When Preparation and Determination meet Oprah!

When Preparation and Determination meet Oprah!

I spent last evening at a UNICEF Tap Project Benefit concert which raised money for clean drinking water for children all over the world. After having spent some time in Haiti with children who were scooping up dirty water off the streets into plastic containers and watching them drink it, this event and fundraiser really hit home. Living here in Los Angeles, especially here in the Hollywood area, you see people going out every night of the week to concerts and bars and really anywhere for that matter to be seen. Last night's event was filled with some fantastic performers, some more well know then others, but honestly, some talent that was better than I've seen in some "popular" "mainstream" concerts. It wasn't a huge turnout and at first I was thinking that maybe it was because it was a Wednesday night and maybe because it was tax season and maybe maybe maybe? Then I walked out of the event and saw crowds of people lined up at the venue down the street, and crowds of people at the bar a block away and crowds of people lined up at the trendy new spot and I have to say that I got bummed out. It kind of made me a bit frustrated that more people aren't taking an active role in this planet and that we so much worry about what's within our own four walls. Then as I was sitting on my couch last night and thinking about the evening, I thought about the beautiful woman who I met while working the inspired gifts and raffle table whose aura glowed so strongly who decided to hand me $100 to go towards a $500 water pump to save a whole city of childrens lives. I thought about the free spirited woman who bought several tickets at the box office to pay some extra entrance fees for whomever needed one and then proceeded to come over to the gift table and hand over another $100 to buy some raffle tickets and then 10,000 water purification tablets. I continued thinking about all the beautiful people who showed up with smiles and love and energy and ready to share their evening with one another all for a greater cause outside of themselves. I then began to think about if I hadn't gone to Haiti and seen for my own eyes the sadness and devastation that exists there, would I have been so willing to hand my money over or would I have been sitting at home watching American Idol thinking about who I wanted in the finals? Now I'm not saying that anything or any choice is wrong. What I guess I'm saying is that we all have our own life experiences and we all find our own purposes in life, and I'm beyond grateful for those beautiful souls whose pathways chose them to be at that benefit last night. That is what I am going to focus on. So to everyone who constantly thinks about others, who makes it their business to leave others making them happier, who remembers that we are all in this together...I'm glad I can share this journey with you. And for everyone else, I'm sure I'll see you on the pathway soon! For if you truly live a life from the heart, one filled with truth and passion, there is no way you don't figure these things out. ;)

All my Love,
Shari Alyse

"If you want to find your true purpose in life, know this for certain: Your purpose will only be found in service to others, and in being connected to something far greater than your body/mind/ego."

--Dr Wayne Dyer

 This should speak for itself...

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeSiWzPq66E

As the days pass from the earthquake tragedy in Haiti on January 12, we all start to go about our normal lives. Unfortunately, there is no normalcy for the Haitians who are picking up the pieces of their lives and honestly, literally their deceased loved ones. Parentless children are roaming the streets in search of their parents. Orphans who had no parents already are now faced with the loss of their orphanges as well as a lot of the orphan workers they looked to for protection. What I'm trying to say is that although the time passes here and a lot of us forget, they are still living in fear of more aftershocks as well as what they are going to eat and where they are going to sleep.

Next month, I have the absolute privilege of going down there for a few days to help rebuild an orphanage as well as spend time with them and give out food, supplies and basically anything they need. My main goal is to spend time with these children and be able to laugh with them, hug them and just let them know that there are people who do care about them and want to help. People who haven't abandoned them. People who no matter where they live on this planet know that there is no difference between them and us except our geographical location. This is my purpose for going down there. These children shouldn't have the worries that adults have. They should be able to go about their daily lives and enjoy their childhoods the way we did. I am so grateful and beyond blessed to be able to share this with them. If nothing more than just a smile and a hug.

So what do you have to do with this? Well hopefully, a lot. I am traveling with a group of about 120 people and we have the access to the WHOLE underbelly of a boeing 737 plane from Miami to Haiti. We have been given access to fill up the whole thing with supplies! I know so many of you have given already of your wallets and your love and they appreciate it and so do I! We all know that the money is going to good places but we never know exactly where it's going. This is where I come in. :)

So much is still needed over there from medications to food to even just letters to these people. I have a Miami address that if you want to set up a drive with your friends, family and coworkers, you can ship this to this address and I will PERSONALLY hand out your items to everyone who needs it! I will hand deliver your letters, coloring books, toys, money....

