During my recent trip to
Australia, I spent some time fundraising for the Global Seva Challenge to
India. One particular event was held on a rainy Friday night in Melbourne and I
was wondering how many people would venture out to participate in an event led
by someone they didn’t know. My feeling was that any awareness or funds that
were raised were better than doing nothing at all.
One of my new yoga friends
hosting the event, Fiona Hyde, who owns Williamstown Yoga, was also uncertain as
to who would roll up. Our mantra became “let’s just put it out there and see
what happens.” What unfolded was quite a striking evening. I realized as I met
with a small, but committed and curious group of people, that what had begun as
a challenge for me back in February had grown bigger than I could have ever
imagined. Before I committed to trying to raise $20,000 for Off the Mat, Into
the World, I had a deep fear of failing. How would I go about raising this
amount of money? How would I begin to talk about the emotional subject of human
slavery? Did I know enough people to reach what seemed to be an enormous amount
of money and a lofty goal?
As I sat in a candlelit circle,
with a borrowed harmonium in front of me, I was overwhelmed by this feeling of
connection – of how a simple idea of stepping into a place of fear for a cause
bigger than myself, had landed me across the Pacific Ocean with other like
minds. It was simply stunning to hear a couple of the people at the event say,
“I don’t know what compelled me to be here tonight. I had other plans, but
something deep inside told me that this was important.”
And I guess that’s it. That some
inner wisdom, some voice from deep within speaks loud enough for us to pay
attention. For me it was that inner voice that started as an idea, one based in
fear no less, that manifested into a gathering where the collective was aimed at
doing something bigger than all of us. Simply sitting together, singing kirtan,
raising our own vibration and setting an intention of support, empowerment and
love, we felt we could make a difference and authentically alter the course of
someone’s life.
My thought of the week is this.
Believe that inner voice that often speaks only in a whisper and as you
begin to listen more intently, recognize that fear is just a fleeting symptom of
something big.
And go for
it!
