Bridging the Gap Between Religions

A guest post by Pippa Biddle – Director of Community, Bridge the Gap TV

Dylan, Sasha, and Ahmad are dribbling soccer balls across North Carolina to raise money and awareness for organizations that promote peace between religions in the Middle East.

When I first heard about Kicking Across Carolina I was instantly intrigued. Three boys, all students at UNC, are walking across the state of North Carolina dribbling a soccer ball a piece. Rather than have this be just a fun summer experience, they have added a cause to their wanderings. The three young men, introduced below, are from three very different religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They are on a journey to spread the word that through things like soccer, all people can shed their differences and coexist peacefully. Please see the below video that sums up their mission, their passion, and how they are ‘Bridging the Gap’.

While not all of us have the time or desire to walk  ~410 miles, there is a greater lesson that can be learned from Dylan, Sasha, and Ahmad. They are a living testament to their goal of peace between religions. Even more importantly, they are proof that a small group of passionate and dedicated individuals can change the world. Please check out their website, Twitter, Facebook, and awesome shirts!

Thank you to Kicking Across Carolina for helping to ‘Bridge the Gap’.

To Ponder: How can you work to solve a conflict on any scale through finding commonalities? For Kicking Across Carolina their religious differences are unimportant due to their shared passion for soccer.  Is there  someone  in your life who you have distanced yourself from because they are different? Try to see what you have in common with a stranger before you start picking at the differences, you will build bridges of friendship rather then walls of indifference.

Private Lunch with Stevie Wonder, Michael Douglas, and Jane Goodall: Taking the First Step

QUESTION: When should you take the first step towards your dreams? And what should that step be? A) Now B) It doesn’t matter

Michael Douglas tells a joke, Jane shares a story, Ban Ki-moon offers some self effacing comedy and Stevie sings a song. Standing at the head of the table I thank everyone profusely for the invitation and question whether or not this is a dream. How on Earth did I wind up here?

Well it’s all very simple actually- I took the first step.

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Blank Canvas of Life: Why People are Scared of Weekends

THE QUESTION: Who are You without the Distractions of Work, Play and Friends?

What is the one thing you love more than anything? Or. What is it that you spend most of your time doing? Imagine that is taken away. What do you do now?

I turned to my friend and asked, “What do you do to be happy?” He answered, “That’s easy- I hang with my girlfriend, go to a movie, read a book, or go to the gym” That’s nice. But what about in the meantime? The majority of your life? What do you do when your girlfriend breaks up with you, you are injured and can’t go to the gym, or you lose your eye sight in a car accident and can’t read? How do you attain happiness then?

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Pissing Off Al Jazeera: How pleasing everyone gets you Nowhere

12.12.2011: “What the F***!?! That was totally unprofessional. I’ve never seen anything like that in my entire life!” I think those were the exact words I heard from an Al Jazeera Emcee moments after I had finished moderating a United Nations Forum in Qatar with the former President of Portugal and Professor Jeffrey Sachs.

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Stephen Stills- “Will I get to the end?” Announcer- “Yes. Before you know it.”

“Carry on, love is coming, love is coming to us all.” -CSNY

Meeting the Travel Channel (sort of) and avoiding your Mid Life Crisis

There is one show I respect more than any other show on television. I can’t say what it is, but you can guess it. It’s a brutally honest and sometimes over the top portrait of cultural exchange on the Travel Channel. For two years I’d prepped and planned for the day I could meet and ‘pitch’ a show to the creators of this Travel Channel series. I thought once I did, and was accepted, I’d long for nothing more. Wow was I wrong.

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“The wise man does not pursue wisdom but lives his life, and therein precisely does his wisdom lie.” -Bruce Lee

A Shoeless Taxi Driver reminds us how to Change our Lives

I was with my close friend Mustafa last week cruising around for some furniture for my new apartment. In the middle of the conversation Mustafa turned to me and said “Chris, you know where your father is right now?… Heaven.”. I was stopped dead in my tracks, totally not expecting this to come out of nowhere. Mustafa continued… “He’s in heaven because he never ordered dinner from the same place every night.” I said Moos, “What are you talking about.” Mustafa said, “One night he ordered from Ben’s Pizzeria, the next night from Pete’s Pizzeria, and another night from Dragon China. He may have liked one place better, but he wanted to support everyone.” It finally hit me a few days later…

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Why I don’t want Stevie Wonder to make me Happy

(Backdate 9/15/2011)

It’s the same reason I don’t want the weather, the waves or a basketball game to make me feel good. I think if we depend on outside sources for happiness we will never be pleased… in the long run that is.

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