In a world where a person's success is measured by his wealth, his titles, his work... many of us are missing the key thing that is important in life.
Don't get me wrong... I too enjoy the trappings of a comfortable life. I don't think there is anything wrong with it... as long as you share your joy with others. It doesn't mean that you must do away with what you've rightly earned and live a life of a hermit. What it means is just that the next time you decide to splurge on something because it's the "in" thing or because you just need an "upgrade", think about how that money can be spent to extend the joy to others. If you have the means, why not go ahead... do the purchase and spend an amount for a good cause as well.
I've always believed that the more you give, the more you get back... Maybe not in the physical sense, but it will be rewarded.
JK Rowling yesterday delivered the key address at Harvard's commencement. As usual, her eloquence amazes me. But this time, the messages that she conveyed was way more beautiful than her 7 novels.
One of the many things I learned at the end of that Classics corridor down which I ventured at the age of 18, in search of something I could not then define, was this, written by the Greek author Plutarch: What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.
That is an astonishing statement and yet proven a thousand times every day of our lives. It expresses, in part, our inescapable connection with the outside world, the fact that we touch other people’s lives simply by existing.
But how much more are you, Harvard graduates of 2008, likely to touch other people’s lives? Your intelligence, your capacity for hard work, the education you have earned and received, give you unique status, and unique responsibilities. Even your nationality sets you apart. The great majority of you belong to the world’s only remaining superpower. The way you vote, the way you live, the way you protest, the pressure you bring to bear on your government, has an impact way beyond your borders. That is your privilege, and your burden.
If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped transform for the better. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.
There are many other messages in her speech, but to me, this stood out by a mile. For the full version, go to http://harvardmagazine.com/go/jkrowling.html
We are in a position of privilege... let's all use it for the good of mankind.
A side note... the recent petrol price hike in Malaysia is a blessing in disguise. Actually, the global impact in itself is good. OK... how can I say that? Well... I think the time has come for us to really get serious about taking better care of the earth and how better than to find a more sustainable means of living. People are now really talking about conserving energy, finding energy efficient alternatives.
If anything, the cyclone that hit Myanmar, the tornado in the US, the earthquake in China... they're all God's way of telling us that "Stop harming the earth!" I know, the deathtoll, the destructions etc... how can I say that those catastrophes are good? If you recall, Allah had done the very same thing during zaman Nabi Lut and many other prophets... when they're getting astray... a "reminder" is sent.
So let's all take note of the numerous reminders sent our way this past decade and start changing our lives...
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