Carrying out acts of excess.
I have never found Singapore to be the most unhappy place in the world, until I juxtaposition it with elsewhere. I am both on the inside, and on the outside. Singapore is blessed with a lot of first-world material resources and we do have our basic needs met (ie. food, shelter, water, accompaniment). Yet it seems that there is a rising sentiment: it's not enough. I have to agree... we're dangling in the midst of 'can't starve to death, yet it's not sufficiently cushy', pushing everyone into this invisible race to chase after a horizon. We're almost guilty of being unappreciative, yet the mantra of meritocracy has drilled us to strive for the best and fend for yourselves (each man to his own!). Since Singa's retirement PR stunt in 2013, nothing much has changed. How can Singapore become more gracious?
On Slowing Down
We often don't see ourselves as being in a position of excess. To become a more gracious, kind and helpful society, we need to give. I don't refer to monetary terms, but time. Slow down. Every interaction with everyone around us has an energy field in which we contribute positive or negative forces. When we rush, there is a sense of silent rudeness that emits and received by the people around us. Kindness can be passed on, but selfishness is relayed even faster.
In many places in the world, the rule of the road is that 'pedestrian is king'and the effect of this was that it improved my mood so much. I felt significantly happier whenever I have to be on the road - since I am the pedestrian - and I often feel compelled to let motorists go first whenever I am not in a rush. This happiness feeds back into the system. In Singapore, this is not the case. Everyone seems to always be in a rush, cars jamming their accelerators just so they can speed past without stopping for me at zebra crossings. Even at traffic lights, cars try to drive past during the flashing green man when there are no visible pedestrians. This is very dangerous and extremely rude. I thought what I experienced was isolated cases, but these few weeks back in Singapore have assured me that this is the norm. A few minutes of waiting can be compensated by driving a little faster on the road later, and the time spent can improve everyone's moods.
![How Singapore can become more gracious.]( "How Singapore can become more gracious.")
On Being Socially Aware
We need to let go more of ourselves, our interests, and the idea of 'what we can earn from others' by doing certain petty and selfish acts. In the bigger scheme of things, when we look out for one another, others look out for us as well, and together, we become stronger as a whole. If all we care about is ourselves, we easily fall prey to the bystander effect when it comes to situations that require voluntary small acts of kindness. We need to let go of the irrational fear of being judged for lending a helping hand, of being the bigger person. We also need to forget how we do not have enough time. We will never have enough time, but looking out for others and being considerate is always worth that few minutes. Kindness begets kindness, and this process is extremely vulnerable... it only occurs if there are no weak links in this chain.
Singapore is still in its fundamental stages of being socially aware and considerate for one another, to begin - work needs to be done on walking habits. This country is your home, and the people around you share the same space as well. I rage tweet a lot on people's ill walking habits. I tone it down a little here. I wonder why I have to write certain things which are deemed common sense but apparently common sense is never universal so here goes:
Singapore is still in its fundamental stages of being socially aware and considerate for one another, to begin - work needs to be done on walking habits. This country is your home, and the people around you share the same space as well. I rage tweet a lot on people's ill walking habits. I tone it down a little here. I wonder why I have to write certain things which are deemed common sense but apparently common sense is never universal so here goes:
1. Be considerate.
2. Do not tailgate the person before you. If you are in a rush, ask for leeway and apologize for the inconvenience.
3. Do not stop when you reach the end of the escalator or stairs because there are people behind you who might injure themselves.
4. Do not stop abruptly when at a crowded area.
5. Stop texting when you walk.
6. Do not block an entire pathway with your party of friends.
7. Speed up your pace but remain respectful of personal space during peak hours at crowded places.
On the feeling of being perpetually insufficient
The widening gap between income levels and the costs of living in Singapore have become a very serious problem that hasn't been addressed ever since the last general elections. Bread and butter issues have rendered graciousness and kindness to be a superfluous luxury that we cannot afford, unfortunately this is a situation that I feel as well. We do not have excess of time and/or money, we can barely feed ourselves, let alone spare some for the people around us. We have been told 'nobody owes us a living', and that anyone in a position of poverty or dire straits is due to their laziness or their own doing - but that may or may not be true. Who knows their story? You don't even know them, nor walk a mile in their shoes. Regardless of our situation, we can have excess. We can spare a minute to talk to someone, make their lives better. Graciousness needs to be relayed, and it needs to start somewhere with or without a spark. Be that spark.
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