MONDAY MUSE (13 November 2006) MAKE THE MOVE...
Let the world change you. and you can change the world - From the film "The Motorcycle diaries" Four years before he led the Cuban Revolution, a young Ernesto "Che" Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado covered 5,000 miles, in four months, on a rickety old motorcycle. They wanted to 'discover' their own homeland (and meet some ladies in the process), but they ended up discovering a whole lot more than that. The first part of their journey was more or less as they expected, although the demanding trip took its toll on their bike. The young men began to see Latin America through eyes that have been opened to poverty and oppression, high-handed big business and the sheer hardship of daily life. Travel changed them, and soon there is more to life than the adventure. The idealistic young Ernesto went through the gamut of experiences including his compassion in giving his own asthma medicine to a dying old woman, in finding a much worthier home for the $15 he has been saving for a girlfriend's bathing suit; and defying a long-standing ban against physical contact with the lepers by being the first person to shake their hands and care for them without wearing protective gloves. The seeds of that eye-opening experience made Che the revolutionary he became. It is true that a genuine social conscience is what is at the root of any revolution. at the root of any change! And this conscience is nurtured under the influence is born of experience. We remain distant to the reality and yet we speak and pontificate. We must venture outside our comfort zones. The way to connect to our land and our people is to travel. not as casual tourists, but as action-persons who are ready to indulge in the experience in its most stark avatar. Mahatma Gandhi said it so well, "we must be the change we wish to see." And the change must begin in our opinionated perceptions and prejudices. and these can be corrected only at the altar of experience. Citizens who explore the villages and meet the ignored people. are the ones who really connect to their country! So let's embark on the journey to learn about the real India and the real situation! Make the move to the unexplored in the quest to understand "speak through action" to connect to our people and our land! Regards Pravin 13 November 2006, Goa. mobile:09422640141 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Monday Muse series, started on the first Monday of 2004, is dedicated to the theme of the National President of JCI-India. 2004 - "Touch to Transform" , 2005 - "We are the Future" and 2006 - "Speak Through Action". _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list [email protected] http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org
