VOF Week 4: (The Power of a Thousand Suns)

If I had one dollar for every person who has asked me what I want to do with my life…where I see myself in ten years…what career I want to pursue…

But this question, “what is your personal vision for your life?” requires me to contemplate an entirely different aspect of my being and my responsibility to myself and the world I am engaging.

I could tell you that I envision myself as a global change maker at the ground level; whetting my interest in intercultural communications and development from an alternative media slant that allows me to engage societies traditionally left out of the dialogue and information sharing. All of this is true.

If, however, I am going to get down to the nitty gritty, my personal vision is far more frank; it is a vision of fulfillment, knowing that, in my life, I have embraced my fears rather than shying away from them and accomplished not only what I recognized I was capable of but also treading unknown waters to discover how much more I could do if I did not let anything or anyone stand in my way.

Living in a city like Toronto, (almost) anything seems possible and doable. It is a widely known fact that Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, and I am blessed to be exposed to such diversity everyday. There is certainly no shortage of cultural dynamism and, yet, although open-mindedness mostly reigns supreme, there is still much work to be carried out in order to make Toronto a safer and more tolerant city. Last week, I organized an event (http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/toronto/story.html?id=1486369) that celebrates the eclectic nature of the Toronto community. If we recognize what makes us different as what also makes us beautiful, it will be possible to live in a community where the antidote of compassion and acceptance far outweighs the poison of animosity and prejudice.

On a larger scale, my vision for the world is one that will undoubtedly take considerable time and effort to realize, but will bring us to a much better place than where we presently stand. This is a vision of health and healing. Worldwide, there are too many people suffering at the hands of their governments and their fellow citizens. We are, by all accounts, the most intelligent species on the planet and yet we often act with such ignorance and ill thought.

Women are the heartbeat of this world. They bring this earth to life and they carry the emotional intellect and capacity, compassion, and passion to right many of the wrongs that we are globally engulfed in. The power of one strong woman is the power of a thousand suns, but the power of many strong women is enough to light up the entire earth at once.

The VOF Forum is lighting up my world and raising me to new levels of curiosity and awareness. I don’t want to stop now. I’m not at all ready to turn off the light that will guide me in reaching my full potential to affect change and make a difference in the lives of women in my own community and on an international scale. The more self-aware and empowered I become, the better prepared I will be to help myself and other women realize their own purpose and vision, and identify a power within themselves they never knew existed. Women who are equipped with the tools to flex their emotional, physical and spiritual muscles will be far better prepared to battle and overcome life’s adversities and play a leading role in making the world a place worth living in.

I would be honoured to share in this journey where I may continue to hear from and grow with the leading ladies of WorldPulse who are accomplishing incredible feats in their communities and reaching out to touch the hands and hearts of women around the world.

Like these women, I have a story to tell and lessons to learn; as my vision for the future develops and expands, it is my hope that so too will my network of allies and my platform for the written word.