful shapes so to our character can be molded and our rough edges worn smooth by changes.
Through weathering changes can we learn how to develop a gentle but unshakable composure. Our confidence in ourselves grows and becomes so much greater that goodness and compassion begin naturally to radiate out from us and bring joy to others. That goodness is what survives death, a fundamental goodness that is in every one of us. The whole of our life is a teaching of how to uncover that strong goodness, and a training towards realizing it.
(Tibetan book of Living and Dying)
Sunday, October 04, 2009
ISNA Presentation: Bringing Success to Our World
Presentation by: Nasir Al-Amin
This video is from the ISNA session: Bringing Success to Our World. My presentation was entitled, "Your Legacy: A Life of Service," in which I attempted to make the connection between success and service. That those historical giants that we respect left a legacy of success through service to humanity.
Q & A After ISNA Session: "Bringing Success to Our World"
Presentation by: Nasir Al-Amin
This video is from the Question and Answer segment of the session: Bringing Success to Our World. My presentation was entitled, "Your Legacy: A Life of Service," in which I attempted to make the connection between success and service. That those historical giants that we respect left a legacy of success through service to humanity.
School Supplies and Clothes Collected for Our Children!
Pictures by: Nasir Al-AminA few of the teachers approached me about collecting items students left in their lockers or laying around the school after the last day of school. We were able to fill 26 boxes of items (clothes and school supplies) to send to our children in Ethiopia. Their is over $800 worth of items collected!!! The entire wall of my office is filled with boxes, almost to the ceiling. The teachers and I will be going as a group in November of 2009 to deliver all these items to the children.
Click here to view more photos of collected items for children in Ethiopia on Facebook!
Light Within-(Ethiopia) Day 5
Picture by: Nasir Al-AminLocation: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Click here to view more photos on Facebook from Day 5!
Light Within-(Ethiopia) Day 4
Pictures by: Nasir Al-AminLocation: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Click here to see more pictures from Day 4 on Facebook!
Light Within-(Ethiopia) Day 3
Pictures By: Nasir Al-AminLocation: Addis Ababa Ethiopia
Click here to see more photos from Day 3 on Facebook!
Friday, October 02, 2009
Light Within-(Ethiopia) Day 2
Pictures by: Nasir Al-AminLocation: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Click here to see more photos from Day 2 on Facebook!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Light Within (Ethiopia)- Day 1
Pictures by: Nasir Al-Amin
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia"It is not just in some; it is in everyone. And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others." (Our Deepest Fear)
Click here to see more photos from Day 1 on Facebook!
Leaving for Ethiopia: Cleansing the Lens of the Soul!
By: Nasir Al-Amin*This blog entry was orignially posted on April 28, 2009. It is being reposted as the following blog entries will contain pictures and reflections from this journey.
Tonight, I have a redeye flight to Ethiopia. My journeys to Ethiopia always have a dual agenda/reality attached to them. Outwardly, my journeys are work related. Inwardly, they are transformative, therapy for soul, a stimulus to refocus. Thus, the outward and inward aims of this trip are the following:
1) Yousef: One of the orphans we work with has been in the hospital for a month. Previously he was diagnosed with HIV+ and I have been informed that his body has adjusted to his medication, and thus stopped working effectively. I hear he is in critical condition, so my main aim is to check on him.
3) Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs): In partnership with HAPSCO, an NGO based in Ethiopia, ALIF provides monetary assistance for school fees, food, and housing to impoverished and/or HIV/AIDS infected children that have lost one or both parents.
4) Donated School Supplies: A Kuwaiti volunteer, Noura,
5) Listen, Observe and Reflect: My first trip to Ethiopia in 2002 fostered a paradigm shift, in that the way I viewed the world and my role in it changed significantly. Each subsequent trip has helped to cleanse the lens through which I perceive, understand and process life experiences and the realities of others. The poor and marginalized have given me something priceless: "the gift of perspective."
1) Yousef: One of the orphans we work with has been in the hospital for a month. Previously he was diagnosed with HIV+ and I have been informed that his body has adjusted to his medication, and thus stopped working effectively. I hear he is in critical condition, so my main aim is to check on him.
2) Commercial Sex Workers (CSW): Last year we launched a project to provide skill training (sewing and tailoring) to 10 women engaged in CSW. I'm going to follow-up with them the about skills they have gained and their life post-intervention.
3) Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs): In partnership with HAPSCO, an NGO based in Ethiopia, ALIF provides monetary assistance for school fees, food, and housing to impoverished and/or HIV/AIDS infected children that have lost one or both parents.
4) Donated School Supplies: A Kuwaiti volunteer, Noura,
donated school supplies for the children we serve. Therefore, I will have the pleasure to see their smiles as I give them the supplies.
5) Listen, Observe and Reflect: My first trip to Ethiopia in 2002 fostered a paradigm shift, in that the way I viewed the world and my role in it changed significantly. Each subsequent trip has helped to cleanse the lens through which I perceive, understand and process life experiences and the realities of others. The poor and marginalized have given me something priceless: "the gift of perspective."
