My Alafia Youth Empowerment adventure

Peace in the world must begin with inner peace.

it is in this perspective that I represented Mali at the Alafia Youth Empowerment Fellowship which took place from 11 to 15 September in the Republic of Ivory Cost.  Alafia Youth empowerment fellowship is a peace revolution initiative, a program that aims to promote peace in the world by supporting individuals to find inner peace: world peace through inner peace (www.peacerevolution.com). The program supports participants commonly known as peace rebels, so that they begin to cultivate peace in themselves through the practice of meditation (Inner Peace Time).

For this program, around forty young leaders from Benin, Cameroon, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso, Morocco, Republic of Congo, Togo, Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria had the privilege of to be selected and benefit from special supervision with high-level trainers, especially Thai monks.

For me, this program of personal development and meditation fell well. The meditation that was previously unknown in Africa and especially in Mali was discovered by me through this program of Alafia Youth Empowerment Fellowship and Peace Revolution.

When we live at 100 per hour, we do not really have time to analyze our life, worse, we let ourselves go into the whirlwind of everyday life that makes us lose the notion of everything. For us young leaders of the new generation, time is a privilege, we bear so much responsibility that we sometimes forget ourselves.
Yet, this relentless pursuit to achieve our goals, impact our community, meet challenges, and prove ourselves as a leader impacts us: depression, chronic fatigue, acute stress, morale at low levels etc. …

in addition many people committed suicide because they were very unhappy inside themselves but unfortunately their entourage could not perceive anything because the appearance took over the mind in our society.

And so, I personally think that sometimes, to save yourself from this whirlwind, we just have to know how to leave, to come back better. Cut short with everyday life and habits. Take a break and try a few things again. Simply because it is difficult for the brain to take a step back when it is plunged into a daily life. And as I pointed out above, It is even more difficult for a person living in the big city to find moments off, a person like me who works from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, who evolves in several activities, to have time for himself, time that will allow him to meditate and wonder about what makes his life.
We must admit that we have more time for ourselves, to find ourselves, to sort out our feelings and our emotions, to be reborn from the ashes and to take stock of his life. And this problem, Alafia Youth Empowerment Fellowship via  peace revolution understood it well.

Our training took place in a very unusual atmosphere. Restrictions for our own good have been put in place to make us spend an extraordinary stay. During the stay, no right on the phone, no right to the computer or anything that could be a technological device such as TV, tablets, Mp3 etc. … No indecent dress or color too strong or tape to the eye, the required outfit was our white T-shirt offered by the Alafia Youth Empowerment Fellowship via Peace Revolution and a comfortable white pant that reaches the foot.

Also, we were not allowed to use perfume, accessories, jewelry or makeup. The goal was to find oneself with no artifice and to assume one’s self as one appreciates each part of us.
We were entitled to two meals a day, one breakfast and lunch, no meal for dinner, however we could have yoghurt and one fruit. The purpose of this restriction was to adapt our body to a healthy diet that encourages the body to rest during the night and to easily digest food. And from my research on this subject, I learned that fasting at night is good for the body.
The training was intense, we wake up at 5am every day, to practice our first activity of the day which is meditation, commonly called our  » inner peace Time  ».
Meditate? it’s one of the best sensations that can exist, we end up with ourselves, we visualize his life like a film that passes and repasses, but especially what is the most difficult for a start is to weave a link between his body and his mind.
I took pleasure during our meditation sessions to rethink my life, to take a step back, to soften but especially to understand the peace of the heart: Meditation allows to place our focus where we wish.
I remember this sentence from one of our monks, the highly respected  Luang Phi Jhon :

if you clear your mind, you will understand what you need.

to tell the truth, listening to our monks, tell us about life with wisdom gave me a good deal, I realize that life is so simple if it is simplified.
After our meditation sessions, we went to the beach to do gymnastics, a holy spirit in a healthy body. For me who had neglected the sport for many years, this mixed aerobics gym session has incredibly relaxed me. My body relaxed, expelling all fatigue and soreness due to the trip we had made the day before. The atmosphere was good, the participants seemed fulfilled, enjoying the superb view that was offered on the beach of Grand Bassam.

When our morning sport ended, we joined the dining room for a hearty breakfast, I noticed that I eat with appetite, with envy, especially with taste, I am surprised to finish my plate and want some more.
It’s the effect of sport that makes your body crave more food for more energy. Oh yeah, we had to eat well because the day was going to be long.
Moments after breakfast, we ended up in the meditation room for our second session of Inner peace time and personal development classes. It is a rather special course because we were immersed in the reality of life of the monks, impregnated in their daily lives and their way of life. I was dazzled by the wisdom of the monk Luang phi John, a calm and educated man, who alone is a library, he taught us the school of life, happiness, joy of living, forgiveness, recoil, positivism. Essential courses for a well-being without flaws.

Happiness is not a destination

these are the words of the monk Luang Phi Tikkaviro .

This monk had a particularity because he had an incredible aura, he looked happy all the time, and I found my serenity during his class. I realize then the luck that I have by participating in this Alafia Youth Youth Empowerment Fellowship.

Chance yes, because what you need to know is that every day man picks up positive elements and negative elements in his life. To empty themselves of these and limit their influence on the well-being, it is necessary daily, to take a moment of solitude, in which one talks with oneself. And just these meditations of Alafia Youth Empowerment Fellowship and these spiritual exercises that we have practiced during these few days to change my vision of things:

Discipline my mind for a life more fulfilled.

Alafia youth empowerment Fellowship is also moments of relaxation, where we did various activities at the edge of the lagoon, the beach, the guest house … to allow us to know us even better between participants. An extraordinary networking that has paid off, as many of these participants find themselves in common.
But above all, the purpose of this training was to make us agents of peace: a « peace rebels. » To bring peace around us, by creating peace clubs and making efforts to perpetuate the work of all the agents of peace.

We must fight for peace in the world. This peace will allow us a good health, a good education, a good education, a better future, a better development, and so many beautiful opportunities etc.
The world would be so much better if everyone took responsibility for their own happiness and did their best to make life easy for others.

If each program is a real life lesson, this Alafia Youth Empowerment Fellowship has personally transformed my way of seeing things, because in the end, I assume the woman that I am without artifice, an inner operation was done in me, I am more assagiated, more confident, more open and determined to give me time whatever happens, to do good around me, to inspire others, to reform mentalities, to show the good example and to impact positively around me.
The real happiness is to realize the luck we have because we simply live.
Just remember this sentence: life is either a daring adventure, either nothing at all.

Peace rebel forever!