Sydney alights with fireworks to usher in the New Year and one word will flash to capture the signs of the times. This year, the word is – INSPIRE! 2015 – it’s a brand new year, and we can hope against hope that we’ll be moving in new directions.
The year seems to have just flown us by and here we are on the verge of a New Year. Where has the year gone? What have we got to show for 2014? What happened to all the time that has been wasted on spitting out convoluted words that haven’t meant anything and has had no relevance to the community; all those meetings that failed to bring about sensible resolutions. On second thoughts, what resolutions?
Community groups will go on overdrive to celebrate their 25th Anniversaries, one can’t help but wonder what was really achieved except for the gas bagging, photos plastered on the social media and dancing queens. The word milestone will be thrown around for good neasure and although some of us would have done the mileage, stones are still left unturned.
The important question is who shall inspire us mere mortals? Can it really get any worse before it gets better? With community leaders not even knowing where to next, how can we expect them to lift us to a new world beyond the horizon. We can’t expect change with the same kind of thinking that created the situations that exist in the first place. After all there are those whose heads are stuck in the mud and are simply into repeating old patterns. It is what they know; it’s the way it’s been done (so they say); and they’ll fight tooth and nail to maintain the status quo and to get their way. And if we had to follow them, then we’d be stuck believing that the world is still flat.
How can we expect change when we fear to leap into the unknown and simply recycle the old patterns which were never right to begin with? Some would like to call it tradition. But repeat patterns and routine actions without meaning are simply habits. How can we expect motivation and innovation when good ideas are shunned and dialogues are out of the question? The Puwede na attitude will continue to prevail as well as the kakilala system. Turn a blind eye, keep your mouth shut and you get rewarded. And there will be those who will sell their souls for the hope of achieving their own immortality.
In 2015, there’ll be more recycled material floating around; more raffle tickets thrashed in front of our faces and more fundraisers that are short of a destination. There’ll be more productions and we can only hope that they entertain us. The swingers will swing from one to the other for the best vantage point and wherever the light shines. People will be playing musical chairs on a sinking ship.
Lately, I’ve been observing a phenomenon that seems to be sweeping the community. The community landscape is changing and the social chasm seems to be widening. New aliens will be seen roaming and will undoubtedly raise eyebrows and will leave us speechless. New pappelators will forcibly push their way to the top for a chance at gaining popularity. A new breed is also emerging – the Wrongologists – out to condone and tolerate the wrong for peace sake; to be seen and heard; and to protect their own legacies – that’s if they have one. These creatures are on “auto wrong.”
But it’s a mindset that stems from back home. Look, even Pacquaio was recently given the honorary “One Star General’ title. If this is the kind of mentality that we breed and live with, then we’re in serious trouble! Manny may be one of our great sporting heroes and there is no doubt that he has given honour to the Philippines. But a One Star General is pushing it a little too far and an insult to the men in uniform. Next they’ll want him to run for President and then Mama Dionisia may just be given a title of Ambassador. Frightening!
Sadly, it is the same kind of thinking we have around us, here. The great divide will widen, although frankly it’s more than just a divide – it is splintered. Like Humpty Dumpty, I wonder if all the King’s soldiers and all the King’s men will ever put us back together.
If the characters of 2014 remain around the community and we rely on them for our source of inspiration, then that really isn’t much to hope for. We’ll just have to look within us, dig deep and pull out the source to inspire each one of us.
