– Helen Magnus, Sanctuary (Requiem)
It’s been a while since I watched this episode of Sanctuary, but tonight, I had what I call my “I need to watch Crazy!Magnus” head on, and so into the DVD player it went. Normally I sit and quote the whole thing, which is why I’m glad I am home alone with my hamster, Chipmunk. But tonight is the first night I’ve really and truly felt a twinge at the above line.
In the past 3 years, since its inception, I’ve supported Sanctuary for Kids. The charity that was spawned from this series. In the past year of the charity, I have been part of a group called Small Pebbles. We focus our efforts, or at least have done so far, on raising funds for Sanctuary for Kids. We’ve raised a considerable amount for our first year, although I won’t reveal how much until it becomes public. We’ve thrown ourselves into it whole heartedly. It’s a passion that cannot be rivaled, not unlike Magnus’ work in the show.
The charity has outlived the TV series that brought a lot of us together, but that is no surprise, I always knew it would. Good work, a never ending supply of Amanda Tapping fans and voila, the perfect recipe for keeping it going. I can quite honestly admit that I haven’t run out of ideas for fundraisers yet and I doubt I will for a long while. What does all this have to do with the above quote? I realised something when hearing the quote. Amanda, Jill and Damian are keeping us all driven forwards with this amazing charity, but the responsibility is ours.
We are the ones who have to carry the mantle, not in the business sense but in keeping the spirit and the message alive. We are the ones who are carrying on the work that will never be done in our lifetime. In all honesty I hope I’m wrong, I hope that we have a global turnaround on wealth, understanding, respecting and loving our fellow man within our lifetimes. I want to see that, badly. I want to watch the world and the attitude of the people in it change for the better and reach that stage, but I have a feeling that our generation will lay the paving stones but not see the end of the road.
There’s a quote that is famous among Amanda fans, and some, if not many of us, have taken it up as a mantra:
“Live Peace, Speak Kindness, Dwell in Possibility.”
That quote is one that inspires, it sits on my desk at work, reminding me not to lose it at the more difficult clients. It is on my bedroom door as a reminder when I wake, it’s the last thing I say at night and the first thing I say in the morning. It’s what Amanda and Sanctuary for Kids embody. A world where peace and kindness are real possibility and those possibilities are endless. I’m teaching myself to think those words before I raise my voice in anger, I’m teaching myself to use those words to remind me that when things go to hell there are still possibilities, and I’m using them to remind me that as a race, we’re not quite there yet.
So yes, we’ll continue the fundraising, we’ll continue spreading the word, and we’ll teach our children to do the same. They will grow up in a world where they understand the power of giving, love, peace, kindness and possibility. They will carry on the mantle we have passed to them that has been passed onto us, and they will continue to follow our path, trying to make the world a better place, one day at a time.
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