BE THE CHANGE
I recently did a video about a local Veterinarian and her plight to raise awareness and help save starving horses. I normally try to steer clear of volunteering my time to ‘ sad’ stories. I feel negative breeds negative and positive breeds positive, but in this particular case my gut was screaming at me to find a way to make this a positive. I had no idea how I was going to take such a sad story and turn it into a positive, but thankfully it came to me. The best way I knew how to tell this story was to shine a light on the woman who was inspiring change. It truly only take the actions of one person to start a wave of change and change is happening all the time, we have fantastic people out there, we just do not see it, most times because it is hidden with negative. News reports always seem to favor doom and gloom. I do have to admit that seeing the condition of the horses was hard, they were beyond skinny, but even in their discomfort, they still took the time to nicker a thank you to the staff at the veterinary clinic every time they walked by. I met Lisa, a fantastic looking young mare, so tall, so regal, even in her condition, she stood as tall as she could, she knew the staff was helping her, she wants to live and is tolerating all the poking and prodding from the staff. I think they know when someone is trying to help, animals know the difference between kindness and cruelty. I also meet Spunky, a curious George type of horse, the whole time I was filming, he was trying to snoop and see what I was up to, many times his nostrils were right on my lens, he had a spark in his eyes, he didn’t hide who he was, when you looked into his eyes, he allowed you too see who he was, I felt I had known him my whole life in just one glance. I am heart broken at his loss. Just two days after I filmed him, he passed away. He fought hard, but his time had come. I have not been able to watch the video again since. I know it sounds ridiculous after only spending an hour with him, but there was something so true in his eyes, so recognizable. The plight continues, Jennifer continues to raise awareness, as she said to me, “ when you are true to yourself, really true to yourself, good things happen “ she is being true to her and her gut is telling her to follow this through till the end, to start a rescue foundation, to educate the public and to give back. Her initiative is inspiring a wave of change. I really believe that we all can start a wave of change, it doesn’t have to be a huge, something as simple as picking up a piece of garbage and tossing it into the trash can make a difference. Imagine if someone sees you picking up that trash and thinks to themselves, what a great thing to do, they in turn now feel great and offer to pay for the coffee of the person behind them in line of the drive through, that person is then inspired and goes home early to spend more time with their kids. The kids are feeling great the next day at school and tell their teacher, how much they love being in her class, she is now on a high and spends more time with a child that is having a hard time reading, the parent of this child is so thankful that he offers to help re build the school play ground. You see where I am going with this, nothing is too small, Nothing. I also believe each of us has a unique gift to give, mine is video. I am blessed with being able to truly connect people with a video, only you know what your gift is, and if you do not know what it is yet, well what lights your fire? That is where you should start to look and then simply follow the crumbs. I was honored to have met Spunky, perhaps his gift was opening our hearts I was blessed to show this story for the inspiration that it is, for the hope, the love and the power of one person to make a difference. I was honored to share humanity making a turn for the better. I invite all of you to carry on the wave of change. Be The Change Monique
1 Comment
Jacquie Sharpe
12/4/2013 11:16:45 pm
Yes yes yes, even though the media may drown us in sorrow at times, there are so many good and compassionate people out there making change drip by drip. I bleive in goodness, I believe even in those we cannot see or feel their hearts it is there...compassion and kindness by example....the light gets in! You are change Monique!
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AuthorAdventures in videography, some of the highs and lows of what it is really like to film Archives
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