I Quit

Quitting my job was not just about me quitting the job. The job is not the point. I wanted to walk away from my old, unhappy lifestyle. I had to stop living the lie and start living the life I wanted and I dreamt of!

AskLychee

*Disclaimer – this should have been posted on Thursday last week but I was having too much fun on my hen weekend!

Pay close attention, this story might be about you.

In life we are often told to go out and find a job and make money and therefore somehow we will become happy……….

Today, August 20, 2015, was my point of no return.

I just walked out of the revolving doors of 280 Bishopsgate for the last time and I feel……….nothing. Not sadness, not relief, not even happiness….. just nothing! It’s indescribable. It’s such a strange feeling to know that a place I worked at for 4 years 10 months and 24 days or the equivalent of 32,760,000 seconds, will never ever be apart of my life again, and all I can feel is NOTHING!

The funny thing about this post is that I am actually writing it on…

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Three Months in a Nutshell

RotaryPeaceChula

Time flies so fast!  It is three months shy since I came to Thailand to study at the Rotary Peace Center at Chulalongkorn University as a Rotary Peace Fellow.  In my summary of the three month experience I will seem prejudiced to those who haven’t gone through this but it is the real depiction of my experience and learning at the Rotary Peace Center.

First, I have to say that one of the major knowledge experiences gained is from sharing information, stories, moments, and challenges with many Fellows from more than ten countries – Australia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, USA, Netherlands, Nepal, Germany, Kenya, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Gaza Strip……the list goes on.  One thing for sure that I like with these folks is the common sharing and support that we had for each other.  Notwithstanding geographic experiences, I have immensely learned conflict resolution, conflict analysis tools, and peace building capacity skills. …

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Halfway Through: The Journey to Today

RotaryPeaceChula

One of the goals of writing for the Rotary Peace Center blog is to share with others what it is like to participate in a program like this.  It is like none other of which I know…and for this it presents joys and challenges on many different levels and registers for both participants, staff, and locals with whom we interact.  At this point in the program, of which we are about half way through, I’d like to reflect upon the life-changing process that is happening.  Although the classroom content might be the same across the different cohorts, what happens outside the classroom is a particular alchemical reaction catalyzed by the particular people in the group.  That process is really the unwritten curriculum that parallels and enhances what happens in the classroom!

First, however, let me share a little bit about myself and why I am interested in the “unwritten curriculum.” …

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Lest we forget: The courage to care

theromblood

Today is a significant anniversary, but chances are you won’t have heard of it.

If I told you that 3000 men, women and children were massacred on the night of 2 August within the last 100 years in Europe would it surprise you that it’s not well known?

What about if I told you that hundreds of thousands of others died alongside them within a few short years? Surely you would have heard of that right? Actually, maybe not.

In the search for my ancestral roots I am learning about a bit about Roma history and culture. There’s lots to learn. The most harrowing part of Roma history is entwined with the Holocaust story, but maybe not the one you’re familiar with.

Millions of Jews were murdered by the Nazis. Did you also know that Romani gypsies were singled out for massacre too? What is so sad is that we…

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Tales from Thailand: Love is all we need

RotaryPeaceChula

In nearly two months being a Class 19 Rotary Peace Fellow at the Rotary Peace Center at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, I have gone full cycle in all mood swings – happy, glum, loud, reticent, an extensive dose of laughing yoga, and moments the tears couldn’t be held back.  Perhaps, our eyes need to be washed by our tears once in a while, so that we can see life with a clearer view again.  It was good all of this happened to me because it served as a reality check that I was still in touch with my humanity.

Of all the emotions, nothing can equate the place of happiness and that has been my lifelong pursuit.  The great news from home on the afternoon of July 21 was the curtain raiser so far in my short stay on earth.  How could I describe the joy of being a brand new…

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