"In those 10 days, I knew I wasn't returning as the same person" : Rhea Charles GM'9
Contributor: Rhea Charles
" Of all the things we will remember, the good, the bad, and all the blessings in disguise. Today will stick with me forever, Even if we have to say goodbye!"
It's been a week since Gramya Manthan got over and I was just looking at the pictures and thinking- "EVERYONE HAD A STORY TO TELL"
On this journey, I met such AUTHENTIC people with such BRAVE and heart wrenching stories. Their struggles and reality- from where they have come and how far they have dreamt of going- and I realized how beautiful VULNERABILITY can be.
From Day 1, when we jumped from a 7 feet high stool- The Trust Fall, to 5:30 AM on Day 10 when we sat in our last morning circle sharing about - what was alive in us. From sharing our LIFE MAPS with complete strangers to protesting outside the Conference Hall because of the anger we felt on behalf of the poor of our country, during the food simulation activity.
From sleeping under a blanket of stars, with no electricity, to waking up at 4 am to the sound of the hand pump and Prakhar bhaiya asking, "who is this idiot?" and the sounds of laughter that followed.
From 'Authentic Whispers' to 'Dariya Dil Dukan' to hugging each one on the last day, promising to keep in touch. Each and every moment is still alive in me like I'm still there, experiencing it.
In those 10 days, we let ourselves get disturbed. Disturbed by the reality of who we are, where we live and what we are doing or not doing to change any of it. In the world where there is so much trust deficit, are we doing anything to create a space of trust around us?
The realization that there is NO Grey, only Black and White or the equal importance of giving and receiving in service or the importance of emotions and feelings or moving from Sympathy to Empathy or even applying the Systems Thinking and realizing how deep-rooted and interconnected we all are.
The village Immersion was the W.A.L.K. each one of us took to see the reality outside our comfort zones.
From learning how to use the chullah to sitting and listening to the village girls sharing their stories.
From Bobby teaching the kids 'watermelon, watermelon' to Shubham jumping into the river with them.
From climbing trees to eat 'jamun' to waiting for the ambulance to arrive with the lunch.
From waking up at 5 in the morning to pick up the garbage from the pond to practicing for the 'Nukkad natak'.
From going from house to house to call them for 'health camp' to picking up children halfway through their bath, to take them for the 'summer camp'
From Pushpa making us all laugh by sharing the story of the 'bhensia' to Hemakshi telling us how hot she felt in the middle of the night because of the sunlight. So many stories, so many memories and all I can do now is laugh and cry at the same time, as I remember it.
" Of all the things we will remember, the good, the bad, and all the blessings in disguise. Today will stick with me forever, Even if we have to say goodbye!"
It's been a week since Gramya Manthan got over and I was just looking at the pictures and thinking- "EVERYONE HAD A STORY TO TELL"
On this journey, I met such AUTHENTIC people with such BRAVE and heart wrenching stories. Their struggles and reality- from where they have come and how far they have dreamt of going- and I realized how beautiful VULNERABILITY can be.
From Day 1, when we jumped from a 7 feet high stool- The Trust Fall, to 5:30 AM on Day 10 when we sat in our last morning circle sharing about - what was alive in us. From sharing our LIFE MAPS with complete strangers to protesting outside the Conference Hall because of the anger we felt on behalf of the poor of our country, during the food simulation activity.
From sleeping under a blanket of stars, with no electricity, to waking up at 4 am to the sound of the hand pump and Prakhar bhaiya asking, "who is this idiot?" and the sounds of laughter that followed.
From 'Authentic Whispers' to 'Dariya Dil Dukan' to hugging each one on the last day, promising to keep in touch. Each and every moment is still alive in me like I'm still there, experiencing it.
In those 10 days, we let ourselves get disturbed. Disturbed by the reality of who we are, where we live and what we are doing or not doing to change any of it. In the world where there is so much trust deficit, are we doing anything to create a space of trust around us?
The realization that there is NO Grey, only Black and White or the equal importance of giving and receiving in service or the importance of emotions and feelings or moving from Sympathy to Empathy or even applying the Systems Thinking and realizing how deep-rooted and interconnected we all are.
The village Immersion was the W.A.L.K. each one of us took to see the reality outside our comfort zones.
From learning how to use the chullah to sitting and listening to the village girls sharing their stories.
From Bobby teaching the kids 'watermelon, watermelon' to Shubham jumping into the river with them.
From climbing trees to eat 'jamun' to waiting for the ambulance to arrive with the lunch.
From waking up at 5 in the morning to pick up the garbage from the pond to practicing for the 'Nukkad natak'.
From going from house to house to call them for 'health camp' to picking up children halfway through their bath, to take them for the 'summer camp'
From Pushpa making us all laugh by sharing the story of the 'bhensia' to Hemakshi telling us how hot she felt in the middle of the night because of the sunlight. So many stories, so many memories and all I can do now is laugh and cry at the same time, as I remember it.
I remember thinking on the first day how I was going to wake up every morning at 5 am and I remember thinking on the last day that I would give up anything to have just another hour and sit in just one more circle with these people.
Leaving from there on the last day, I felt like I was leaving Home. It was weird because I knew it had just been 10 days. But in those 10 days, I knew I wasn't returning as the same person and I wasn't returning alone. I was going back with 45 stories, Stories of Warriors and Stories of Love and Stories of Authenticity. And I knew I had found a Family- people who knew me for who I really was, no pretense, no judgments, just acceptance.
The goal that I now keep in front of myself is moving from 'unconsciously wrong' to 'consciously wrong' to 'consciously right' to 'unconsciously right'. And I know that this is the direction in which I need to move and this is the direction in which 45 others will be moving too, with the hope that more and more people will embark upon this journey of self-exploration and introspection. This Journey of Change.
Leaving from there on the last day, I felt like I was leaving Home. It was weird because I knew it had just been 10 days. But in those 10 days, I knew I wasn't returning as the same person and I wasn't returning alone. I was going back with 45 stories, Stories of Warriors and Stories of Love and Stories of Authenticity. And I knew I had found a Family- people who knew me for who I really was, no pretense, no judgments, just acceptance.
The goal that I now keep in front of myself is moving from 'unconsciously wrong' to 'consciously wrong' to 'consciously right' to 'unconsciously right'. And I know that this is the direction in which I need to move and this is the direction in which 45 others will be moving too, with the hope that more and more people will embark upon this journey of self-exploration and introspection. This Journey of Change.
Thank you *Youth Alliance* for giving us this opportunity, for creating this space of trust, dependence, and love. Thank you for being different and making a difference.
To an experience, I will never forget
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