The Work of One's Life

From where does peace come?  As I walk the crowded streets of Singapore, I see people who are healthy, well dressed, fair of face, and full of intention as they walk.  But what is their direction?  I also see strain and in some, a look of desperation.

I love this country and its people, but I worry about the extent of Western culture on its development, particularly its societal values.  Singapore has much of which to be proud.  As I look over the City, it's hard to remember this tiny country is only 45 years old.  It contains architectural buildings of extraordinary beauty and its fountains and gardens delight the eye in every direction.  The health care is of such a high level that "medical tourism" is a real phenomenon.  It hurts my local pride to admit it, but I feel significantly safer here than in many places in the San Francisco Bay Area.  The cleanliness and efficiency of its public transportation system are not to be believed.  And finally, its cultural history is diverse and rich like a fine California cabernet, to be sniffed and sipped and savored to get the fullness of its delights.

The trap I see, is unbridled consumerism - desire without purpose, buying without cause, development without balance.  To say that shopping is a large part of Singaporean culture is like saying Hoosiers are partial to basketball or Italians are fond of soccer.  America has fallen victim to its success in this way.  We spent generations toiling to raise our own standard of living, and once we had what most countries envy, we continued on, devolved that nation-building urge into a lust for the largest flat panel TV screen or luxury car or designer purse to "complete" us.  We left our first love somewhere on the path to success and all our belongings in the bulging closets of our bloated single-family estates will never fill the emptiness inside us.  If we are not acting from a core of fulfillment, knowing we have a purpose and we are doing the work we were born to do, all the things we buy, the worldly successes we pile up, will become ashes in our mouths and screaming emptiness in our hearts.

I just pray that our hard-working brothers and sisters in Singapore can take the time to learn from our mistakes, remembering the values of their heritage so they can find balance between national growth and personal fulfillment.