Update Oct 2009!
The end of September 2009 marked the completion of a 29 day cycling trip from Berlin to Istanbul. It was the first time I’ve ever done anything like this but I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and experience the world for what it was. I travelled with 2 other friends and together we rode through 10 countries clocking up 2600km. I also wanted to dedicate the trip to something greater and decided to raise money for the Faiths Act Together project that the Tony Blair Faith Foundation runs.
The journey was full of adventure, never knowing where we would sleep or what the next day would bring but there was a certain comfort in submitting fully to the world and accepting whatever came our way. We always tried to keep on smiling and waving at everybody we saw. I was truly taken aback by the sheer generosity and love of all the people we met; many of whom offered us help, food and even shelter.
If I had to summarise what I learnt from the trip in one sentence, I would say, ‘When you submit, everything will be provided’. Whatever we felt we needed, something would always turn up! It was an amazing experience. I have been very fortunate to be able to have completed this journey and learnt so much along the way. It has really reinforced one of my personal goals, which is to serve the world by promoting unity among faiths and spreading love amongst all.
Blessings,
Onkardeep Singh Khalsa.
What's the story?
So what's all this about? Well, the bottom line is that I'm going to be cycling from Berlin to Istanbul! I've never done anything like this before but ever since I started university, I met all sorts of weird and wonderful people and wanted to see more of the world. So this summer one of my best friends asked me if we should go on a cycling trip and I agreed. Obviously I didn't know at this time that the trip would end up being about 2000km! I grit my teeth and we began planning our trip. We are scheduled to begin at the end of August 2009 from Berlin and aim to complete the trip in a month.
Although our route is yet to be finalised, the trip will involve travelling through several countries including; Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey! This diversity got me thinking about the variety of people I will meet and the number of cultures I will experience. It also got me thinking about one of my goals in life; to promote world peace through inner peace. I've tried to do my little bit towards this goal whenever I can by getting involved in interfaith projects of which my favourite has been teaching interfaith kundalini yoga classes! But, I want to do so much more and obviously the more the merrier!
This is why I wanted to dedicate my trip to raising money for the Tony Blair Faith Foundation which does an amazing job in developing unity in the world.
Please Donate!
Please do donate! Donate whatever you can! Donations will go to the Tony Blair Faith Foundation. The Tony Blair Faith Foundation aims to promote respect and understanding about the world's major religions and show how faith is a powerful force for good in the modern world. One way it achieves this goal is through it's project called 'Faiths Act Together'. 'There are 4 billion people of faith in the world. Nearly 1 million people die from malaria each year. Let Faiths Act Together' and help eliminate preventable deaths from malaria by digging deep and sponsoring my cycling trip!
Lots of Blessings and Thanks!!
