National Walk for Values in Perth
On Saturday, March 24, 2007, National Walks for Values were conducted in Capital Cities right across the Nation. Walkers carried banners, placards, balloons, brochures and handouts in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. Here are the accounts of the National Walk for Values in Perth.
It is estimated that between 200 -300 people joined together in Perth to walk from the WA State Library to Russell Square. The day was designed as a celebration of life and of the five human values and the procession was reflective of this, with its very colourful banners, bunches of balloons and youth in costumes.
The mood was joyful as the procession arrived at Russell Square and photos were taken of the group surrounding the rotunda with their values placards.
The programme at Russell Square opened and closed with the Walk theme song - I Want to Walk a Mile in Your Shoes.
Opening Welcome to the Walk
Jenny Monson, Master of Ceremonies
On behalf of the Sathya Sai Organisation I have great pleasure in welcoming you here and thanking you for joining us as kindred spirits in this First National Walk for Values. It is wonderful to see here today folk of all ages and cultures.
This is the first of an annual event held across Australia on the same day to celebrate life and the great values which form the essence of the major world faiths and which make up the character of the finest human beings we know.
These five values of right conduct (or ethical practice), peace, truth, love and non-violence are prized by human beings of the highest stature. These are the values for which men, women and children over centuries have been willing to lay down their lives. They are the values which have guided the lives of the great and good men and women who have inspired and influenced us for the betterment of our modern world -Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa, amongst many.
So why are we walking for Values??
We believe that at this point in history, many of us seek direction. Others yearn for an opportunity to influence in a positive way some of the imbalances, fears and lack of tolerance we see around us. When we walk together as a group we bring together people of like mind - and more importantly, of like heart. Together, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Together, we reinforce for ourselves and our community the belief that these values are important. Whether we realise it or not, values underlie every decision we make in our lives, so becoming aware of our values is essential for a conscious, peaceful, happy and fulfilled life.
Simone McMahon,
Young West Australian of the Year
The first speaker, Young West Australian of the Year for 2006, Simone McMahon gave an inspiring talk on service to humanity. Simone has lived a life of service since the age of ten, when in gratitude for the gift of life given to her through a kidney transplant, has worked to bring life to others.
My service to the community and the impact on my life of serving others the values which underly my life.
When we think of our values, we think of what is important to us in our lives (e.g., security, independence, wisdom, success, kindness, pleasure). Each of us holds numerous values with varying degrees of importance. A particular value may be very important to one person, but unimportant to another.
Values are beliefs. They are beliefs which are tied inextricably to emotion, not to objective, cold ideas. They refer to the desirable goals people strive to attain.
I truly believe that as Australians we all have the responsibility towards making Australia a better place for others. We are fortunate enough to live in one of the luckiest counties in the world. Australia is the country of opportunity a place where anything is possible. I began my community service work nearly 15 years ago at the age of about 10.
The reason I began my community service work was no different to what motivates most, the desire to do something worthwhile, not for monetary reward but because we believe in it, to follow a vision and most importantly to make a difference.
Everyone has the ability to make a difference in our society, however small or large the difference is irrelevant, what matters is that you have taken the initiative to make a difference to your community and to do good for others, something which gives you a unique experience.
It is becoming increasingly important for young people to consider how they can contribute to our community and how volunteering can be integrated within their way of life. It is the young people of today who lay the foundations for a better tomorrow.
Often it is people's life circumstances which provide opportunities to pursue or express some values more easily than others.
In 1993 I received the most precious gift - The Gift of Life. I received this wonderful gift from someone I knew nothing about, someone I had never seen, never met, did not even know their name - a total stranger. Yet, what I do know is, that this person cared enough about others to become an organ donor and that decision, saved not only my life, but many others. I would not be standing here today if it was not for that special donor. Organ and tissue donors are ordinary people who give an extraodinary gift to enhance the life, health and well being of others.
Organ donation is a serious issue in our society which affects many Australians. Over 2000 Australians are currently on the transplant waiting lists; twenty percent of those will die before a suitable organ becomes available.
Since my transplant, I have embarked on a mission to promote the importance of organ and tissue donation and to increase awareness in the community
My aim has always been to promote positive outcomes on transplantation because I personally know the feeling of utter despair one faces hooked up to a machine to survive and being deprived of a normal life.
Serving the community empowers individuals and enriches society by promoting a more democratic caring, cooperative and informed society, therefore adding to a country's social, economic and political capital. We can be thankful that alongside cruelty and indifference, individual human beings are capable of caring. Through serving the community people join together and show their care in concrete ways. In becoming involved, they learn from doing.
In times of rapid social and economic change a sense of tolerance, security and purpose is promoted as people link programs and communities together. Whatever the future brings, we can be confident that a significant number of people will want to serve the community in some way, giving their time initiating new services, enhancing and expending existing services, advocating for necessary change, responding to emergencies and preserving the environment.
However people choose to serve the community, their personal contributions are helping others connect with people and resources and when the human family stays connected serious social problems within our society are diminished. Those individuals who choose to serve the community look beyond their own familiar circumstances to connect or reconnect with others. They teach people how to connect or reconnect to the social resources that should be available to everyone. Without the help of such people, the cost of solving our social problems in our society would be astronomical.
