The Power of Our Thoughts - A note from Nelson

Every time I have to do something I always like to ask people this question, “what is your thought?’. You may ask me why I like that, and I may give you many reasons whether good enough or not.  But one thing I'm certain of is having a second thought always help me to develop myself inside and out.

One of the most powerful quotes on the power of thought that I came across not so long ago (author unknown) reads:
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"Watch your thoughts,
they become your words.

Watch your words,

they become your actions.

Watch your actions,

they become your habits.

Watch your habits,

they become your character.

Watch your character,

it becomes your destiny."

What is fascinating about this quote is how it traces the almost seamless link from thoughts to words to actions to habits to character to finally destiny!  This underlines how important it is for one to think the right thoughts in order to perform the right actions and acquire strength of character and ultimately attract the destiny one has always dreamt of. Of course, this is easier said than done! Nevertheless, it all boils down to the very seed of it all — the right thoughts and where it all begins — in the mind. For centuries, great thinkers right from the time of Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed to even modern-day bestsellers, have emphasized on the power of thought. All these show how one needs to first think the situation out in one’s head and live the dream to actually achieve it.  

This also brings us to an important issue: if our minds are what lead to actions, then is war (civil war, genocide...) also a result of negative thoughts?  Years ago the Preamble to the Unesco constitution figured it all out and went to the very root of the problem for this is what an excerpt says, “Since wars begin in the minds of men it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.” Gautama Buddha also thought deeply and came up with some absolute gems on the power of thought and the need to think the right thoughts. “What we think, we become. We are formed and moulded by our thoughts. Those whose minds are shaped by selfless thoughts give joy when they speak or act. Joy follows them like a shadow that never leaves them.”

However, how does the thought process translate into reality? Both the idea and the process of this is quite baffling and many thinkers have sought to unravel the mystery. Talking about merging your individual thoughts with the universal mind, Dr Dyer says, “When you form a thought within you that’s commensurate with spirit, you form a spiritual prototype that connects you to intention and sets into motion the manifestation of your desires.”  And our thought can turn into our destiny, why choose to destroy ourselves with wrong and bad ideas?

I know and believe that one way we can develop our ideas and our opinions is by educating ourselves. Walk to Remember gives us the youth a chance to educate ourself, stand together and express our thoughts through events.

The power of thought — go right ahead and harness it!

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Nelson

Walk to Remember - India

Hope and Transformation - A note from Richard

Sometime back I could not understand why people had to walk to say "no" to something. I heard of marches against HIV/AIDS, or against a dictator, or even peaceful walks, but still it was meaningless because I could not contemplate the effectiveness of the action. I felt this way until I was introduced to the ideas of a man who will always be remembered for the greatness of his spirit and thoughts: Martin Luther King, Jr. I was not captivated by the man since I knew his biography, but I was focused on the march on Washington where he delivered his famous speech "I Have A Dream".

The march on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, commonly referred to as "The Great March on Washington" as styled in a sound recording released after the event, was a large political rally in support of civil and economic rights for African Americans.  It took place in Washington D.C on Wednesday, August 28th, 1963. The march was an idea of a group of civil rights labor and religious organizations, under the theme "jobs and freedom." The walk gathered between 200,000 and 300,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial, under the steps of which Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the dream he had of a unified USA.

This for me is the walk that left a considerable legacy in a sense where it was credited with helping to pass the civil rights acts (1964) and the African Americans voting rights act (1965).

It reminded me that Walk to Remember should not be taken for granted. We've talked about it's exponential growth or expansion towards the world but I do not think that is a coincidence or by chance.  After the walk you may think it was just a time for you to stretch your legs but that is not the purpose. YOU have actually contributed to helping those who do not believe in the dream of a "genocide free generation and world" see how determined we are and how many of us are saying no to racism, divisionism and all evil ideologies intending to separate and exterminate.  When you walk this year, remember this one thing: this walk might be the one that gives hope and brings transformation.

Today the African American community says "the dream came true", yet it was almost impossible to think that it would come true one day. You might think the dream of a "genocide ideology free generation" will never come true, but I urge you to remember this while laughing at the dreamers - the dreamers will be acting.

Martin Luther King, Jr. knew that it wasn’t enough just to talk the talk, that he had to walk the walk for his words to be credible.

                    "I want you to say on that day, that I did try in my life...

To love and serve humanity."   

- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Richard
Walk to Remember - Rwanda 

Abanyarwanda: Are We Proud or Ashamed? - A note from Jean Michel

I think I am proud…

I am proud of my name and my origins,

I am proud of my native culture and customs

Proud of my early days and my language

Proud of my beliefs and history

But am I? 

When I meet one we share this “Pride”

I put my guards up I get cautious and vigilant

I study the territory before I open upI decide whether I reveal myself

or not I calculate my approach and my behaviorI protect myself from my own people

So, how can I be proud and guarded at the same time? 

Sadly the human race battles its own kind

Evil seems to conquer over kindness and I know the evil of the culture

I know the insiders’ secrets I know the depth of history and how it has hurt

I know the insincerities of the society know there is no freedom of identity

And I know that kindness and honesty will not do.

We have learned to handle this

We are toughened and observant

We have been burned and we learned

We are cultured in playing the game 

We have stopped being naïve and unripe.

We have become one of “them” because after all, We are insiders. 

We pass it on, We will train our kids because we love them

We will coach them to protect themselves

We will teach them so they don’t get burned We will share the rules of the game

We are qualified and convinced. But we will also teach them to be proud

It is a contradiction and we understand it. Alarming, I know.

So what’s the deal? Are we proud or are we ashamed?

Have we learned anything from history?

Or are we extending it even more?

Are we better or just the same?

Have we given up for others to sort out?

