To wish upon an eyelash

A couple of days ago I found an eyelash upon the cheek of a 7 year old little boy, I told him to trust me and carefully put it on to my finger and told him to blow it off while making a wish.  He at first just looked at me as if I was mad then he asked me the famous why.  I told him that it is a tradition and that eyelashes found on cheeks are both very rare and very lucky, that if he makes a wish while he blows the eyelash off my finger the Universe hears it and will try make it come true.

He didn’t really understand, was petrified of blowing it off my finger wrong and when it came time to make the wish he squeesed his eye really tightly shut and said it out loud in a gush as if he was scared he would run out of time.  He then asked me about others who have had the same opportunity to wish upon a fallen eyelash and I told him the story of the little boy in the orphanage.

He was a little boy, small for his age and an orphan.  This little boy had never had the opportunity of knowing his mama or papa, all he knew were the other kids in the orphanage and the minders that looked and watched over him.  One day while out playing in the garden a plane flew over and he was fascinated.  As it flew over his head and the drone of its engines roared he fell in love with them, as he lay in bed each night he would dream of going on one and seeing one in real life.

A few days later one of the minders was checking his hair and found a little eyelash lying on his cheek.  She went through the same process as I and asked the little boy to make a wish, he wished to go on a plane, a jet plane with big engines just like the one that flew over his head.  This little boy hadn’t had much hope in his life and as time went on he was scared that he would be let down again, that the universe had not heard him, or worse yet, didn’t care.

Two months slowly passed and as time moved forward the little boy started to lose hope of his wish ever coming true, each day he would speak to the universe and remind him of his wish and look out for more planes in the sky above.  He carried on as normal, played, laughed, survived… till one day upon his pillow lay an envelope and it was addressed to him!

Tentativly he openned the envelope and inside he found a note from the Universe saying “Your wish has come true, this saturday you are going to go on a big BIG plane and sit with the pilots up front as they fly to Johannesburg and back”, the note was signed “With lots of love, The Universe”.

The little boy’s wish had come true and he couldn’t believe it! The universe heard him! The universe loved him! Finally something was going right for the little boy and he had a little bit more belief that sometimes in life things do happen as we want them to.

What the little boy, or my 7 year old for that matter, do not know is that the minder who found his eyelash and told him to wish had gone off after hearing his wish and called everyone she knew and told them about what happened.  She spoke to people and got them to speak to others collecting money donations asking them to spread the word about the little boys wish to fly.  The news reached the ears of a pilot working for SAA and he spoke to his boss, upon hearing the story the big boss agreed with the pilot that the little kid deserved a break and organised a VIP trip, cockpit seats and a special tour of the plane before anyone got on board.

Sometimes the Universe does answer our wishes, “it” just does so through the people in our lives.

My 7 year old made comments about the universe not hearing, about how the universe isn’t going to answer his wish and I could see the fear in his little blue eyes.  Tonight I decided that the universe needed to write a little note and tell him that he was working on his wish but in the mean time he stole an egg from the Easter Bunnies secret stash and not to tell the Easter bunny about it either.

His face was more than pure joy, his happiness ran deep and I hope that through this he will learn that sometimes wishes do come true, sometimes they take longer than we expect, sometimes we get something similar or different but none the less good for us and perhaps even better than what we had wished for.

Being an Ordinary Superhero

It’s a hard life being a Superhero don’t you think? I mean you get up out of bed, put your special gear on, decide whether to put your underwear under your clothes or above, brush your sparklies in your mouth and hopefully your hairballs, don some funky kick ass shoes and start your day.

You either walk or jump in your car mobile that is painted in your superhero colour scheme and off you go to work or to school.  Once there you interact with a wide variety of people, some that require superhero levels of patience, some that need guidance from your wisdom bank and perhaps others that step on your newly polished shine in the dark feet.

You finish your day by another trip in the car mobile or leg mobile and head homeward.  Homeward you extract the Superhero “day clothes” and don the Superhero “Evening garb”, prepare some superhero food and perhaps enjoy some specially fermented grape juice.

Bed time arrives and you once again brush your sparkly whites, don another set of superhero bed clothes and head to dreamlands of your choosing.

The normal day by most standards, add in a few kids here and there for those Superhero’s who have reproduced or found themselves with sample superhero’s and voila you got your day.

