ARM in ARM walk a mile


Our New Zealand educational aid team was staying in Dehradun, the capital of the Indian state of Uttarakhand, near the Himalayan foothills. Despite the snakes, monkeys and the biggest black spiders I/we had ever seen, we were enjoying working with the local teachers. 
On one of our recreational days we travelled to Rishikesh, a city bordering the Ganges river. The city is known for its ashrams and adventure sports. 
The first thing I noticed was the grey, turbulent water and a huge suspension bridge. We walked over this bridge to watch masses of people placing tiny boats with a lit candle in each of them, then sending them on their way to ‘who knows where’. The amazing sights, sounds and smells of India surrounded us again.
Time to cross back over the bridge. One of our team was getting rapidly tired from the walking and within a few minutes, it seemed like all her energy had gone. In a surprisingly determined voice she said, she would try walking again. With a team member on either side of her and arm in arm we set off. Out loud we repeatedly chanted, “One,  two, three, four…” No one cared who heard us. 
We had a number of rests as she built up her strength for the next section of sloping uphill bridge. We swapped out a number of times to link our sweaty arms. 
Finally, we reached our vehicles. Lots of hugs and cheers followed! On this occasion, we really did ‘walk a mile in someone’s shoes’

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SHARING KINDNESS with the WORLD

Since starting my kindness blog in March 2023 and sending it firstly to family and friends in New Zealand, today, readers in 75 countries have read my blog. I continue to write what I think people need, not what they necessarily want.  Starting with my own country, the list begins…New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, China, Nepal, Russia, Ukraine, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Portugal, Lithuania, Serbia, Albania, Uzbekistan, Kryrgyzstan, Czechia, Bosnia/Hertzegovina, Hungary, Germany, France, Netherlands, Poland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Armenia, Romania, Croatia, Slovakia, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, USA, Jamaica, Mexico, Honduras, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Equador, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq, UAE, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa....
Read more

MANAAKITANGA

My first experience of manaakitanga was during my year as a trainee forest ranger. I was asked by a Māori workmate to take family photos at their home. I arrived late morning, took the photos and was about to leave when Ivan asked me to stay for lunch. What a lunch it was! Plate after plate was placed on the table. Their generosity of spirit and amazing hospitality left a lasting impression on me.  In Māori culture, manaakitanga is most often associated with being welcomed on to a marae and a meal shared with tangata whenua (people of the land) and manuhiri (guests) but as you read on you will see that it is much more than that.  It’s about looking for opportunities to help a friend or loved one. Being generous with our giving and taking time to build relationships with people. Respecting and being loyal to each other when the going gets tough. Being humble and serving others. Encouraging people and looking for the good in them. Showing compassion and love in the best and wors...
Read more

GRANDMAS and GRANDKIDS

Grandmas are everywhere. I’m married to one. Their many kindnesses to their grandchildren are honoured in this blog post.  Let me start with my grandma in Auckland. Grandma Webb would host her six grandchildren every Friday night for fish and chips, followed by calcium cookies for dessert. This can’t have been easy for her as we weren’t always on our best behaviour! My mum would let our daughters do baking, preparing cookies for the oven on her kitchen floor (covered with newspapers). They would create a tray each and according to mum were always perfect. With mums help they also created their own oil paintings.  My wife Val (Marzie or Jamma to her eight grandchildren) has spent countless hours over the years with them. Our oldest grandchild Jackson was picked up after school and did his homework with her. They have enjoyed many cafe breakfasts together and Jackson has never turned the offer of a breakfast or brunch down. Now, Jackson’s sport is MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Val me...
Read more