Meeting Abigail Disney, Heiress and Peace Activist

I had the great privilege of meeting peace activist Abigail Disney at a fundraising event at the end of last year. Granddaughter of Roy O. Disney, co-founder of The Walt Disney Company with his brother Walt Disney, Abigail is heiress to an immense fortune and, after much soul-searching and loneliness as a young woman growing up, she has now committed to "supporting female voices and international peace-building through non-violent means".

Abigail is a passionate documentary maker and is busy telling some of the beautiful, heart-warming stories of successful peace-making that have been occurring around the world that mainstream media ignore. She told us how shocked she was when she left the USA and travelled to other places to discover how much good stuff was going on out there in the world that never filtered back into the States - and set about changing that.

In the course of the evening we watched an excerpt from her doco Pray The Devil Back To Hell, the inspiring story of thousands ordinary Liberian women of all ages, both Muslim and Christian, who, during the Liberian War, staged a sit-in outside the Presidential Palace (for years) and, though confronted by guns and tanks, insisted on peace - and got it.

She - and her film-making partners - also takes on other controversial issues that are not palatable to mainstream American television such as the impact of the Internet on children's perceptions of their sexuality.

Being in the presence of so many strong women that night at the Sydney Women's Fund / Australian Women Donors Network event, and meeting Abigail, was very inspiring for me. We even had a video address from Australian Prime Minister Hon. Julia Gillard.

Coming together to share stories and hear about the work other people are doing in the area of peace and for the service of humanity is very motivating. It's not everyone's cup of tea - we all have a different mission and journey here on planet Earth - but for me, it was quite a thrilling night. I've posted a picture of me and Abigail below.

Whatever your calling, and however you are getting along with it, I hope you will stay true, follow your heart, and do the very best you can to express yourself - there is only one YOU and the world needs what you have to offer. Be courageous.

Peace and blessings.










IF YOU LIKED THIS BLOG POST YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
The Peace Pledge project 
See the World Peace Flame 
A Few Kind Words

.