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Outside the music scene, besides being a renowned photographer (i.e., his collections Timeless and Alone, and his recent work as the artistic stills photographer on the Eileen Gray biopic “The Price of Desire”), he’s also been a devoted philanthropist; he created The White Feather Foundation in 2007. “It was set up, as a way to give back to the Mirning people, the Aboriginal tribe in the documentary I produced, ‘whaledreamers.’ They were the ones that came to me, offering me the white feather, who said to me, ‘You have a voice. Can you help us?’ In that moment, I realized I had two choices – to either just keep on keeping on, as a musician/rocker, or step up to the plate and help people that couldn’t help themselves,” describes Lennon. “Initially, we were an umbrella charity, helping those without a voice, but we have now also moved forward with our own projects, mostly directed towards clean water, which started with my relationship with charity: water – the clean water campaign, raising money to supply wells and clean drinking water, where there was none.” Lennon also declares that we can trace the root cause of social/environmental issues to darkness and madness surrounding money and power. “They have been part of life since the beginning, but we can try to balance it out a little more,” he asserts. “There shouldn’t be hunger, the homeless, human trafficking and not enough clean drinking water for everyone on this planet.” Meanwhile, here’s a little advice on what we can do about those problems: “Only you know your true circumstance and reality, and know what you are able to do. That comes in many forms, and you have to decide for yourself. As we all know, even as little as a smile can change someone’s day.” With his life story of struggle and triumph, what’s really next for Julian Lennon? “Just to move forward and be as happy as I can in doing so, and to help people along the way. That’s my goal. That’s all that matters to me, really,” affirms Lennon. “I’m fortunate enough to have a healthy life so far. I’m fortunate enough that I’m being able to do the things that I love to do, whether it’s music, photography, or the foundation. For me, it’s just a constant growth in all those areas and just trying to be a better person all around – that is the most important thing for me.” julianlennon.com 360 MAGAZINE 57