What makes the ordinary Superhero a Superhero?

The stuff in between that is so natural as all of the other stuff that it doesn’t even feature in a mentionable, its ordinary and normal for them and more often than not goes unnoticed.

Walking outside ready for the day the Superhero see’s a hurt or sick animal and goes to it, tries to help it, feed it if it needs feeding and keeps it warm.  The Superhero tries to heal it if it can, it doesn’t really stop till it knows it can’t do anymore for the animal in its care.

On the walk to the office or school the Superhero see’s a child or person trip and fall down.  The Superhero doesn’t just walk past and act like he or she never saw it, they are the ones that stop and help them up, brush off their knees if the situation requires and makes sure that they are ok before continuing.

During the day they come into contact with someone that seems to be having a bad day, the Superhero stops what they are doing and tries to change that persons life just for a few moments by spreading a bit of light.  Sometimes the Superhero is successful, sometimes not, but he or she tries anyway in the hope that they will make a slight difference.

On the way back home the Superhero eats the sandwich he or she forgot to eat for lunch, as he or she walks down the road they see a poor person sitting on the side of the road eating out of a plastic bag that looks like its original destination was the garbage can they sit next to.  The Superhero bends down and gives the person the other half of his/her sandwich smiles and walks on smiling.

As the Superhero goes about his/her day they don’t really think about all their Superhero duties that they accomplished or did, they don’t think to tell the first person they meet or greet, they smile internally knowing that they tried to help another living thing and that is enough for them.

They are the ones that lie in bed at night thinking of ways to help more, they worry about the animals and if they are fine, they worry about the children and the other Superhero’s, they concoct ways to fix things and dream of a world that is different.

A Superhero is ordinary by all accounts, a human with faults and gifts, but a Superhero they are for sure.

Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF

UNICEF ImageHalloween has a mixed bag of reviews.  Some in the world see it as evil and pure pagan, against their God and all they believe in.  Some “celebrate” it just for fun, they get exciting when they start to plan their outfits, bake their cakes, prepare the apples and just in general its excitement in Capitals. Others don’t even know of its existence.

Those others are ten to one kids that have less than one meal a day, lie in shacks, don’t go to school because either there aren’t any around or their parents can’t afford them.  Their clothes are torn and their lives are lived on less than $1 a day.

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Back in 1950 in the city of Philadelphia, USA, a group of school children decided to go door-to-door at Halloween collecting money in decorated milk cartons to help the world’s children.  Those children started a tradition that I hope will never end but rather continue to spread into other festivals, holidays and the likes there of… the tradition of  ‘Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF’ was born.

They raised a grand total of $17, kicking off a campaign that has since brought in more than $188 million to provide medicine, better nutrition, clean water, education, emergency relief and other support to children in more than 160 countries.

Millions of children now participate each year in Halloween-related fund-raising campaigns in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Mexico and Hong Kong.

But in these campaigns, children go far beyond trick or treating in scary costumes with the familiar orange collection boxes in hand. Children and young people take part in various fun and educational events that help them gain a better understanding of child rights and the challenges facing children around the world – including poverty, killer diseases and armed conflict. They help stage events to raise funds and increase awareness about these issues, and in doing so learn that they can help change the world.

Perhaps I am a bit late in telling you about this, perhaps you know of it already… if you want to participate grab a little orange box or or something to collect money in, speak to the school near you.. perhaps they are involved and collecting funds. 

For those that believe Halloween to be bad… lets put the past behind us and take a look at the tradition as it stands today, it’s not of the past, it is of the now.

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In the USA

‘Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF’ is a 53 year “young” education and fundraising initiative that gives U.S. kids, along with their parents and teachers, the opportunity to learn about their peers worldwide who are truly in need and to raise money on their behalf.  

U.S. children have collected $119 million by going door-to-door with the trademark orange collection boxes on Halloween and by planning fundraisers with their school or group. 

Join the USA ‘Trick or Treat for UNICEF’ campaign. 

In Canada

In Canada, the 2003 ‘Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF’ campaign is underway with donation boxes on retail counters, teachers ordering UNICEF boxes and educational materials, and children gearing up for the Halloween collection. 

