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“If you can dream it, you can do it.” --Sheralyn Silverstein
Hello everyone! There is a difference between ‘wanting’ something and actively imagining it. When we begin to imagine, it begins to become real. This week, our stories remind us of what is possible when dreams are acted upon. At 88 years-old, a legendary ocean explorer is protecting ‘hot spots’ around the world. In Paris, there are plans to plant an urban forest at a busy roundabout. And in New York, a concert series at Carnegie Hall has been designed specifically for mental health. It’s amazing what we can create and it all begins with a dream! Wishing you and yours well!
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Monideepa Banerjie/Al Jazeera
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While the Jewish community and the number of synagogues in Kolkata (capital of the Indian state of West Bengal) has shrunk dramatically over the past 75 years, one thing has remained constant. The synagogue caretakers have always been Muslims from Kakatpur village in Odisha state, reflecting a bond between the faiths that dates back to the early 1800s, when the Jewish community was about 300 strong and came mostly from Iraq and Iran. Kolkata-based Jewish author Jael Silliman describes the bond as "a beacon of hope", which is also reflected in the Jewish Girls' School, where 90% of students are Muslim. "Our 'mazhab' [faith] doesn't teach us to hate," says Sheikh Gufran, one of three caretakers at Maghen David synagogue. "Whenever I offer namaz, I pray for the people of all religions suffering in the war [in Gaza and Israel]. Muslims are in pain there. Jews are in pain. I hope their suffering ends soon."
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Warren Wilson College
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Three years ago, Baileigh Sinaman-Daniel was cut from her high school basketball team's varsity roster during her senior year. But the 20-year-old Baileigh, who was born with one arm, had faith that somewhere out there was a coach who would say yes to her dream of playing in college. That turned out to be Robin Martin-Davis, head coach of Warren Wilson College's women's basketball team, who invited her to a prospect day at the Swannanoa, North Carolina, school. "She was really great on defense, and I couldn't tell that she was any different than any other player," the coach said. Baileigh joined the Warren Wilson Lady Owls the next year. Today, she is majoring in psychology, is a guard for the Division III team and a member of the college's women's volleyball team.
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Taylor Griffith/Mission Blue
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Despite turning 88, Sylvia Earle is like "an octopus with all arms fully engaged" in her mission to save the ocean. The first woman to dive with scuba gear in the 1950s, the first person to walk on the ocean floor 1250 feet down in 1979, the first female chief scientist of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 1990, she has explored the oceans deeper and longer than any other woman on the planet. Since 2009, she has been creating a 'network of hope' through Mission Blue, which began with 19 Hope Spots - "areas critical to ocean health in that they have a significant amount of biodiversity." There are now 158. Mission Blue cooperates with more than 200 ocean conservation groups worldwide to galvanize local, regional, national and international protection. When people ask how they can help, she tells them to focus on what they love. "You know, we're causing the problems. So we can also cause solutions."
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Fadi Kheir/Reasons To Be Cheerful
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Premiering earlier this month, Carnegie Hall's ongoing series of 16 Well-Being Concerts isn't only designed to entertain — it aims to deliver tangible health benefits. According to researchers, listening to music in a reflective group setting is associated with reduced loneliness, and also decreases anxiety and depression. Some are open to the general public, while others are curated for specific audiences such as health care workers, veterans or people impacted by the justice system. Instead of watching the artists on an elevated stage, the attendees are on the same level and form a circle around the performers. As one attendee said, "When I left, there out on the street, everything was a bit brighter and calmer and nicer." Curated playlists are sent to participants afterwards with short recording snippets of the concert to prolong the impact
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Chabe01 | Wikimedia
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Paris will plant an "urban forest" of nearly 500 trees at Place de Catalogne, a busy roundabout near the Gare Montparnasse railway station. "The temperatures one could feel in this little forest will be 4 degrees lower compared to what we could have outside it and so, it will be very pleasant," said Mayor Anne Hidalgo. "There's also some work on recycling rainwater, and here, too, we can recycle rainwater to be able to water, maintain, allow this urban forest to thrive." The roundabout is now a bike-friendly area, which connects to a bike lane leading to suburbs south of the city. The site is expected to be fully planted by June 2024. Hidalgo launched an initiative in 2019 to incorporate more urban forest areas throughout Paris, aiming to cover half of the city in vegetation and to become a carbon-neutral city by 2050.
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