The Dalai Lama, Richard Moore & Mary Robinson gathered with many others in Citywest last Wednesday 13th April to talk about being the Revolution of Change. The Revolution is the idea that ‘ordinary people’, like you and me, ‘dare to think differently & take action to create the extraordinary’.
Everyone was present to support ideas about our individual & global responsibility for the challenges facing Ireland and the world.
Richard Moore, a friend of the Dalai Lama and founder of Children in Crossfire, was 10 years old when he was blinded by a plastic bullet shot at point blank range in Northern Ireland. Unbelievably, he never once allowed bitterness to impede his development or enjoyment of life. He is a man full of humour and an inspiration to everyone that listens to him. He believes that being bitter and allowing hatred to manifest only really harms the self & limits ones’ own possibilities in life.
When speaking about possibilities for people, he focused on family & community. He believes he has had a great life so far despite such tragedy for a 10 year old, because of his family & community. He advocates that primary focus on the care and nurturing of the family will lead to a more cherished & rich community. Starting with ourselves, we need to look inside for our inner strength. This is the key for helping us to forgive those that hurt us and to hold no grudges against them. Such negative feelings, when harboured just leads to increased fears and poor health. The Dalai Lama agreed saying that some research shows fear actually eats away at our immune system!
When asked about our individual responsibility & potential to contribute to change (locally & globally) the Dalia Lama promoted determination, self confidence and hard-work. He cautioned however that while human intelligence is a great thing, it can be very destructive and lead to increased stress, fear and disaster. We should focus on having a calm mind to promote health, reduce fears and to allow compassion. His formula for constructive inner peace & strength was human intelligence + compassion!
People lacking compassion – those who are all about the “I, my or me” are at greater risk of heart attack. This self-centred attitude leads to a narrow mind, and narrow minds make mountains out of molehills! Without compassion you cannot see the whole picture and this restricts possibilities, opportunity and choices.
All in all I found the day very interesting. It allowed time and space for reflection (which we don’t get to do very often!).
We all have been through some tough times and it is refreshing to think that if we take our mind off the problems and focus on the solutions, we can make a change! We can be the revolution if we dig deep and rekindle our inner strengths. It’s a good place to start!
