Punk Rocker by Sandi Thom

Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair
In 77 and 69 revolution was in the air
I was born too late into a world that doesn't care
Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair

When the head of state didn't play guitar,
Not everybody drove a car,
When music really mattered and when radio was king,
When accountants didn't have control
And the media couldn't buy your soul
And computers were still scary and we didn’t know everything

When pop-stars still remained a myth
And ignorance could still be bliss
And when God Saved the Queen she turned a whiter shade of pale
When my mom and dad were in their teens
And anarchy was still a dream
And the only way to stay in touch was a letter in the mail

When record shops were still on top
And vinyl was all that they stocked
And the super info highway was still drifting out in space
Kids were wearing hand me downs,
And playing games meant kick around
And footballers still had long hair and dirt across their face

I was born too late to a world that doesn't care
Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair

Sri Lankan Women

Sri Lankan women are by far the most beautiful women I've ever seen. They adorn themselves in rich colours and their ears and necklines are always decorated with ornate gold. They have the most soulful eyes and contagious smiles, it's like they open their hearts to you when they smile. Their eyes speaks volumes, secrets that their lips hold captive. I want to take a picture of every women I see: clad in sarees, shalwar kamez, pant shirts, and skirts. Some with their feet bare, others comfortable in their flip-flops, and others sporting fancy high heels or dress shoes. Representing different walks of life but unified in their common roles as mothers, sisters, wives, workers, supporters, chearleaders; these women are the real front-line warriors every family's struggle. They fight without complaint; they make the impossible possible without acknowledgement. Here's to you, women of the world. Thank you for giving our lives colour and beauty.

On The Radio by Regina Spektor

This is how it works
It feels a little worse
Than when we drove our hearse
Right through that screaming crowd
While laughing up a storm
Until we were just bone
Until it got so warm
That none of us could sleep
And all the styrofoam
Began to melt away
We tried to find some worms
To aid in the decay
But none of them were home
Inside their catacomb
A million ancient bees
Began to sting our knees
While we were on our knees
Praying that disease
Would leave the ones we love
And never come again

On the radio
We heard November Rain
That solo's really long
But it's a pretty song
We listened to it twice
'Cause the DJ was asleep

This is how it works
You're young until you're not
You love until you don't
You try until you can't
You laugh until you cry
You cry until you laugh
And everyone must breathe
Until their dying breath

No, this is how it works
You peer inside yourself
You take the things you like
And try to love the things you took
And then you take that love you made
And stick it into some
Someone else's heart
Pumping someone else's blood
And walking arm in arm
You hope it don't get harmed
But even if it does
You'll just do it all again

A Beautiful Day by India Arie

Life is a journey,
Not a destination,
There are no mistakes,
Just chances we've taken
Lay down your regrets cause all we have is now.

Wake up in the morning
And get out of bed
Start making a mental list in my head
Of all of the things that I am grateful for.

Early in the morning
It's the dawn of a new day
New hopes new dreams new ways
I open up my eyes and
I open up my mind and
I wonder how life will surprise me today.

Early in the morning
It's the dawn of a new day
New hopes new dreams new ways
I open up my heart and
I'm gona do my part and
Make this a positively beautiful day.

Life is a challenge not a competition
You can still smell the roses and be on a mission
Just take a moment to get in touch with your heart
Sometimes you feel like you've got something to prove
Remind yourself that there's only one you.

Just take a moment to give thanks of who you are.

Let's make this a powerful
Let's make this a beautiful day.

The Blue Sweater: A Book Review

The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz is a gripping read for anyone interested in International Development. She is an extraordinary woman who has shown me the path I want to follow. I feel as though her book was written for me, it answered my questions about the development sector and explained away all inconsistency. She provided a solution for the conscipious problems of accountability and transperancy when working with NGOs. Her foundation, Acumen Fund, invests "patient capital" into the poorest regions of the world by providing local innovators, enterpreneurs, and visionaries with the means to expand their business and provide services to the poor. Her mandate is to treat poor people like consumers rather than giving them hand-outs. Her vision and that of her partners is to create a world where the rich and the poor are given equal opportunity and where everywhere lives with dignity and freedom.

She grew up in America with a loving family and worked her way through her undergrad. She worked for a year as an international banker and left her job to quench the thirst in her soul for meaningful work. She worked in Africa for a long time and then pursued her MBA at Stanford and said that it gave her confidence and the analytical skills necessary for her career. Her foundation, Acumen Fund, is now 10 years old and is getting global recognition for transforming philanthropy into a for-profit venture that caters to the needs of the ones less fortunate yet sustains its capital at the same time.

She has walked on unchatered teritory and left her trail. I hope one day I can follow in her footsteps and build on top of her learnings (her successes and failures).

The World As My Necklace

On a bright sunny afternoon when I was 9 years old, I came home from school and found an envelope on my desk. The right-slanted cursive writing on the front helped me put a name to the anonymous envelope sitting silently on my table. "Oh Appa," I thought out loud. I openned the crisp white, sealed envelope, to find a necklace inside; hanging from a black string was a small, silver, globe pendant in the middle with a red wooden bead on either side. There was a note attached that read: "because you mean the world to me."

A World Galvanized

With the world in revolution, hope is gripping my heart. I used to think that I would have to fight this battle alone; I am so relieved to see the millions of faces joining the cause of peace. Egypt and Tunisia have been successful in overthrowing the dictatorships toiling with the futures of their countries. In Bahrain, they are protesting for a different style of monarchy, one that does not consider itself above the law. They don’t want to overthrow the monarchy but want to welcome ordinary people with "royal" blood who see and understand the plight of citizens. Morocco and Yemen are protesting too. It’s the domino effect that started with one courageous person in Yemen who decided to set himself on fire because he’d rather burn himself to ashes than live under tyrannous rule. He inspired millions to go out on the streets and voice their opinions, demonstrate their power, march for change, and protest peacefully. He urged them to show the power of their citizenship and demand governments that respect their citizens. There are two common themes among the beatified chaos that has engulfed the Middle East: freedom and dignity. As we watch the people pen their own his/herstory and shape their future, we can only hope that these times of revolution do not turn into civil strife like in the past. I hope that we can learn from the histories of revolutions past and that we can see the toppling of regimes as a journey rather than a destination. I hope people everywhere do not let a sense of temporary relief set in unless and until constitutional and behavioural changes have taken place. I can smell the candle of peace burning, but the road ahead is still unpaved.