Are you too old to make a difference?

Tuesday night started off as a normal night.  It was cold out, roads were bad, I was late at work, rushing to meet my friend for supper so we could go listen to Eva Olsson.  Sifu Sharida Csillag had put out a notice earlier on Kwoon Talk that Eva Olsson - a holocaust survivor, was speaking in Stony Plain and tickets were free.  I figured "why not", it sounded pretty cool.  As we entered the packed venue, I noticed how many children, teenagers, and families were attending.  My friend and I sat chatting to people we knew and waited for Eva to arrive.  Then the night changed.

Eva Olsson, a 94 year old spry woman, explained how she began to talk about her past because of her grandchildren.  She was 72 years old when she did her first speech to her grandchildren's school.  This was the first time she publicly spoke about what had happened to her.  We listened as she talked about how she was raised, then how she lost all her family except her sister while in Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen camps.  How she lived in brutal conditions and was so close to death so many times but her primary message was on how we need to love our children and protect them from bullying and racism.  That these traits are taught and that these cycles can be broken.  It was how we need to show love and not hate, no matter what happens to you.  Eva was a very powerful speaker and I sat there mesmerized as she talked.  I cried as she described how many children were killed and the ways that it occurred.  How they never had a chance and she felt she needed to be their voice.

How can a 94 year old spend her time speaking a schools and events just to get the word out about love and acceptance?  She started all of this at 72 years old!  Most people at that age are well into retirement and slowing down, not starting a journey like she has.  Suddenly my age has become irrelevant. Is anyone too old to start a journey?

Being part of the I Ho Chuan, we are challenged to do 1000 acts of kindness (AOK).  After listening to Eva on Tuesday, I wondered why this should even be a challenge.  Spreading love and kindness to others can break cycles.  Eva is a single person who was able to stand up and make a difference, just think what our school can do if we all stand up and do AOKs, to share acceptance, love and kindness with others.  The potential is limitless.  So what is stopping us?  

I would like to challenge everyone at Silent River to log Acts of Kindness and blog your numbers on this post.  Let's see how many as a school we can accomplish by the end of February.  Let's start a our own positive change!