{"id":449,"date":"2015-09-12T21:28:01","date_gmt":"2015-09-13T03:28:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/journeyinstitute.org\/blog\/?p=449"},"modified":"2015-09-12T21:28:01","modified_gmt":"2015-09-13T03:28:01","slug":"one-in-8491079","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devjourneyinstitute.com\/ji\/index.php\/2015\/09\/12\/one-in-8491079\/","title":{"rendered":"One in 8,491,079"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Vest-Gradient-1\"<\/a>Population of New York City in 2014: 8,491,079<\/p>\n

A needle in a haystack would have been easier to find.<\/p>\n

Some months ago, I watched a video which came across my Facebook feed.\u00a0 It was a very professional, very well done, one shot video; meaning that the movie was done in one take, with seemingly no editing.\u00a0 It began with one person and moved from person to person in a short film about spreading kindness.\u00a0 I was riveted.\u00a0 Such a clever idea and so poignant.\u00a0 I watched it, and like so many others, smiled, and then went on with my life.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to September 11, 2015.\u00a0 My wife and I went to New York for a wedding.\u00a0 Actually, a renewal of vows for some very dear friends who, although not from New York or even America (they\u2019re from England) have a very personal and real connection to the date of September 11th<\/sup>.\u00a0 They decided that upon their tenth wedding anniversary they wanted to renew their vows at the Trinity Church, closest to Ground Zero.<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t about competing for attention with the remembrances of the tragedy from 2001, rather it was a statement.\u00a0 They wanted to express in their own way that love triumphs over hate, over evil, over\u2026. well\u2026 everything.<\/p>\n

The bride and groom are extraordinary people.\u00a0 They are the gentlest, kindest, people I know.\u00a0 They live with their hearts on their sleeves and have picked up the mantled of \u2018Random Acts of Kindness\u2019 in the UK, spreading and espousing acts of kindness both with their own actions and with their words and deeds in helping to convey this most basic message of being kind to one another.\u00a0 It\u2019s no great surprise that this embodiment of how they live their lives connects them to people of like minds and deeds.<\/p>\n

After their amazing renewal of vows, in this historic church with a wonderfully present, yet \u2018in the present\u2019 Father Mark presiding, the small intimate wedding party moved down to a park by the water for a picnic.\u00a0 A friend of the Bride and Groom had arrived early and was setting up an incredible array of sandwiches, pastries, drinks, and fruit all laid out in a wonderful area of the park for the \u2018Newlyweds\u2019 and their family and friends to enjoy.<\/p>\n

We arrived just as she was finishing her preparations.\u00a0 There were boxes everywhere, this was no small picnic basket of food, this was a buffet big enough to feed an army.\u00a0 She had spared no expense nor effort to make this picnic the best it could be for her friends.\u00a0 She was a pretty young lady with long dark hair and deep brown eyes who was working tirelessly in the mid-afternoon sun and then talked passionately of her work to help people embrace the power of giving.<\/p>\n

Of course, it made sense, she was a kindred spirit to the Bride and Groom.<\/p>\n

I watched as she fretted about making sure everyone had plenty to eat, always serving, never relaxing.\u00a0 This was her gift to her friends and to the family and friends of her friends.\u00a0 It had to be just right.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until the picnic was coming to an end that my wife and I had a chance to talk to her.\u00a0 It was then, that I found that needle in the haystack.<\/p>\n

This was no ordinary \u2018kind\u2019 friend.<\/p>\n

Her name was Orly Wahba<\/a>.\u00a0 She was the creator and director of the video I had watched months ago.
\nThis was the person who founded Life Vest Inside, a non-profit organization with a\u00a0mission to encourage people to embrace the incredible power of giving\u00a0and recognize that in times of hardship,\u00a0kindness, like a life vest, keeps the world afloat.\u00a0 Orly is an Executive Member of the World Kindness Movement, and a renowned speaker at TED among a host of many other accomplishments.<\/p>\n

But as we talked to her she was just a friend doing something kind for her friends. \u00a0A humble servant helping her friends celebrate their wedding vows.\u00a0 You would never have known she was such an incredible person with such great accomplishments behind her and doubtless more to come, she was just living the kindness she espouses. \u00a0But \u2018kind\u2019 to Orly is on a whole different scale than most people.<\/p>\n

As one wedding party guest said to me quietly later \u201cI\u2019m speechless. She really puts what\u2019s important into perspective, and not in a make you feel guilty kind of way.\u201d<\/p>\n

To say that I was blown away by this incredible soul would be an understatement.\u00a0 She embodies kindness in every manner imaginable.\u00a0 Her presence, her manner, her demeanor, her very essence is wrapped in kindness, and yet her story is amazing in the challenges\u00a0she has overcome in becoming the amazing soul that she is.<\/p>\n

I could go on but I have no words to describe how touched I was. How amazing the impact of watching the power one human being had on us that day.\u00a0 We were just a small group and yet I know the impact she made would have been the same if we had been thousands.<\/p>\n

Oh, and that video I mentioned that was Orly\u2019s idea? \u00a0It’s called “One Day<\/a>” and it\u2019s been viewed over 21 MILLION TIMES.<\/p>\n

Her organization Life Vest Inside<\/a> has ambassadors in over 120+ countries and growing.<\/p>\n

Of all the people in New York City the bride and groom could have befriended and who could have organized a picnic for them that day\u2026 of all the almost 8 1\/2 MILLION people, I met an angel; I met Orly.<\/p>\n

It was an honor and a privilege I will never forget.<\/p>\n

PS-
\nTo learn more about Orly and the amazing work she does with Life Vest Inside:\u00a0http:\/\/www.lifevestinside.com\/<\/a>
\nAnd if you haven’t watched the video<\/a> you should. \u00a0While you’re there, check out Orly’s TED<\/a> talk.<\/p>\n

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\n \n IMPRINTS <\/span>\n\n \n \n Journey Institute Press <\/span>\n <\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Here you will find the various imprints that we publish under by genre. Click an imprint to learn more about each imprint’s books.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Population of New York City in 2014: 8,491,079 A needle in a haystack would have been easier to find. Some months ago, I watched a video which came across my Facebook feed.\u00a0 It was a very professional, very well done, one shot video; meaning that the movie was done in one take, with seemingly no […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"builder_content":"

IMPRINTSJourney Institute Press<\/h1>\n

Here you will find the various imprints that we publish under by genre. Click an imprint to learn more about each imprint's books.<\/p>\nLink<\/a> \n \"One\n

Storytellers PublishingGeneral Non-Fiction<\/h1>\nLink<\/a> \n \"One\n

Wordbinders PublishingGeneral Fiction<\/h1>\nLink<\/a> \n \"One\n

Curious Adventures PublishingChildrens<\/h1>\nLink<\/a> \n \"One\n

Guide Point North PublishingSelf-Help<\/h1>\nLink<\/a> \n \"Which\n

Mind Flash PublishingEducation<\/h1>\nLink<\/a> \n \"IMG_6574\"\n

Journey Ink PublishingBusiness<\/h1>\n

View Book Catalog<\/h1>\n[gallery ids=\"298,278,418,426,408\"]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devjourneyinstitute.com\/ji\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devjourneyinstitute.com\/ji\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devjourneyinstitute.com\/ji\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devjourneyinstitute.com\/ji\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devjourneyinstitute.com\/ji\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devjourneyinstitute.com\/ji\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devjourneyinstitute.com\/ji\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devjourneyinstitute.com\/ji\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devjourneyinstitute.com\/ji\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}