Serving the community provides an avenue through which we can extend relationships beyond our immediate families and friends. It brings together people with different experiences and views, but united in a common cause.
Power is a word from which we may shy away but people occupying positions of authority in relation to community service possess considerable power. We are not talking about personal power, but the power to make a difference, to bring about systemic reform. Such values can be incorporated within the structure of every organisation - we can begin in our own backyards.
Each of us can play a part no matter how small, at what level or in what interest area we work. It is our combined effort which will work wonders.
Ultimately, we the people are the ones who make choices about our future. If we are successful in building a better society for the future, then perhaps today's serious social problems will be remembered simply as growing pains of our past.
Now is as good of a time as any to broaden the influence of human values by working together, widening our vision and through our combined efforts, promoting tolerance, justice and cooperation at local, national and world levels.
We can all play a part.
We all have various values instilled in us by our upbringing and our life's experiences; we have many different belief systems; we have many different ethnic, racial and religious traditions; but the values which most of us share are those of safety and happiness for our loved ones and ourselves. If these personal values became the criteria by which we evaluate our Human well-being and became the primary focus of Human activity, putting aside short-term self-centered gains, as well as re-thinking old fears, there might be a happier future for all of Humankind.
The second speaker, Dr Devind Bhullar, spoke of his commitment to love at work in his cardiology practice. He also described the national Love @ Work project and how it is inspiring young adults to change their ways of relating to others in their work places.
Love at Work
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. There are many values to embody. Today, I would like to focus on just one value - Love; specifically, I would like to focus on the practice of something called Love-at-Work.
We talk about love and work, but what does this really mean to us? Kahlil Gibran gives us the answer - "Work is love made visible". We spend a large proportion of each day at work. Whether that work is in an office, outdoors or at home does not matter.
What if we could enhance the quality of the work we do? What if we could increase the value of the service we provide? Increase the satisfaction of others and our own satisfaction? Wouldn't that be wonderful?
Simone's community service work is an expression of Love-at-Work. I work as a cardiologist, and - I think, I hope, that I always treated patients and staff with love, compassion and kindness. However, I found as I wished to love more, that I reached a limit - a barrier to feeling and expressing love. That barrier was my little self.
"I must be ever-loving. How can I love more?", I wondered. The answer came: it is not by imposing a feeling of love from outside myself, like a net thrown over someone. To love is to connect the love inside me, with the love inside the other person. It is to transform one's self to feel and express the natural flow of love. It's there 24/7 - we just don't feel it all the time, when our minds are distracted.
How can we change ourselves? Simple. We have the ability to transform our body, mind, heart and spirit.
The message of Love-at-Work is as simple as, "Love all, serve all. Help ever, hurt never"
We see all the terrible things happening in the world each day, and feel helpless. We wish we could change things; to make a difference. We don't need to change the whole world. All we need to do is first change ourselves and the whole world will change.
The song we just heard was titled, "I'd like to walk a mile in your shoes". It starts right there. Can we empathise with others? If we can feel what others feel, look at things from their point of view, wouldn't that help us understand each other better? With understanding comes love.
We can change by ourselves, but when we come together, as we have today, and commit to practising human values, it much more powerful. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
Let me challenge each one of you today to commit to self-transformation by taking away something from this National Walk 4Values to practise with all our heart.
Let me challenge each one of you to replace one bad habit of yours with the practise of a human value of your choice. Just one value.
If we change ourselves in this one small way, we will become better individuals. A better husband or wife, son or daughter, friend, employer or employee. A better citizen of this wonderful country and of our global community.
This one small change in our lives will enhance our relationships, our families, our community and thus our world.
All it takes is just one change to transform our lives and our world "Be the change you want to see in the world", said Gandhi.
Walk Close
It may sound unfamiliar for many of us to hear of a doctor asking himself how he could love more. I see this as having complete integrity with the highest principles of the medical profession. Love heals. Devind's message is empowering. We have the ability to transform our body, mind, heart and spirit. If we all did this, Devind would be out of work - and speaking of work - how amazing would it be if we all crashed through the barrier of our little self and started practising love @ work.
We all work in one way or another, every day of our lives. So, work is one of the easiest ways in which we can give back to our society. Each one of us can apply the principles of peace , truth, ethical action, love and non-violence to our daily lives, whatever our age, whatever we do, wherever we are. Treat others with love, compassion and understanding - whether we are at school, at work, with our friends, in our homes or with strangers on the street - and we are "Walking the Talk."
The Walk came to conclusion with the second song Life, by Des'ree, reminded us that life can be fun. It can be joyous. Life is what we make of it, regardless of the circumstances. Courage is within us all. There was an enthusiastic closing with the songWalk a Mile in Your Shoes. Participants shared some light refreshments together.
The First National Walk for Values in Perth was a truly memorable day. You may view a web album with photographs from the occasion.
©National Walk for Values. This site last updated 8 April 2009
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