Samuel Benoit

What started yesterday as just another phone call from a cycling and performing team during a quiet day in the office has become the most tragic event in the history of the Otesha Project. I just got home for the first time since this all started and I just want to post a couple thoughts before getting some rest.

Along with all the messages we have been receiving from the media, we have also been swamped with so many warm messages of support for Andrew’s family, his team and for our program.  Perhaps the most moving message was the one I just read from Hannah Thomas, my counterpart at our younger, hipper, better at writing-er sister organization in the UK on her personal blog, Hannamade.  Like her, I never had the chance to meet Andrew Wolf, but, she says,

…I do know some things about him, as each person who signs up to an Otesha tour has these things in common: An incredible spirit. A thirst for adventure. A belief that the world can change for the better. A belief in themselves. Strong thighs, strong heart. A deep sense of morality. A smile. An inherent optimism and appreciation for people, beauty, nature, life. The ability to meet a stranger and soon enough, call them “family”. An open mind. A need to prioritise what’s important in life – people, experiences, contentment, our earth – over prestige or money.  A good sense of humour. An ability to laugh at themselves. Playfulness. A desire to connect with young people and pass on what they’ve learnt. A desire to stand up and be counted.

The world has lost another who was trying to change it for the better. Please, please, let’s do all we can to make cycling safer for ourselves and our loved ones.

A number of alumni of the program are congregating on Facebook to plan signs of support by wearing their Otesha t-shirts and riding in their local Critical Mass bike rides in Andrew’s honor.  Many more are sending their thoughts and prayers out for Andrew and his most amazing and graceful family right now as well as to the whole Highlands and Islands team.  The following is a prayer by written by ‘Abdu’l-Baha.

O Thou kind Lord!  Graciously bestow a pair of heavenly wings unto each of these fledglings, and give them spiritual power that they may wing their flight through this limitless space and may soar to the heights of the Abhá Kingdom.

O Lord!  Strengthen these fragile seedlings that each one may become a fruitful tree, verdant and flourishing.  Render these souls victorious through the potency of Thy celestial hosts, that they may be able to crush the forces of error and ignorance and to unfurl the standard of fellowship and guidance amidst the people; that they may, even as the reviving breaths of the spring, refresh and quicken the trees of human souls and like unto vernal showers make the meads of that region green and fertile.

Thou art the Mighty and the Powerful; Thou art the Bestower and the All-Loving.

More information will be posted as it is made available on Otesha’s Twitter feed.