I have over 500 friends on Facebook, and if I can get each person to contribute $1.00, I can raise funds to be able to buy them food, water, basic necessities that are needed and that I will see are needed once I am down there. If you are interested in contributing that $1.00, I have a paypal account that you can donate that to and I will show where every dollar is spent. If you don't feel comfortable with that, you can start your own fundraising and you can write the check out to the non-profit organization that I am traveling with so you can get the proper tax papers. If you do not have the money (as I know times are hard for us all), even a simple letter or a bottle of water or some q-tips or anything will be appreciated!

I have never done anything like this before in my life and I know I will come back a different woman. Our lives will continue on as they should, but I hope that you remember that their lives, could be ours at any moment and it is with that thought, that you help me show them that they aren't alone. Our hearts have no borders. ONE Love!

Thank you so much and I look forward to hearing from you all!

Love & Peace

Shari Alyse

 A New Beginning

I've said for a long time now how within each of us, no matter our backgrounds, our pasts, our hurts, our mistrust, our experiences, deep down in our cores, we are good people! I've known this, I promote this, I BELIEVE this and I will spend my last breath reminding one another of this! I don't care what's happened in our own personal lives that might be burying this part of us, but it's there. It's always taken devastation in one form or another, from 9/11 to natural disasters, for our humanity to show itself. It is with that thought, that I make this plea. How many more disasters do we have to endure, before we realize how truly connected we are and how we all share the same bloodline? We are ALL human beings no matter how color or race or religion! I know this all sounds so idealistic to some or cliche, but if I wasn't proven right time and time again when I watch us as a human race come together to help others, then I would keep my mouth shut.

What has happened in Haiti is devastating! There are no words that can describe the heaviness in my heart for all those who have perished and for all of their families. I can only send my prayers and Love to each and every one! Through all this darkness though, there is light. There always is! This will be a new beginning for Haiti. As being one of the poorest countries in the world, they will now be afforded new hospitals, new schools, new homes, new businesses...

 We may never understand the reason for such catastrophes such as these, but we can choose to focus some light on even the darkest of circumstances. None of this will bring back the ones who were lost, but their lives will not be in vain, for it is with their sacrifice that change will take place in that country!

Beyond Haiti, my wish is that it will not take any more tragedies like this one, to make us remember how truly loving and good we all are! Let us not have to endure anything of this magnitude to bring out our inherent  beauty! I know that the mundane parts of our lives catch up with us and we find ourselves complaining about the guy cutting us off in traffic, or the slow cashier at the store when we are in a rush, or even the guy or girl that is not returning our affection. We need to remember what it is that we do have! It shouldn't only take disasters or holidays to remind us of what we are grateful for or how small our problems really are. We need to be thankful every single day of our lives for simply our breath alone when we awake in the morning. We need to be grateful for the ability to see with our eyes the beauty in one another. We need to be grateful for the ability to hear the birds or the laughter of children. We need to be grateful for the ability to smell the ocean air or some yummy smelling bacon coming out of your neighbors house. We need to be grateful for the ability to sleep in a warm bed, to be able to put on a jacket when we complain about how cold it is when others are sleeping on the street. We need to not only remember this stuff at extreme times, but during every single moment of our lives.

I love you all and it is with this LOVE, that I beseech you to take stock of what you have, to remember that a smile at a stranger can really change someone's day (I see it happen every single day), that speaking honest words to one another is probably the most beautiful gift you can give someone, that being more patient with someone will allow them the opportunity to learn what it is that they are supposed to learn, that by living your truth, you allow others to live in theirs.

Please send your love and thoughts and any aid you can to the people of Haiti. Our people. Our brothers and sisters. Please tell everyone in your life what they mean to you and please try to make an effort to remember all of this even when the news quiets down after this.

With all the Love and Hope that's within me...this is my wish!

I Love you all and believe in us all!!!

Shari Alyse

http://www.sharingwithshari.com


To Help:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34835478/ns/world_news-haiti_earthquake/

To the "dude"...

 Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the love you have blanketed me with.
Your spirit oozes beauty.
I am in awe of you.
You are the the absolute manifestation of what God intended Love to be like.
I stand here in gratitude for the blessing that was bestowed upon me by God.
Thank you.

I'm sorry.

Good morning world! (I'm not sure who is reading this but I'm sure someone in the "world" is.) :)
So yesterday was one week that my website went LIVE! I have to say that I am pretty damn proud of myself. I know though to some, it's just a "website" and everyone and their mothers have one, for me, it's something big! Mainly because it's a project I took on myself. I had some help from a few very dear and close people in my life, but it's still something I committed to and worked on everyday for a few weeks. It's something I devoted all of my time and energy to and it's something I created and am proud of. What I'm trying to not so clearly (its early) say is, we can do anything we set our minds to! Again, a cliche that gets used over and over again, but one that's obviously there for a reason. Never in a million years would I think that I would be learning how to design something like that or working on converting files or figuring out meta tags and SEO's and all that jargon even now I'm not sure still means...but I did it! What makes the success even sweeter, is the fact that it's doing what I had hoped it would do and that's bringing smiles to people's faces. I've been getting lots of mail and feedback on it and I'm so grateful that the  site encompasses who I am and I was able to express that in the design. HUGE plans are in the works for the official release of this site and that is something that I can't wait to do and share with the world! I'm putting my energy into that these days and can't wait for that to manifest itself when it will. ;)

On another note, one of my Facebook friends yesterday had commented on one of my status updates and had mentioned that he started feeling the same way and wrote about it in his one of his "notes" on there. So I went over to his profile page and started looking for that particular note he wrote about it and stumbled upon his latest one about "Recapping 2009". I have to tell you that I was blown away. He proceeded to write about a woman that he had never actually met but had changed his life in a significant manner. I'm not going to paraphrase, so I will just quote some of what he wrote.

..."Normally I look at these two issues as part of all the crap that we all go through all year long and literally thank God for a new year starting, but because a friend that was on the internet radio (and soon taking over Oprah), I’ve decided to look at the bigger picture, the part that asks, “What have you learned?”

"Finally, a gal that used to be on an internet radio show. The first time I heard her, I laughed my ass off, seriously! From the start, she was very anti PC, as in, she speaks how she truly is, and if you agree or laugh, then good for you. If you don’t get it or get mad, then turn it off and take care! I’ve never actually met her personally, but we’ve talked on the air and have been sent emails back to each other. She has the best attitude, not overly positive, but the fact that she makes a person want to change their attitude. I’m usually hard headed, but this something I’m am actively doing now."

In case you haven't figured it out, he was speaking about me. I have to tell you that when I stumbled upon this, the biggest smile came over my face and my heart did somersaults and leaps! THIS is the reason why I do what I do! This is the reason I want to be in the public eye! If I can inspire one person in any way that helps their lives, I have done my work. I wasn't going out of my way for this particular guy and trying to change his world, I was just being the example I speak about. About Love, Hope, Positivity, and Faith. He was a regular listener on my radio show and he called in a couple of times and also emailed me privately and it moves me to no end to know that some of what I said has helped him. What a beautiful way to start this new year! One for me that I take as a sign that I should continue what I'm doing. He wrote me yesterday and told me that he hopes to one day return the favor. I told him he already had. He laughed at me and said "no, seriously" and I was serious. Hearing that I had helped him in some small way is the best gift I could ever ask for.

It is with that that I will keep moving forward with my intentions on changing this world in the only way I know how. Being me. We all can do that. By living our truth and walking in our own beautiful God given light, we all can make a difference. I'm not any different than any of you out there, I'm just someone who is aware of what I can do and I refuse to spend one day on this planet not sharing it with others. I will continue to work on my SHARIng with SHARI website and I will continue to believe that all things are possible and I will continue to not allow the idea of "changing the world" to overwhelm me. One small step at a time.

For now though, until that talk show and tv sitcom comes a'knockin at my door, I gotta take my booty to the bank so while I'm busy trying to love and change the world, I actually have a roof over my head. :)
Have a beautiful day everyone!!!

INFINITE POSSIBILITIES lay before you! What are you going to do TODAY to get started?

All my Love,
Shari