This year, children and young people will learn about the true story of Selamawit, a girl who, during the Ethiopian famine in the 1980s, told a UNICEF worker that when she grew up she wanted to be “Alive.”

‘Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF’ has been a proud Canadian tradition since 1955. The campaign is recognized by the Government of Canada through the permanent declaration of 31 October as National UNICEF Day.

Join the ‘Trick or Treat for UNICEF’ campaign in Canada.

In Mexico

This year, about 8,000 children from 14 schools in Mexico City and in the states of Morelos and Nayarit will “Trick or Treat for UNICEF,” an initiative now in its fourth year in Mexico and known here as “Ayudando a Niños como Yo” (Helping children like me). 

Participating primary school students collect coins from family members, friends and neighbours to help the UNICEF-supported project “Escuela Amiga” (Child-friendly schools), which seeks to help all Mexican children, without exception, achieve a good-quality education.

“Helping children like me” has a double objective: it raises funds for UNICEF and it raises awareness among children who attend private schools in Mexico about the situation of thousands of children who don’t have the same educational opportunities as they do.

Go to the UNICEF Mexico site.

In Hong Kong

“Trick or Treat for UNICEF” was introduced in Hong Kong in 2001. With the enthusiastic support of children and the general public, $130,000 has been raised for improving the well-being of the neediest children worldwide.  The campaign continues this year, with the hope that “kids helping kids,” by collecting donations instead of candies, can become a tradition in Hong Kong.

Go to the UNICEF Hong Kong site.

[place your politicians name here]

“Its always their fault isn’t it, never ours, no no no, don’t be crazy, how one earth can it be our fault? Come now, don’t be ridiculous, us? NEVER will it be our fault, hell no, get a life, wake up, smell some coffee. It’s not our fault it’s theirs!!!”

“WAIT!”

“What do you mean it is my fault? How dare you even begin to imply that it could be our fault, are you blind? Do you not see what they do? What they are doing to us, our country, our world?”

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“What do you do?”

Silence

“I am serious, What do you do???”

Can you answer that question, pause for a moment and stop pointing those fingers.

Answer the simple question…

What do you do?

It is not such a hard question to ask, perhaps it is a harder one to answer.

I’m not talking about that big monetary donation you made a big fanfare about giving (Hope that tax break was a great one for your bank account).

No, what I am asking is… What have you done to make this place, this country, this world a better place to live in.  Don’t throw that excuse of “I am only one person” and don’t even being to think of trying the “I have nothing to give” excuse. 

Harsh?

We often go through life expecting our governments to do the necessary “dirty” work.  We expect others to fix our homeless problems, our unemployment, our street kids, the pollution, and the state of our world.

Ever put all those spare blankets you have in the cupboard that you never use in the back of the car, the trunk of the car (boot in SA)? I mean what do you do with those extra blankets that lie in your cupboard being eaten by bugs? 

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Right this minute there are millions upon millions of people, kids, sleeping on the streets. They sleep on pavements, on gravel.  They sleep with spiders crawling up their ripped pants, through their holey shoes.  They sleep with no goodnight kiss. They sleep with no warmth of a cozy blanket or a warm meal in their stomachs.

What do you do?

Do you ever find that you have all this food in the back of your cupboard, food that just sits there getting old and stale, food that is probably past its use by date.  Food that could be dropped off at a shelter on the way to work.  Food that could be given to the kid at your car window at the stop street. 

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Why is it that people choose to rather shout at these kids? these people? Why is that people choose to curse them and the government for the problem? The irritation of having them beg, having them ask for something that we take for granted each and every day.

[place your politicians name here]

We go on and on about this politician and that politician, this one will do that, that one will do this.  We get into these big arguments about it.  We curse one another and at times it can turn into a full blooded rage.  Newspapers go on and on about it. It gets heated.

Imagine if we all put the same amount of energy into solving the worlds problems. 

You, Me, Us. 

Can you imagine what we could accomplish?

Can you IMAGINE?

There are ways you can help, things you can do, reach out and touch someone’s life, anyone’s life.  If you don’t or can’t get involved then help someone else help someone.

Stop blaming

Start doing

Have you voted yet?

6 Days Left to Vote

For more information head here or click through the image up top to get voting.  If you cheat by registering a different name don’t tell me.

Update on Voting for a cure..

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