I’m doing my small part in rallying folks, like you, to join with Not For Sale (https://notforsalecampaign.org) in their grassroots approach to preventing human trafficking and exploitation of girls from the Hill Tribes of Thailand. Thailand is a ranked as one of the worst countries in the world for human trafficking. A percentage of all money I take in through music goes to this effort.
Interested? Here are some of the details:
THE MISSION
To empower victims of human trafficking and child exploitation through education and community empowerment.
THE GOAL
To do my small part in rallying people who are looking to help others to join with Not For Sale in their grassroots approach to preventing human trafficking and exploitation of girls from the Hill Tribes of Thailand. It would be a real privilege and honor to have some remarkable conversations with volunteers and, over time, the girls themselves. It’s my hope that getting personal anecdotes, thoughts and reflections from these soulful human beings will inspire others to grow and learn about this challenging problem through an open dialogue.
WHY MY PASSION FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING?
Here’s the story about how I got there:
The ancient Greeks had two words for time, chronos and kairos. While the former refers to chronological or sequential time, the latter signifies a time lapse, a moment of indeterminate time in which everything happens. a passing instant when an opening appears which must be driven through with force if success is to be achieve.
We all, at one time or another, have such a “Kairos” moment – or several of them over time – a watershed experience we always remember. It forges a new perspective. It pulls together what had previously been disparate experiences into an identity forming paradigm shift.
One of mine was recognizing half way through my childhood that my passion for music was my own passion, and that I was no longer living out my mother’s understandable frustrated wish that she had toured as a concert pianist. My mother saw me as a reflection of her, and, due to her own messed up childhood, was threatened by my being a separate human being. Now you can see where this is going – I felt enslaved, in my own way, and was hungry to break free.
Seeing The Beatles on Ed Sullivan emboldened me to find my own identity as a young adolescent and musician. I was no longer just a means for my mother to live out her dream – no longer the little man – of this broken, sadly needy, terribly unhappy, but quite talented pianist.
I was set on a course to be my own man. My way out of being enslaved by someone was to participate in the freedom of expression models by the bands coming out of England and San Francisco in the late 60s and early 70s.
And, the more years I earned notches in my belt, the more I realize that this identity I so longed for was only important in that it provided a foundation from which I could then sacrifice my own striving for success and fame, for the good of someone else, like my family, students I’ve been honored to help as a therapist, or folks around the world who are really in trouble, enslaved, just plain hungry, or just need a human touch.
I realized how easy it was to end up wasting my life thinking mostly of myself and trying to make it. I discovered that being involved, in some way, in helping others – that’s where my real fulfillment comes from. It keeps the demons at bay, keeps me from being too self-absorped, or thinking too much, or too little, of myself.
Can you relate?
So that’s my version of the story we all live out – working really hard, experimenting, and finally arriving at clarity about who we are and what our dreams are – all that hard work – so that we can be strong enough to freely sacrifice what we came to hold so dear – our money, time, and talents – for the good of others. Trust me, I’m still working on it. Hopefully, so are you:).
Because of what I’d personally been through, I’ve always felt an affinity for those who are enslaved by other people – whether being used sexually or otherwise. My daughter Kate’s own challenges growing up led her to appreciate how much young women who are mistreated need help to get free from being held captive to those who wished to control them. She found a vehicle with which to do something about that in joining with a now defunct organization similar to NOT FOR SALE in their efforts to free and empower these young girls in Thailand. I was so inspired by Kate’s willingness – no, her passion – for going to live in the jungle of Thailand, with insects crawling all over her every night and worse – all to help these young girls who had no choice in their being sold – trafficked – by their parents into sex slavery. And then to discover that it’s not the parent’s fault – it’s the system – the cultural tradition in those impoverished tribes – that leads parents to sell their children as their primary source of income.
So if you’re so inspired, please join Kate and I in our work with NOT FOR SALE – and help out these smart, beautiful little human beings!
A poem, soon to be incorporated into a song, inspired by these girls:
If your heart is closed
then you will find
behind that door
nothing to light your way
but if your heart is open
you will find
behind that door
people who, like you
who are searching
and you will find
the right door
together with them
none of us can ever
save himself
we are the instruments
of one another’s salvation
and only by the hope
that we give to others
do we lift ourselves
out of the darkness
into light
we were born for wonder
to marvel at the mystery
to be ravished by beauty
only children seem to see
to seek truth and meaning
and never leave a friend behind
they’re all we have
to get us through this life
and we don’t have to do big things
change the world or travel far
if we’d just brighten the corner
where we are
Don’t know about you, but my personal goal for the precious years I have left it be able to walk along the ever-present edge of death, and smile with utter confidence that I gave more than I could possibly have taken, and got more out of giving that I could possibly have imagined. I have a faith that sustains me through the tough times. I don’t know much, but one thing I do know – faith that is not aligned to social justice – that is not aligned with the helping the poor, no matter how you define being “poor” – it’s nothing. Let’s do something together for these specific “poor” girls. They need us.
Peace,
Paul