August 17

Whilst out running in Brisbane the day after our Closing Ceremony, I became inspired to write about my experiences on the Run. The words just came to me fully formed as I ran through the bushland of Brissy and I felt it would be nice to share with our World Harmony Run readers on the site. Gratitude to everyone and especially Sri Chinmoy for being a part of this magical journey. My Heart will be with everyone in New York for the culmination of the World Harmony Run…

So as the journey reaches an end – only in our country, the Australasian World Harmony Run continues next month in our sister country of New Zealand – I begin to contemplate the journey of a lifetime and all the 'newness' that was created in the processes before and during the Australian World Harmony Run adventure.

Big experiences in life are always ones of learning many new things and here are some of the different aspects I learnt along the way – a kaleidoscope of colourful and meaningful learning opportunities experienced.

The journey of organising the event included:

Learning new skills – the technical process of using computers, internet and electronic messages; the ‘people’ skills of approaching people in person and via fax and phone to communicate a vision, a project that many would want to be a part of; time management – of working 6 days a week and then devoting all spare time to the co-ordination of the State of South Australia; inspiring and encouraging communities to learn more, reach out and become involved in something far greater than the self; and working as one part of a big team of organisers who all felt so enthusiastic about the significance of the dream becoming a reality – running around our continent.

The journey of joining the World Harmony Run Team included:

Physically – trying to improve my fitness level to be able to run in relay from Adelaide to Perth…

Blossoming of New Friendships – getting to know (and live with) a group of like-minded and yet unique individuals from all around the globe and watching a greater sense of teamwork emerge. Anyone who has travelled overseas can identify with the sense of discovery of meeting international travellers as you learn so much about others and yourself along the way. As we travelled around our continent together – Australia truly became a multicultural society and for us a microcosm of the world as we ran, travelled and lived with members from 16 different nations, absorbing wonderful qualities from each culture. The challenge of feeling harmony in every moment is one which we all embraced as an essential and integral part of this event.

Opening our Hearts to New Experiences – seeing parts of Australia we never had before (even for the Aussies like myself) was a special dream come true for all. Becoming receptive to every new experience and travelling on foot with eyes wide-open meant we could open our hearts to the immense plenitude of sheer beauty that surrounded us at every moment. How special that Australia was named the world’s first Sri Chinmoy Peace Continent as the peace was absolutely tangible in the land itself, the beautiful scenery and of course the wonderful people we met at every point – some travellers themselves, but many residents of this sun-drenched land of vastness we call Home.

Sharing our Journey at a new level of Communication – documenting our experiences on the World Harmony Run website was a special part of the process. I received so much joy and inspiration writing the daily reports, discovering ways to take photos, and reading the team’s reports each day. Undeniably this year’s expression on the web, through creative fields of photography and inspirational report-writing, was all taken to a new level as a means of communicating to the world the vision and manifestation of a World of Harmony we were all experiencing.

Most of all, I felt privileged for the opportunity to both help co-ordinate an event this special and to run for a month as part of the team. I received so much light, love and waves of harmony all along the way and expanded my capacity to offer gratitude for this. The joy shared with children at every step was contagious and occupies a special spot in my heart always.

Every day if I can feel grateful for just being me – a connecting part of this beautiful world, then dreams really do come true and a vision such as Sri Chinmoy’s one of a peaceful, harmonious world has simply already begun in our individual lives. May the flaming Torch of our oneness continue to shine and be passed on from hand-to-hand and heart-to-heart eternally.