"Where we direct our attention, is where our life flows"
Source: Seven Spiritual Laws of Success
"Life is a force flowing through us. Where we direct our attention, is where our life flows. Every moment is an opportunity to direct our attention to ideas that inspire us. Every day brings the promise of a new beggening, and the opportunity to transform every life challenge into a gift."
"Life is a force flowing through us. Where we direct our attention, is where our life flows. Every moment is an opportunity to direct our attention to ideas that inspire us. Every day brings the promise of a new beggening, and the opportunity to transform every life challenge into a gift."
The Power of Compassion
By: Dalai Lama
Source: The Middle Way (text)
"I respect the world’s political leaders, but sometimes I think they should have more compassion. If even one of these political leaders cultivates more compassion, then millions of innocent people get more peace. "
"I respect the world’s political leaders, but sometimes I think they should have more compassion. If even one of these political leaders cultivates more compassion, then millions of innocent people get more peace. "
The following are direct quotes from the text:
I often tell audiences that the twentieth century was a century of violence, and through that experience we now know that violence cannot solve problems. The only way to solve them is with peaceful resolution. Therefore, the twenty-first century should be the century of dialogue. For that, we need determination, patience, and a broader perspective. Again, this is where compassion has an important role. First, as I mentioned, it brings us self-confidence. Compassion brings us deep recognition of others’ rights. Compassion also gives us a calm mind, and with a calm mind, we can see reality more clearly. When our mind is dominated by afflictive emotions, we can’t see reality, and we make poor decisions. Compassion gives us a more holistic view.
I respect the world’s political leaders, but sometimes I think they should have more compassion. If even one of these political leaders cultivates more compassion, then millions of innocent people get more peace. Many years ago, at an official function in India, I met a politician from the Indian state of East Bengal. The meeting included a discussion of ethics and spirituality, and he said, “As a politician I don’t know much about those things.” He was probably just being humble, but I gently chided him. Politicians need more ethics, more spirituality, I said. If a religious practitioner in a remote area does something harmful, it probably doesn’t have much global effect. But when leaders and politicians are not mindful and compassionate, it is very dangerous.
I believe compassion is not a religious matter. Some people think compassion and forgiveness are the domains of religion, and if people have a negative view of religion they may become negative about these things as well. That’s a mistake. Whether we accept a religion or not is up to the individual, but as long as humanity inhabits this world, these deeper values are crucial and must not be neglected. Everybody is making every effort for material prosperity. That’s fine, but if in the meantime we neglect our inner world or inner values, we will not be happy. We must combine material development with the development of internal, human values. We need to develop respect, love, and a sense of compassion in order to have happier lives, happier families, happier communities, and finally a happier world. We need these inner qualities.
I often tell audiences that the twentieth century was a century of violence, and through that experience we now know that violence cannot solve problems. The only way to solve them is with peaceful resolution. Therefore, the twenty-first century should be the century of dialogue. For that, we need determination, patience, and a broader perspective. Again, this is where compassion has an important role. First, as I mentioned, it brings us self-confidence. Compassion brings us deep recognition of others’ rights. Compassion also gives us a calm mind, and with a calm mind, we can see reality more clearly. When our mind is dominated by afflictive emotions, we can’t see reality, and we make poor decisions. Compassion gives us a more holistic view.
I respect the world’s political leaders, but sometimes I think they should have more compassion. If even one of these political leaders cultivates more compassion, then millions of innocent people get more peace. Many years ago, at an official function in India, I met a politician from the Indian state of East Bengal. The meeting included a discussion of ethics and spirituality, and he said, “As a politician I don’t know much about those things.” He was probably just being humble, but I gently chided him. Politicians need more ethics, more spirituality, I said. If a religious practitioner in a remote area does something harmful, it probably doesn’t have much global effect. But when leaders and politicians are not mindful and compassionate, it is very dangerous.
I believe compassion is not a religious matter. Some people think compassion and forgiveness are the domains of religion, and if people have a negative view of religion they may become negative about these things as well. That’s a mistake. Whether we accept a religion or not is up to the individual, but as long as humanity inhabits this world, these deeper values are crucial and must not be neglected. Everybody is making every effort for material prosperity. That’s fine, but if in the meantime we neglect our inner world or inner values, we will not be happy. We must combine material development with the development of internal, human values. We need to develop respect, love, and a sense of compassion in order to have happier lives, happier families, happier communities, and finally a happier world. We need these inner qualities.
Click here to read the full selection!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Distance Doesn't Matter Only the First Step...
Source: http://www.lessonsoftheday.blogspot.com/
"We must not.....ignore the small daily differences we can make which, overtime, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee. The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones. A terrace nine stories high begins with a pile of earth. The distance doesn't matter only the first step is difficult."
Click here to read this and other reflections.
"We must not.....ignore the small daily differences we can make which, overtime, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee. The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones. A terrace nine stories high begins with a pile of earth. The distance doesn't matter only the first step is difficult."
Click here to read this and other reflections.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Awakening: Ambiguity Fosters Clarity
By: Nasir Al-Amin(This was my first post after returning from a 6 month stay in Ethiopia, it was written on February 18, 2006.)
