Wow.. now thats a header that going to be a hard one to live up too!But then anything that inspires change is never going to be easy really is it? If it was then I am sure that we would all be riding on an endless merry-go-round of possibilities to improve our environments, our relationships, our lives and the lives of others.For some people it seems change is damn near impossible, they remain stuck and hovering in a kind of state of repetitive behaviours and outcomes until it becomes so entrenched it is almost impossible to change. Often it takes a cataclysmic event to shake people out of these patterns and that is not something anyone would wish on someone else. Especially if that event is tragic one.So how can we inspire change in our worlds? Well I believe its a personal choice. We can make the mental effort to see something in a new way, trying to shift a point of focus and thereby leaving our preconceptions behind or we can actually do something to try and communicate a new way of thinking about a problem or an issue.To that end Sara Terry has dedicated her life for the last seven years to running a photographic grant called The Aftermath Project: War is Only Half The Story. The photographic stories that are selected for the grants focus on what happens when the armies move on and the conflicts are no longer reported under the red hot gaze of the media. The narratives of post conflict regions are every bit as poignant and challenging as the stories that are told during the actual hostilities as they are taking place. The focus of Terry's grants though is depicting how life metamorphoses, how people rebuild their lives and try and recover and heal from what has occurred.This inspiring project asks us to think beyond the parameters of our usual concerns about war torn regions and encourages us to understand the massive loss and yet incredible resilience of humanity.Sara Terry is also running a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to be able to continue with her incredibly important work in supplying grant money to photojournalists to illustrate that war is indeed only half the story. You can find that here at the Kickstarter CampaignWith a similar aim, but vastly different subject matter "Beautiful Music The Documentary" seeks to illustrate that change can be made simply by singing a song. The team at "Beautiful Music The Documentary" are also raising funds through crowdfunding at Indiegogo. You can find that here at the Beautiful Music The Documentary Campaign. But perhaps the last word on inspiring change should belong to Uncle Archie Roach who has suffered profound loss in his life but has come through it with an incredible message. Watch this and be truly inspired!https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=m2c7zk8Grp8
hope