The happiest societies are the ones that have the greatest sense of community. Real communities share their joys and sorrows and their rituals and rites with one another. There is always a shoulder to cry on, a hand to help out and an opportunity to participate in some meaningful way, working for the common good. It is more than just a group of family members or friends but an entity unto itself that has created a sense of oneness amongst its members.

I often feel that this sense of community is lacking to some extent in the US. There are definite pockets of communal living but for the most part, we are very independent and we move away from our families as soon as we are able to afford it. Loneliness and a sense of isolation are common as we often don't even know the names of our own neighbors. I sometimes feel this isolation in my own life and a part of me longs to live with a large family or intentional community.

I have this opportunity as part of the WHR team, but as with everything else I've experienced as a team member, it is somewhat intense, especially since I am used to living with only one other person, generally experiencing ample space and solitude. On the Run, a van load of us are together all day, usually starting quite early in the morning and ending far into the evening. It is truly togetherness to the extreme. Despite this, I find it to be quite harmonious as we act like a real family that has understanding and compassion for each other, even with all of our flaws. We do argue at times. More importantly, we forgive and we move on, both figuratively and literally.

This morning a group of Italians we met at the monastery joined us for the first 5-10K of our run. They were bursting with joy at the opportunity to be able to participate with us.

We embraced them into our little family and I had a striking moment of realization that we all truly are a world-family and if we would open our hearts to one another like the Italians and we mutually did, this world would be transformed.

Loneliness and isolation would no longer exist. It was a beautiful glimpse for me because I felt the powerful reality of the message of the World Harmony Run.

Thank you again to Renato for inspiring this "family" reunion!

Antares continued on with us for 10k!

She has only been running for 4 years and has already run 5 marathons annnnd just ran a 100k trail race in May!

We finally had a warm sunny day today - a great opportunity for roadside picnic.

Our main chef, Shraddha, quickly whipped up a fine salad...

and we all assembled our own hummus wraps. Hit the spot perfectly!

Some of us just down a bag of oranges!

Others just looked on.

Shyamala shares her delightful selection of birthday chocolates

The nature here practically runs the miles for us.

Foxglove dotted the hills all around us.

Keswick is a charming town swarming with hikers, bikers and other nature enthusiasts.

This nice lady offered a parking space for a small donation to her Mountain Rescue Box.

Team A scouted out tomorrow's route across a ridge overlooking Dervent Water, a grand splash of blue in the middle the green covered hills. Stunning!

A quaint church made of slate in 1891.

We took a little time out to soak our feet in a pool at the base of a pristine waterfall.

Balavan felt like a kid again scrambling across the rocks. It was the perfect place to re-energise our fatigued bodies.

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The World Harmony Run proudly supports the International Year of Youth (IYY) and the International Year of Forests (IYF) proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly.

See the recent Youtube video on African experience which illustrates IYY slogan "Our Year Our Voice"  International Year of Youth - Zambia World Harmony. They surprisingly mention Presidents and UN Secretary-General in a unique way! 

See also the UNESCO World Heritage (WH) Centre support for IY of Forests.  ... Convention for conservation of forest biodiversity. (more)

 

– Atulya and Teekhnata

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Distance: 75 miles

Team Members:
Salil Wilson (Australia), Apaguha Vesely (Czech Republic), Balavan Thomas (Great Britain), Shobhavati Davies (New Zealand), Shyamala Stott (Scotland), Dhavala Stott (Scotland), Amalendu Edelsten (Australia), Shraddha Kurzemniece (Latvia), Lenka Svecova (Czech Republic), Uranta Kane (Scotland), Teekhnata Metzler (USA), Atulya Berube (USA), Ilvaka Nemcova (Czech Republic), Nandathu Zach Saltzman (USA)

Harmonemail:
You can send a message to the runners or read the messages.

Gallery: See more images!

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