Why I "Have To"
Why I 'Have To'- My response to the issue of the air-con mentioned in the last post...
1. I have to learn contentment.
I'm still in school when it comes to learning contentment. However, towards this goal there are a number of things I do. I seek to recognize the sources of the good things I enjoy. I'm thankful. I try to see the difference between my wants and needs. I work at not complaining. I look for moments of joy (MOJ's) during the day. Simple stuff. Until the air-conditioner gets turned off!
I need to learn contentment even if it is just to be the person I want to be. It isn't a duty. I'd rather live freely, richly, lightly. with a deep, enduring sense of peace and joy in the midst of life's challenges.Whether I'm hot or cold, busy or bored, surrounded by loved ones or alone in a foreign place, I have to learn contentment.
2. I have to learn connections.
My actions have consequences not only for my life but for countless other people. This is something I don't fully understand but I want to keep learning about this connectedness.In thinking of a word to sum up this connectedness I think firstly of globalisation. Thomas Friedman uses two different words to sum up the Super-Story of the world in recent decades and the world today. He summarises the divided, chopped-up state of the world during the Cold War years with the single, symbolic word wall- The Berlin Wall. In contrast, today we see much more of an integration of markets, communications systems and transport systems that enable us to connect in a way that has never before been possible. Friedman characterizes this system of globalization by the word web- the World Wide Web. While the Cold War period was marked by the push and shove of divided nation-states, Friedman sees three power balances that overlap and affect each other today. The first is the traditional balance of power between nation-states. The second is between nation-states and global markets. The third is between individuals and nation states.Why am I going into detail on this point? There has been no other time in history when ordinary, individual people have such power to impact thousands or millions of others across the globe. My actions have consequences in the lives of other people. My decisions in consumer choices, voting, working, paying taxes, supporting NGO's, emailing government leaders about political concerns, investing and campaigning for justice affect people.
I have to admit this morning when I woke up, put on the kettle, swept the courtyard and fed the dogs I didn't contemplate this for a second. But it is true!Sometimes we need to be educated about the reality of life for the two-thirds. Sometimes we need to be reminded.
Sometimes we need an experience- to do something or to feel something so that we can be fuelled to engage creatively with our connected world. We need help to put into action the desires that are already in us to seek justice, mercy and peace.
3. I have to get close.
Poverty is personal. If I am to come alongside and develop genuine relationships with people who are poor (or just poorer than me) I need to get close. I may need to change my address.
In general, I don't think we put much planning into choosing our friends. They pop up because we study together, work at the same place, have enrolled our kids in the same school or surf at the same beach. It requires more planning and effort to hang out with people who are very different to us.I think all of us need to consider whether there are one or two relationships we are developing not simply because it fulfills our social needs but because we are seeking to love someone who needs it. I think some of us can take a further step by choosing to get close to a community of people who are very different to us.
Sometimes changing our address and radically altering our lifestyle in order to form genuine relationships with people who are poorer is easier to do than switching off the air-con for a night. Sometimes it is harder. If I live with the poor in an Asian, urban setting, I don't have to make a choice whether to use the air-con at all. This is none. I don't have to consider whether a washing machine and dryer all in one is better than buying two machines separately. I'll just wash smaller loads regularly by hand and hang the clothes out in the morning so that I can bring them inside before thieves are tempted to take them in the dark. It can be easier to make one choice that then defines a hundred smaller choices. When the annoying drudgery of hand-washing hits me and I ask, "Why am I doing this again?" I can answer, "Because I have to get close."
We don't know what small actions help us to get close to people. For on individual it is, "You ate the soup I made for you." For another person it is, "You are learning our language." For one it is, "You asked me for help" but for someone else it's, "You like singing our songs." Why do I mention these little things? Because if poverty is personal- if healing really does come as much through one person holding the hand of a sick widow as it does through a UN shipment of medicines- then I need to get close.
1. I have to learn contentment.
I'm still in school when it comes to learning contentment. However, towards this goal there are a number of things I do. I seek to recognize the sources of the good things I enjoy. I'm thankful. I try to see the difference between my wants and needs. I work at not complaining. I look for moments of joy (MOJ's) during the day. Simple stuff. Until the air-conditioner gets turned off!
I need to learn contentment even if it is just to be the person I want to be. It isn't a duty. I'd rather live freely, richly, lightly. with a deep, enduring sense of peace and joy in the midst of life's challenges.Whether I'm hot or cold, busy or bored, surrounded by loved ones or alone in a foreign place, I have to learn contentment.
2. I have to learn connections.
My actions have consequences not only for my life but for countless other people. This is something I don't fully understand but I want to keep learning about this connectedness.In thinking of a word to sum up this connectedness I think firstly of globalisation. Thomas Friedman uses two different words to sum up the Super-Story of the world in recent decades and the world today. He summarises the divided, chopped-up state of the world during the Cold War years with the single, symbolic word wall- The Berlin Wall. In contrast, today we see much more of an integration of markets, communications systems and transport systems that enable us to connect in a way that has never before been possible. Friedman characterizes this system of globalization by the word web- the World Wide Web. While the Cold War period was marked by the push and shove of divided nation-states, Friedman sees three power balances that overlap and affect each other today. The first is the traditional balance of power between nation-states. The second is between nation-states and global markets. The third is between individuals and nation states.Why am I going into detail on this point? There has been no other time in history when ordinary, individual people have such power to impact thousands or millions of others across the globe. My actions have consequences in the lives of other people. My decisions in consumer choices, voting, working, paying taxes, supporting NGO's, emailing government leaders about political concerns, investing and campaigning for justice affect people.
I have to admit this morning when I woke up, put on the kettle, swept the courtyard and fed the dogs I didn't contemplate this for a second. But it is true!Sometimes we need to be educated about the reality of life for the two-thirds. Sometimes we need to be reminded.
Sometimes we need an experience- to do something or to feel something so that we can be fuelled to engage creatively with our connected world. We need help to put into action the desires that are already in us to seek justice, mercy and peace.
3. I have to get close.
Poverty is personal. If I am to come alongside and develop genuine relationships with people who are poor (or just poorer than me) I need to get close. I may need to change my address.
In general, I don't think we put much planning into choosing our friends. They pop up because we study together, work at the same place, have enrolled our kids in the same school or surf at the same beach. It requires more planning and effort to hang out with people who are very different to us.I think all of us need to consider whether there are one or two relationships we are developing not simply because it fulfills our social needs but because we are seeking to love someone who needs it. I think some of us can take a further step by choosing to get close to a community of people who are very different to us.
Sometimes changing our address and radically altering our lifestyle in order to form genuine relationships with people who are poorer is easier to do than switching off the air-con for a night. Sometimes it is harder. If I live with the poor in an Asian, urban setting, I don't have to make a choice whether to use the air-con at all. This is none. I don't have to consider whether a washing machine and dryer all in one is better than buying two machines separately. I'll just wash smaller loads regularly by hand and hang the clothes out in the morning so that I can bring them inside before thieves are tempted to take them in the dark. It can be easier to make one choice that then defines a hundred smaller choices. When the annoying drudgery of hand-washing hits me and I ask, "Why am I doing this again?" I can answer, "Because I have to get close."
We don't know what small actions help us to get close to people. For on individual it is, "You ate the soup I made for you." For another person it is, "You are learning our language." For one it is, "You asked me for help" but for someone else it's, "You like singing our songs." Why do I mention these little things? Because if poverty is personal- if healing really does come as much through one person holding the hand of a sick widow as it does through a UN shipment of medicines- then I need to get close.
posted by pip @ 5:50 pm
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