Monday, March 20, 2006
This quote, "we have flown the air like birds and swim the sea like fishes but yet to learn the simple act of waking the earth together as brothers" leaves a very deep impression in my mind. We might have mobile phones, internet etc to communicate with people from miles away, we also have aeroplanes, ships etc to travel around the world within a shorter period of time, but is it really bringing the people from all over the world closer? In my opinion, I do not think so. With modern technology nowadays, I feel that many people are taking advantage of such facilities to impose threats on other people. For example, in the 911 terrorist attack, aeroplane was being used as a tool to attack the twins tower. People is no longer grateful that they have the privilege to use such advanced technology not knowing that in some parts of the world, many people are still suffering. Personally, I think that we should not waste time and resources fighting against each other, but should work hand in hand to make the world a better place to live in. I am sure peace and harmony is what everyone longed for but if in this part of the world, a minority is still selfishly thinking for only themselves and refuse to work as a whole with other countries, in time to come, even after many generations, we can never obtain peace and harmony. 'Fighting for peace' itself is contradictory and can never be possible. I can see how the interconnectedness among everyone and that how an individual's decisions can affect the whole world and so, I think that all individuals should be a responsible citizen of the world.
"Since wars begin in the minds of men, so peace also begins in our minds.
The same species that invented war is capable of inventing peace. The responsibility lies within each of us." I think that this quote can relate to anyone, any races, and any religions of different age groups. It just means that if men can start a war, they can also preserve peace and harmony. It is the thinking, the mindset of people that thinks that war is the only way to solve a problem. Actually, we are responsible for all the decisions made. It affected me as an individual as I realise it is my choice to decide on anything. For example, when things are not going my way, I tend to be unhappy but by being unhappy, would it solve the problem? I have learnt that having a positive mindset is very important as we would have to bear the consequences for all the choices we make. As the saying goes, ‘life is made up of choices', and in times of adversity, we have to make the right choice to bring us back onto the smoother path of life, and in good times, we should refrain from making the wrong choice which would have brought us to a tougher path. I think it applies even to our personal lives. The mindset that we have will help us make our decisions. In reality, not everything can be classified under only areas of black and white; the grey area is one of risks and doubt. Depending on different mindsets, we will have different definitions of what is right and what is wrong but perhaps from another point of view, our thinking would change. I think we should have our own stand if we believe that we are right, however, we should also undertake different perceptions and look at matters from a different angle and we might have a better understanding of other humanity. We would have a broader mind and wider perspective which would be beneficial to all human races because we will stop thinking that we are always right, we will learn more and criticise less.
Also, I realized that although globalization benefits us in many ways, I feel that it affected the way we look at our own cultures and other cultures. As I noticed in Singapore, Chinese no longer wear cheongsam, most singaporeans are inflenced by the western culture and clothing no longer tells the social status anybody. A person who is very rich can wear t-shirt and short and the not so rich one can wear branded clothes. Many of the culture are no longer preserved and I feel that it is a pity because the next generation would have no idea what their culture is and how they originated from it. I think that we should be proud of our culture and not feel that it is a waste of time. In order to be a good global citizen, we must also be sensitive to other people culture. In order to do so, I believed that it is more important to respect the culture of different races in Singapore. After the lecture, I realized that the cultures of different countries are unique in their own ways. Being a global citizen, although we are of different races or religion, we are born in this world breathing in the same air as everyone so I feel that respecting other people is like respecting yourself, as a human being. Although I think that sometimes, ones culture may not seems appropriate to the other, but I feel that we should not stereotype them as there is their culture and we should not judge them by their culture.
On the last lecture, Ms Marie Chan said that one drop of water can cause a ripple, and a large quantity of water can actually cause tidal wave. I feel that one drop of water may not cause anything but a continuous supply of flowing water can actually smoothen rocks and reshape a mountain. This is the strength of supplement just like how a wind can blow off a big tree yet they can't blow away patches of grasses by using the concepts of supplement, the weak can overcome the strong, the impossible can actually be made possible. Taking ourselves as example, by having everyone to contribute just a little, we can contribute a lot to the world. So if everyone can save 1 litre of water, one hundred people can thus save one hundred litres of water Even though what we are just students, we can make a difference in helping to make this world a better place to live in, a more environmental-friendly place to live in. Therefore I think that we can help to save mother earth by saving water which I strongly agree about it because I wasted a lot a lot of water by spending about half an hour bathing each time. If I can cut down the time for bathing, I can save a lot of water. We can also do more by recycling papers. It is that little thing that we do that makes a difference in the society. It just takes everyone to have the mentality that if I can make a difference and not that I cannot make a difference if everyone is not doing so. I think that by taking the initiative, u could actually influence the people around u, and it's where we people, as global citizen stands. We are interconnected and what we do will affect other people and the things around us.
thx min. juz feel like updating blog lolx.
