Although you could not be physically present tonight, we know you were there in the spirit of peace and harmony"

It was an experience of a lifetime for approximately 300 over people Present on World Harmony Day - 200220022002 at Fountain of Wealth, Suntec City (www.sunteccity.com.sg). People from different walks of life gathered on World Harmony Day to Focus on World Peace and their Own Peace. So many so-called 'realists' deemed the whole project an impossible task, yet on World Harmony Day we proved them wrong.

The philosophy behind the Fountain of Wealth is that "The Wealth of the World is in Your Hands". Similarly, the message of World Harmony Day is that "World Peace also in Your Hands".

The design of Suntec City was inspired by the mandala to create harmony and attract good fortune. World Harmony Day was not inspired by human endeavor but by a calling from above. (200220022002 Is A Calling). To hold the event in Suntec City is only natural as the perfect circle of the Fountain signifies unending completeness and unity. This is what World Harmony Day is all about - achieving harmony and unity for Peace to prevail. When we embarked on this impossible mission our only aim was to send the message out to the world at large. It never crossed our mind that we could mark 200220022002 as a symbolic day that could become a Catalyst for Change.

We were hosting World Harmony Day not because we were ambitious and thought that we could do it on our own knowing our limited resources, but because Suntec's bosses called us through the journalist who had interviewed my daughter. Their belief in our cause and their total support further cemented our belief that the whole project was inspired by above..

When this great opportunity was given to us, I had no choice but to seize it. Of course it was going to be a very tough journey, with Chinese New Year just round the corner and only less than two weeks to make it all happen. But with faith, there is nothing in this world we could not conquered with true spirit.

On that evening a journalist from Channel News Asia asked me: if no one turned up would I consider this day a failure? I said no. The size of the crowd was not our central concern. We just wanted to do a good job on that night then let everyone's spirits rise and subsequently let everyone enjoy themselves.

Later, after seeing about 300 people on that night (300 candles given away) the journalist held my hand tightly and she said that World Harmony Day was a great success. The fountain manager who had been so worried was a different man on that night. When I gave my hand to him, he held it tightly like telling me I had done a great job. To me this was a sign that only good things can happen if we maintained the spirit.

It is so beautiful when you see right in front of you, almost 300 folks, all strangers gathered for a completely unselfish desire for greater peace and understanding. Their motives were so pure. We seemed to be connected spiritually because without giving instructions to one another we seemed to know our duty on that night.

For example after the 2 minutes Peace Silence, someone automatically knocked the gong. When it was time to walk round the 'Unity Ring' in the centre of the fountain, someone just came to me shouting "Sunflower you must stand behind Mr. Wong Ah Long from Suntec City", and he handed us the two biggest yellow candles. Isn't he sweet, thoughtful and caring? And before this he bought five copies of the day's Newpapers for me because of the pictures of my daughter and I. He even wanted to paste the report all around the fountain. I told him the manager would be upset if he did it. (News and Articles on World Harmony Day)

All the candles created an ambience of romance, with water flowing from the 72 nozzles on the fountain ring, cascading inwards to a receiving pool at the fountain base, the 'heart' of the fountain was just overwhelming. (To the Chinese, water symbolizes wealth and this inward flow of the water symbolizes the 'retention of wealth'.) A central vertical jet then shoots up from the centre of the receiving pool to a height of 30 metres, while four perimeter water jets reach a height of 8 metres. The laser show began and beamed its message on an 18-metre wide water screen springing from the centre of the Fountain with the words "World Harmony Day - 200220022002 in Search for Peace". In short it is just magical. It was so inspirational when we walked in a line to the Fountain's inner ring to touch the lucky waters and make a wish (What I had wished for?)

When Amran sang "Imagine" by John Lennon everyone was captivated by the lyrics - "Imagine all the people living life in peace" (Yoko Ono's Peace Billboard) The Bushmen sang Bob Marley song 'One Love'. Becky and Colin followed after with many more inspiring songs. We were so thrilled that we wished this night would never end. The feelings we experienced on World Harmony Day money cannot buy, everyone was thanking each other and we were all shaking hands like we were VIPs.

Thank you for being with us wherever you may be. Let's hope that on next year's World Harmony Day we can all be together in the same spirit in order to carry on the legacy of the first World Harmony Day. On that night we took our first small steps towards restoring peace. The next giant step will follow when the leaders of the world believe in it too. It might be a small first step but a very important first small step. Who knows our simple act might snowball into a larger World Harmony Day Peace Silence next year and someday amount to something very important for humanity to achieve peace and harmony.


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