Ethiopia was a moment of awakening. It brought the numbers to life; the figures (4.6 million orphans, and 200,000 children living on the streets of Addis) became tangible. The words (domestic workers, poverty, commercial sex workers, child labourers, orphans, under-five mortality rate, and beggars) were now faces, individuals that I built relationships with, people I ate and laughed with, people I hugged and lent a shoulder to in moments of sorrow. In essence, my reality had changed. My perspective and/or worldview was altered by the realty of others. The children and their families became the center. My life, rather my life’s purpose was no longer about me. And it was this shift that nurtured a dormant seed of discontent that subsequently, led to a year of isolation, self-reflection and reprioritization.
After I returned to the States, I would often isolate myself (at first unknowingly) from friends (especially my Ethiopian friends) and environments (Ethiopian restaurants and cafés) that at best reminded me of Ethiopia and at worst subjected me to that dreaded question: “How was Ethiopia?” As Ethiopia was no longer this tranquil place, an escape from America’s dominant culture and norms, a bastion of generosity and love, my own little gem, this utopia that the West had not conquered or found. Ethiopia (both figuratively and literally) in all it splendor had changed and I could no longer articulate this new reality. My life experiences, Columbia diction and education could not prepare me for the emotional component of my endeavor. The veil had been removed, and what I saw left me speechless.
What words can speak to the reality of desperate girls walking the streets at night selling their bodies, or a teenage mother and her baby after a day of begging trying to sleep and stay warm on the sidewalk wrapped in tattered and soiled blankets—shockingly, often one sees groups of street children huddled together employing body heat as their sole means of staying warm. How does one express that somber feeling when children run to your vehicle at traffic lights placing their hands and faces on the car window with a dismal gaze begging for food or coins?
Unfortunately, for some Ethiopians living abroad and in Ethiopia, this reality has become normalized and thus they have become desensitized to the destitute and their plight. So much so that when they speak of Ethiopia and/or their trip back to Ethiopia the latter (destitute families and children) are not apart of the discussion—for instance, some will rave over the industrial improvements of Addis (which is laudable), yet fail to recognize that the conditions that give rise to street children, prostitution, child labour and exploitation have failed to improve. How do I reconcile these two worlds? How do I express to people that their $5-$10 dollar a week Starbucks addiction could change the life of a child begging on the streets of Addis, as this same amount of money could take a child from the streets into the classroom, and secure food, a school uniform and supplies. How do I convey to people that the cost of dinning out two nights a week if collected at the end of one month, could prevent an uneducated and desperate girl from resorting to prostitution for a year.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Ethiopia was a moment of awakening. It brought the numbers to life; the figures (4.6 million orphans, and 200,000 children living on the streets of Addis) became tangible. The words (domestic workers, poverty, commercial sex workers, child labourers, orphans, under-five mortality rate, and beggars) were now faces, individuals that I built relationships with, people I ate and laughed with, people I hugged and lent a shoulder to in moments of sorrow. In essence, my reality had changed. My perspective and/or worldview was altered by the realty of others. The children and their families became the center. My life, rather my life’s purpose was no longer about me. And it was this shift that nurtured a dormant seed of discontent that subsequently, led to a year of isolation, self-reflection and reprioritization.
After I returned to the States, I would often isolate myself (at first unknowingly) from friends (especially my Ethiopian friends) and environments (Ethiopian restaurants and cafés) that at best reminded me of Ethiopia and at worst subjected me to that dreaded question: “How was Ethiopia?” As Ethiopia was no longer this tranquil place, an escape from America’s dominant culture and norms, a bastion of generosity and love, my own little gem, this utopia that the West had not conquered or found. Ethiopia (both figuratively and literally) in all it splendor had changed and I could no longer articulate this new reality. My life experiences, Columbia diction and education could not prepare me for the emotional component of my endeavor. The veil had been removed, and what I saw left me speechless.
What words can speak to the reality of desperate girls walking the streets at night selling their bodies, or a teenage mother and her baby after a day of begging trying to sleep and stay warm on the sidewalk wrapped in tattered and soiled blankets—shockingly, often one sees groups of street children huddled together employing body heat as their sole means of staying warm. How does one express that somber feeling when children run to your vehicle at traffic lights placing their hands and faces on the car window with a dismal gaze begging for food or coins?
Unfortunately, for some Ethiopians living abroad and in Ethiopia, this reality has become normalized and thus they have become desensitized to the destitute and their plight. So much so that when they speak of Ethiopia and/or their trip back to Ethiopia the latter (destitute families and children) are not apart of the discussion—for instance, some will rave over the industrial improvements of Addis (which is laudable), yet fail to recognize that the conditions that give rise to street children, prostitution, child labour and exploitation have failed to improve. How do I reconcile these two worlds? How do I express to people that their $5-$10 dollar a week Starbucks addiction could change the life of a child begging on the streets of Addis, as this same amount of money could take a child from the streets into the classroom, and secure food, a school uniform and supplies. How do I convey to people that the cost of dinning out two nights a week if collected at the end of one month, could prevent an uneducated and desperate girl from resorting to prostitution for a year.
TO BE CONTINUED…
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