If we are to prosper together in our increasingly small world, we must listen to – and learn from each other’s stories.
I had never imagined myself, nor aspired to be, a member of a royal family. I wanted to be in the Peace Corps, not a princess!
The Koran says the killing of an innocent, the taking of an innocent life, is tantamount to killing all of mankind.
Of course, in our country, developing in a region with somewhat conservative traditions, women were desperately needed to be more engaged – socially, economically, politically.
I’ve seen it around the world, in the poorest countries and in countries riven with conflict, It is women who are the key to breaking out of poverty, breaking out of stagnation. It’s women who can contribute to achieving real security – not bombs and bullets and repressive governments.
The killing of innocent people is a sin.
I spent the first years working in Jordan trying to learn as much as I could about what was taking place in the country, about where there were gaps in the development process that needed attention.
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s peaceful, determined struggle for social justice, and Sargent Shriver, who launched the Peace Corps, were early heroes. A career of public service was the ultimate aspiration.
The sheer folly of trying to defend a nation by destroying all life on the planet must be apparent to anyone capable of rational thought. Nuclear capability must be reduced to zero, globally, permanently. There is no other option.
For all its considerable merits and inspirational principles, the American system is based upon a continuous uninterrupted process of election campaigns, stretching out year after year. Lost in the perpetual scramble is any long-term vision...
The idea of public service was instilled in me by watching my father, who shared that he was far more fulfilled in his public service than by his former lucrative corporate jobs.
You can see that in people around the world who struggle to survive with little or nothing. Whether they’ve been inspired by faith or by loving relationships, or whether it’s just something innate that gives them that ability to shine and inspire others.
I think there are always going to be fanatics and charismatic extremists who are going to be able to draw a following.
One thing that keeps me awake at night: I am a mother and, I have to confess with great delight, a grandmother of five girls, which gives me great hope for the future – girl power! Can I say that without alienating all of the men?
What keeps me awake at night is just, Am I making the best use of the time that remains for me, to both be as good an example as I can in my own daily life, and as compelling as possible a voice for the ways in which we can all work together to tackle these issues.
I work out on almost a daily basis wherever I am, but yoga brings into that equation something that is ideal for me to maintain a physical and emotional and mental kind of balance, and to stay healthy – I see it as a way of investing in my future.
I join all of you who are advocates telling others that they can improve their lives and the quality of their lives and others by taking a few moments, breathing, and allowing one’s whole being to become a vessel for positivity.
I think there are many experts who say, in fact, the most powerful nations on earth are more vulnerable today than the weaker nations because they’re the targets of so many of these groups that are trying to steal, to buy, to build nuclear weapons.
King Hussein never lost his faith, no matter how difficult and unbearable and cruel the circumstances could be. I always remember that. It helps me get through everything. It’s a way of trying to keep that positive spirit alive for as many people as we can touch. I think that’s good for the world.
I did feel a sense of duty. I felt that it could be a great asset to the future of Jordan, and those continuing the process of building the country, to concentrate on that humanitarian, peace-building legacy.