Some people

I met Arun Gandhi yesterday, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. What an amazing man, what a wonderful speaker. He really did "glow in the dark", as Victor so perfectly put it. So much of his talk was personal, about the time he spent with his grandfather when he was a grotty teenager and what he learned in that time - and I left feeling nourished and convinced I could make a difference in some small way.

He spends his life campaigning for peace and non-violent activism and when searching for a link to read more about him, I was saddened to find that in January he was widely criticised for his comments on the Israel/ Palestine struggle and had to resign from his institute as a result. Illustrates the danger of intervening in such a violent and protracted struggle, even though I am sure he had the best of intentions.

The talk was part of the Festival of Spirituality and Peace which I've been doing a little volunteer work for, so uplifting to have all of these people from different faiths and cultures together discussing issues that truly matter and also just having fun. These guys from Zimbabwe, they're called Siyaya, did the most amazing song and dance in a stuffy Anglican church, it felt a little surreal but also oh so inspiring. Quite a change from the dour hymns! And not for the first time, I was left thinking it is no bloody wonder nobody goes to church in this country anymore.

(And it also left me thinking about an adventure to Africa... but as I'm supposed to be working on my commitment issues, that's going to have wait!)

Fantastic weekend.