It is easy to only see the present. In Singapore one finds clean streets, English signs, great food, unlimited shopping, and efficient public transport. Everything seems so embedded in Singaporean culture that it is hard to remember that it was not always this way.
Travel to Mumbai and you are likely to find streets overflowing with traffic and ongoing level of chaos with many areas of life. It seems so much of part of what one hears and sees as India that one assumes that it has always been that way.
With people, places, and situations, there is a natural link between what we observe and the person or communities behind it. I catch myself analyzing, theorizing, and reaching a view. I have been recently reminded that there are several factors I often miss.
Everyone and everyplace has history. There is a story of the beginning. It can be good or bad, colorful or predictable, expected or a surprise. Whatever it is, is will be unique. It will also be part of a greater story. Listening deeply to the story and the bigger story is an opportunity to see with a clearer vision.
Today’s events and actions have a foundation. The actions of others long before now created the framework and priorities for what happens today. Understanding the foundations is an opportunity to see into the fabric, the pillars and the way they are linked to each other. Equally so, the gaps in the pillars provide insights into the story and inform the present.
Journeys are never stagnant. There is change unfolding before us. At times I catch myself cynically looking at wicked problems that I do not think can be solved. It is unlikely that they can be solved the way I imagine but new solutions can and will come! There diversity and differences among us give hope to new solutions that many cannot imagine.
This morning I awoke with the awareness what I see outside reflects what is inside; “You laid earth’s foundations a long time ago, and handcrafted the very heavens;” (Psalm 102.25)
