Challenging myself

I read an article yesterday that included a comment along the lines of  "the habits you build now are the ones that will stay with you the rest of your life "

It really hit home for me. I've heard it before, but I guess I realized that the 'now' in that statement literally means now. I have a birthday coming up in a month, and with so many changes in recent months, I have been pondering how to pursue my dreams as I get old[er]. I finished one leg of the journey (get degree, get hired) and am working on another (get experience) but I don't know what the next step will be. And I've been thinking, how do I continue to grow as a person when my life has settled into a pattern or normality? The answer, I think, is to keep challenging myself to be better. To learn more, do things, try something new, find ways to grow. These are some of the habits I want to take with me for the rest of my life.

So I came up with a challenge for myself. In the next month I will watch (at least) one TED Talk per day. If you've never heard of TED, I highly recommend checking it out: www.ted.com. TED is a non-profit organization that believes in Ideas Worth Spreading, so they've compiled video talks from many, many different areas into one website. You can watch videos on scientific discoveries, humanitarian efforts, artistic ideas, comedy, etc. Pretty much anything you might be interested in learning more about.

For most of these videos, there is a profound moment of inspiration. At least for me. I find that these videos challenge me to be better, to strive to learn more, and to pursue my dreams even when I have no idea how. Inspiration is such a crucial part of keeping hold of what you want. And thus the challenge: one video per day, to be linked onto this blog with a brief summary of the content, why I chose it, and what I took away from it. 30 days, 30 videos. Here we go.

Video of the day - Lisa Kristine: Photos that bear witness to modern slavery (http://www.ted.com/talks/lisa_kristine_glimpses_of_modern_day_slavery.html)

Thumbnail quote (provided by TED) - "There are more than 27 million people enslaved in the world today — that's double the amount of people taken from Africa during the entire trans-Atlantic slave trade.” (Lisa Kristine)
 
Why I chose this video - I was intrigued by the title. As a person who is interested in the UN and NGOs and the MDGs (which are and will be an epic failure, but that is another topic) and general global strife, discussions about modern slavery are all it takes to suck me in. I want to be knowledgeable about the world around me, and not just the comfortable, uncomplicated, familiar parts.

Summary - Lisa Kristine is a photographer who has travelled around the world. She stumbled upon the modern world of slavery mostly by accident and currently works with a NGO called Free The Slaves. She spent an entire year travelling from country to country, photographing slaves in a variety of trades: mining, bricks, textiles, sex, gold, and others. In this talk she introduces us to some of these people, tells the story, and makes it clear that slavery, although illegal the world over, is a thriving business.

My Take-Away - "I truly believe that if we can see one another as fellow human beings, then it becomes very difficult to tolerate atrocities like slavery." I think that's the heart of it, ain't it? It's easy to ignore things when you don't understand them or feel them in your soul. But when it's next to your skin, your heart, your mind, you can't just pretend it away.

I choose to feel these things on my skin, even when they hurt. A domani.