Twitter can be a real circus. Self-obsessed, foul-mouthed people abound – you know the type – the ones that seem to think the world revolves around them. But I love Twitter all the same. Because amongst the circus you meet people like Daphne Tan. Daphne and I have never met except through the wonderful world of social media and email, but she is a person whom I admire. She is someone with great faith and is not afraid to say things the way they are. This is why it’s an honour to write a guest post.
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Our Connection to Things
A typical scenario for me used to be as follows: It’s 3am Monday morning and my alarm would wake me up. Bleary eyed but excited, I would emerge from my room and camp in front of the TV. The grand prix was on and I wasn’t going to miss it – I had submitted my picks for Fantasy Formula One on the Friday, and my friends and I would be discussing the results at school later that morning (so clearly, there was no option to be responsible and record it to watch later).
I would repeat the above scenario for the duration of the season despite an exam or test being on the same morning. It was worth the risk of decreased mental capacity, I figured.
It would be accurate to say that between March and November every year I would live and breathe Formula One.
Rewind 22 years. When I was a child my father, who also loves motor sport, would play a particular Formula One computer game. So I grew up with the sound of racing cars in my ears. I figured at an early age that I could either loathe it or embrace it. I chose the latter. When I couldn’t sleep I would wander into the living room and Dad and I would watch a race together. I got to love the sport and became slightly (okay, very) obsessed. I’m pretty sure my password was ‘chicane’ at some point.
The point of my story is that if we’re at all human we’re likely to have things that are close to our heart, things we feel are worth doing or having.
We love the things we love for a reason. Perhaps it’s something you discovered when you were a child, and have positive experiences about. Perhaps you just love what you love because of the innate compelling inside to have a ‘favourite something’. Perhaps you just connect with the thing you love but can’t articulate why.
We all have things we love, in varying degrees.
Six years ago I discovered my greatest passion: advocating for children in poverty (hence my twitter name @achildadvocate). My heart is fullest when I am being a voice for the voiceless and raising awareness of the plight but also the potential and value of children. I know, in the deepest parts of my being, that this is one passion that’s never going go away. Poverty is one of the greatest evils facing our planet (as Wess Stafford, CEO of Compassion International simply puts it) and I want my life to be about helping see that come to an end.
Our world is severely unbalanced. For example, there exists more than enough money to end world hunger, and yet we spend more money on pet food than some families spend on their children in a life time.
Recently, I have been reflecting in a big way on my various passions, interests and possessions in light of the issues of the world and want to put out there this thought:
The world is so unbalanced because everyone believes they are entitled to the various things in their lives.
Here are some things in my own life, just to name a few:
- Apartment
- Car
- iPhone and various gadgets
- Interests: Formula One, etc
We inject money, time and energy into these things. Perhaps some of us have subconsciously applied the reasoning of necessity or entitlement. Most of us probably haven’t given this any thought at all.
I have recently reflected on Formula 1 and realized that it’s one big multi-million dollar conglomeration that exists only for itself and its enthusiasts and I’m not sure it benefits anyone else. I’ve thought, Why do I do my part keeping the sport alive? For my entertainment?
I’ve also been reflecting on the danger of things being so close to our hearts that we abdicate any responsibility to question them. .
The aim of my article is not to bash myself or everyone over the head with guilt. I do believe we should enjoy our lives and be passionate about many things.
But I do think especially at this time of Christmas and reflection, that it’s worth looking at what we have, what we do and (I’m getting into sensitive territory here): what we love and whether these things ultimately contribute to our world being so unbalanced.
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"life and society" will feature various people from different walks of life and various parts of the world. New posts are up every Monday and Thursday at 6pm (GMT +8 / Singapore time) through the first week of 2012. On Monday (Dec 12), I'll be featuring Rachel Bok, the other of the two people I've found a close heart connection with over Twitter. Amazing!
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