If after learning to find Green Zone time in the day, people want to further pursue the Green Zone Philosophy and create a Green Zone Lifestyle, we suggest that they follow three roads.
The first road is of Creating which they follow by developing their Creative Self and create things that they enjoy.
The second road is of Sharing. After they have developed their creations, we ask them to share their creations with others, a circle of friends, that we call the Family of the Heart. In that process, they make new friends and develop meaningful relationships with those people who have similar interests, passions and dreams. For us, it is a circle of honest and sincere friends that we meet on a regular basis and share our passions and dreams.
The third road is Serving. After Creating and Sharing with close friends, we suggest volunteer work to contribute to their communities. We feel Green Zone people are well connected with their communities and serve them to become part of creating Green Zone Communities. Some like to lead and become Green Zone leaders, while others like to follow and become part of the team. Some have their own dream and some join others in their dream. Sometimes Green Zone people are able to create healthy and peaceful Green Zone islands in dysfunctional and toxic Red Zone seas, whether in the family, at work or in the community. When people start to recognize and appreciate these sincere efforts to create Green Zone Communities, they join them and those islands become bigger and bigger. More and more people have the courage and strength to change their lives and transform the breakdowns of their families and communities into breakthroughs. They become part of creating a peaceful Green Zone World together.
At the end of this process people recognize the essence of the Green Zone Philosophy. They realize that Green Zone Living is peaceful living. It starts with inner peace and ends in outer peace. People realize that emotional and social, political and cultural, national and international peace, are all connected in a mysterious way. Gradually, people learn to act locally and think globally. They develop a Green Zone relationship not only with their own families and communities, but also the whole humanity and discover unity in diversity.
Peacefully,
Dr. Sohail
Good morning Dr. Sohail et al
I would like to share my personal experience in animal rescue. I have had an affinity and great love of animals all of my life. As an adult I have been involved in assistance in any way that I can be of benefit to those animals who have been neglected, abandoned, abused and literally tossed aside.
To start my with heart goes out to these animals when I hear of their plight and I am compelled to help in any way that I can. (Red Zone reaction to their condition).
Thankfully I move from the Red Zone to the Yellow Zone when my efforts to help these animals is met with open arms. Though in the past I have experienced a negative response from so-called animal rescue impounds whom I consider to be not truly ‘rescue’ in nature but rather more about control than anything else. But that’s another story.
Once engaged in the actual involvement with these animals and their plights it is Green Zone all the way.
Here is an example: There are many, many kill shelters in the U.S.A. – particularly in the southern states that euthanize dogs within a few days of their arrival at the shelters. Dogs of every shape, size, breed, mix of breed come into their facilities and more often than not they have been neglected, abandoned, starved and often abused by their owners. Thank goodness there are individuals who work/volunteer at these shelters who reach out to rescue groups to step up for many of these dogs that they know are sound, loving, valuable individuals that are well worth saving.
Once a rescue group steps up for them the paperwork is completed and transportation of these dogs is arranged and coordinated from the kill shelter to the rescuers hands. In the case of the southern U.S. this is many hundreds of miles and those dogs are transported by volunteer drivers – Green Zone volunteers who have a great compassion and love for these animals. These dogs pass from driver to driver every hour along the route literally spending days on the road and crossing the border in order to get to their final safe place where they are normally fostered by a volunteer foster family where they are lovingly cared for, observed, vetted of course and stabilized before they are offered up for adoption.
The goal of every person from the original ‘puller’ of each and every individual dog is comfort, safety, wellness and love. The organization that I am most affiliated with saves, transports, fosters, adopts dogs often from KY and TN. This requires 3 solid days of driving, changing drivers and vehicles every hour with volunteer overnighters at the end of those very long days on the road. Drivers report in to the transport coordinator once they hand off the dogs to the next driver and it is recorded and reported online so that everyone involved can see the progress of each dog as it makes its way north and ‘home’. If there are any issues with a dog – health concerns, extreme anxiety, post-surgical situations every person involved follows their progress and worries about them until they know that they have arrived safely at their final destination. It is very much a hands-on, loving, caring experience for all concerned. And at the end of each day there is a sigh of relief that all have fared well and are safe.
Most weekends these rescues and transports take place and almost exclusively it is the same people who drive, overnight and care for these dogs. It is a mission of the heart and a great love for these dogs. Without exception every single dog that has been saved from euthanization have turned out to be remarkable, loving, incredible pets to those who reach out to offer them a safe, nurturing, restful home. Without exception.
This experience is Green Zone all the way – once the Red and Yellow Zones have quickly been passed through. Caring, sharing, loving all the way with each and every person being key to the success of the task at hand. Every individual plays a major part in the ultimate goal – to save each dog and give them a second chance at life. A life that they so richly deserve and are granted. They are the lucky ones.
I know of no other system that allows for so many to be touched by each and every endeavour in the sharing of the heart in one fall swoop. It’s simply remarkable.
I encourage everyone to follow their passion and heed their compassion for whatever cause speaks to them and to become involved in their communities to this end. Respond to those Red Zone issues and experience the Red to Green Zone transformation within yourselves. Nothing is more gratifying. And it certainly doesn’t mean a monumental commitment of time on your part. You can choose how much you would like to invest and feel it out as you go. To think that the hundreds of drivers of rescued dogs in a transport only invest 1 hour of their time on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday to safe the life of dogs – yet that hour is paramount to the cause is amazing.
And of course not every endeavour is met with as much gratification as the animal rescue experience that I have described ….
I recall meeting an elderly East Indian man outside of the Native Canadian Centre in Toronto. This man was very excited and motivated to try and teach the native community math skills for potential success in their own careers. This man was a math professor and had both researched and been moved by the fact that there were very few native engineers, scientists, mathematicians, etc. and he felt that the native people were lacking in these skills. He wanted to make a difference by volunteering his time to teach at the centre. Unfortunately his enthusiasm was met with indifference by the program director at the centre because he felt that nobody would be interested in participating in these classes. Whether or not he actually ran the idea by the centre members or not is unknown. And so the kind, conscientious and enthusiastic math professor’s great outreach to the native community was lost he can at least assuage his dreams by knowing that he tried his best. Unfortunately the interest just wasn’t there. Definitely a Yellow Zone experience that has no need to go Red … he did his best. Perhaps his skills were put to better use elsewhere.
Still pondering ….
Georgina
Dear Georgina, Your caring and compassion is not limited to humans, it includes animals. I believe your story can inspire many readers to transform their Red Zone into Green Zone and their breakdown into breakthrough. I am so glad you had the courage to share your personal story. I hope you stay in touch and keep on sharing your wisdom in our future Blogs. Peacefully, Dr Sohail
Dear Khalid Sohail I like your green zone concept of empowerment of ourselves but there are the situations when it becomes very hard for people to deal with the pain. This is the world of face book and after every few moments we hear news either good or bad, mostly sad. As an immigrant our minds are always there in our country, too. Killing, injustice and pains of common people are huge. How can we find peace within us when there are so many things going around us?
Dear Gohar, Thanks for your insightful comment. Your comment is so profound and meaningful that it is worthy of another Blog. I will reflect on it and write a future Blog.
Peacefully,
Dr Sohail