Sometimes Inspiration Hits When You Need It Most
Last week, I was fortunate enough to attend my third We Day event. I went into this We Day thinking that I had seen all there is to see when it came to the Free The Children event, and I left with something I hadn’t realized I needed. Personal inspiration.
Life has been busy lately. With family, a full time job, part time job and a blog to look after, I had started to feel overwhelmed on an almost daily basis. In essence, my time had become small units of monetary value and I was having trouble seeing it any other way. Family was still number 1, always, but every other aspect of my life was suffering and I was too busy to notice it.
Enter, We Day. This was by far the largest We Day I had been too, almost quadrupling last year’s Ottawa attendance. As I sat and listened to speaker after speaker share their stories as the 16,000 children in attendance screamed and flashed their strobe-like wristbands, I was transported back to the place I was in a year ago. That place was one of kindness and love, where the prevailing thought on my mind was making sure I left the world a better place than I entered it.
I got to hang out with my inspiring friend and We Day speaker, Hannah Alper. I met another amazing youth in Vishal Vijay and had the chance to speak to two amazing local girls from Huntley Centennial Public School, named Isabelle Poulin and Chelsea Wilken, who were all doing their part to create a positive change in our day to day lives. Listening to these children speak and share why kindness was important to them, reminded me of what was important to me.
When I got home that day, I immediately re-launched Kindness Canada, as it had been on the back burner, and started re-organizing my life. I realized that I still have time to do all the work that I was doing, but I plan on doing it smarter so that I have more time to focus on the things that are most important to me. Those things are my family, my health and my commitment to making the world a better place, one smile at a time. I guess this sounds cheesy but it’s how I feel, so I’m not sure how else to word it.
The We Day movement is something that I knew nothing about a year ago, and yet I have no idea where I would be without it. Everyone from the founders to the PR team and speakers are all amazing people and it just reinforces the benefit of building a strong community. I realize that the event was created to inspire children to change the world, but it has changed my world, multiple times over. Please do yourself a favour and check out the Free The Children website and the videos within it. They will change you in a very good way. Also, keep an eye out for Hannah and Spencer West as they embark on the We Create Change Tour, which started this week.
Here are some shots from the National We Day event I just attended. It’s not the same as being there but it’s still pretty cool!
We Day Speakers, Isabelle Poulin & Chelsea Wilken
Simple Plan frontman, Pierre Bouvier, rocks the We Day stage
Hannah Alper and Vishal Vijay give their powerful presentations.
Power In Numbers
We Day changed me too. I missed both events this year and I was extremely disappointed. Seeing all of these young kids working towards a better tomorrow sure puts our day to day existence in perspective. At any age, we can be the change and make a difference!
You go Chris! Always routing for you.
Thanks, Trina! Sorry you missed the events this year.
Good for you Chris. At the end of the day we will all be remembered only for the things we did that mattered. Serving others is the pulse of life.
I try to do as much as I can, and more importantly, I am trying to teach my kids the same lesson.
Go Chris! I wasn’t able to attend this year but I know We Day had a memorable, unforgettable impact last year. I believe in kindness, in giving back and paying it forward and I also believe we, together, have profound potential to make the world a better place.
I couldn’t agree more, Pam! It’s always an amazing atmosphere and to see it with 16,000 inspired kids made it eben more spectacular.