Or just hoping it will get better with time?

There is no “us” and “them”, we are all to blame.

We must be proud, We have always stood tall and ready to defend ourselves

We are passing our culture and customs down to new generations

We keep our names and language alive

We teach history and brag about the thousand hills.

So we are proud. Right? 

Or are we ashamed? Ashamed of our history and disgrace

Ashamed of the division between the same people

Ashamed of the hate and dishonesty

Ashamed of being one of “them”

Ashamed because we have no freedom.

Ashamed? … 

… Or both?

margo Rukashaza


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Bleed Red - Lyrics by Ronnie Dunn

As I was listening to my favorite country radio station today, I heard "Bleed Red" by Ronnie Dunn.  This song immediately made me think of Walk to Remember, our message and what we are trying to accomplish.  For that reason, I wanted to share with you.  I hope you enjoy as much as I did and really think about the meaning behind the lyrics.  We're all in this together...
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"Bleed Red" by Ronnie Dunn

Let’s say were sorry ‘fore it’s too late
Give forgiveness a chance
Turn the anger into water
Let it slip through our hands

We all bleed red we all taste rain
All fall down loose our way
We all say words we regret
We all cry tears we all bleed red

If we’re fighting we’re both loosing
We’re just wasting our time
Because my scars they are your scars
And your world is mine

You and I
We all bleed red we all taste rain
All fall down loose our way
We all say words we regret
We all cry tears all bleed red

Sometimes we’re strong sometimes we’re weak
Sometimes we’re hurt and it cuts deep
We live this life breath to breath
We’re all the same we all bleed red

Let’s say were sorry ‘fore it’s too late

(Chorus)

See the music video.

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Kate 

The Thought Behind Walk to Remember: A note from Marc

Walk to Remember was created after thinking for quite some time what we could do as young people to make genocide history.  I learned that after the Jewish Holocaust, the international community promised that nothing of the same kind would happen again to humanity, yet it did in Rwanda. The reason was because the world said "no" but they had no action to back up their words.  They also never set up any education program to teach the new generation.  

As a result, I thought a walk would be an effective way to create awareness since it would gather as many people as possible. Prior to the walk, we would use tools, such as testimonies, documentaries and debates, to educate people and give people firsthand information regarding the effects of the genocide both on the victims and the entire community.  The climax would be the walk where we would walk with people who are aware of why they are walking and what they are standing against. 

The vision for Walk to Remember is to reach out to all people worldwide teaching them about Genocide and how they can fight against it by protecting and preventing the death of any one person, just because of who they are. This will help us fight racism and any other form of discrimination which is a disease in our world today. The future plans for the walk will be to help each community to learn from Rwandan Tutsi genocide, Jewish Holocaust and all the other mass atrocities. So the walk can be used in their own way to resolve their conflicts before they get to far, as it happened in Rwanda. The world needs to learn from its past and communities need to learn from one another. If we don’t we will taste the fruit of forgetfulness which is repeating the same mistakes that our forefathers did. 

Overcoming Fear Fuels Change: A note from Jean Michel

Walk to Remember 2010

A few days ago, I asked my friends on Facebook what their dreams for Rwanda were and I got the same response that I was expecting. People have great dreams for the nation, many people said that they wanted a nation of dignified people, a nation that was free from any kind of evil, division etc.. When I asked the question however, it wasn't because of a genuine interest (though I was interested) but it was more out of a need of assurance. For the past few days, I had been dealing with mixed emotions, on one side I was excited and inspired for greatness but on the other side I was scared. I was scared of many things but most of all I was scared of uncertainty. In one moment I was pysched and working towards building a great future but also on the side something in me was telling me that I was mad, that I was playing with fire.

Complexed I felt that maybe I wasn't genuine so I talked to some friends of mine and they told they feel the same way and this opened my mind. If we are to create the future, it's okay to be scared, its ok to be uncertain it's ok to feel fear. However, what's not ok is to let fear control our lives. when we let fear control our lives, it cripples us, it paralyses our lives and makes it impossible for us to live free. 

To bring change one has to comfront their own fear, the fear of failure, the fear of rejection and most of all the fear of death. Think about all the great people in history the Mandelas, the Gandhis, they all faced those fears and some of them paid the highest price and that's Death. But the common character trait that they had in common was courage, "Courage is not the absence of Fear but its the judgment that something is more important than fear."

Walk to Remember 2010

So, if you want a Rwanda that is free of division, you have to dare to question and challenge those division.

If you want a Rwanda that is dignified, you have to dare to work hard to give worth and value to people.

If you want Rwanda to be free economically, you have to dare to create businessess.

If you want a Rwanda that is reconciled, you have to dare to forgive and be moderate in a society of extremes

The world will always tell you to go for the comfortable things, get a job, just accept that that's the way things are and you cant change anything about it but then remember that nothing in this world came by accident. History has always been shaped by men and women who dared to be different.

I would like to share two quotes that usually get me back on track when fear cripples me the first one is a verse in the bible and the second one is a quote from Obama

"Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.' 14 "Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel ; I will help you," declares the LORD, "and your Redeemeris the Holy One of Israel" Isaiah 41:10,12,14,15

"We always knew that hope is not blind optimism. It's not ignoring the enormity of the tasks ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. It's not sitting on the sidelines or shirking from a fight. Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it and to work for it and to fight for it.  Hope is what led a band of colonists to rise up against an empire. What led the greatest of generations to free a continent and heal a nation. What led young women and young men to sit at lunch counters and brave fire hoses and march through Selma and Montgomery for freedom's cause.  Hope is the belief that our destiny will not be written for us, but by us, by all those men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is, who have the courage to remake the world as it should be." Obama 08

- Jean Michel