Purpose

Yesterday's mentoring group discussion was about Purpose, which led me to remember this article which I wrote a while back:

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I have always felt a deep resonance about humanity in brokenness -- the hurts and sorrow built up within and through the fragments of ourselves. From the individual, family, to the community, brokenness is present. Perhaps it is because I have seen my parents go through perpetual arguments, mental illness, marital affairs, suicide attempts, divorce and gambling. The calling that compels me to action now after the fractures that I have witnessed, is to make a difference, to assuage the brokenness that I see and to serve other young people who are hurting and guide them to see possibilities instead of dead ends in their lives.

From the time I became the community involvement programme representative for my class and faculty in Junior College, I realised that I no longer needed to be a bystander. Against the tide of brokenness that was ever-present, I could act. My volunteering efforts started then, when I rallied my schoolmates in my class and in the Arts Faculty to contribute to low-income and underprivileged children through “I can read” camps and activities. 10 years on, and the unfailing vision and purpose that I continue to embrace, is to invest in the next generation, particularly in the children and youths who may be deemed “at risk” by society.

It is my pivotal focus because these are the ones who will be establishing their own families in another 5 to 15 years. Investing in them is investing in the society of tomorrow. A youth given the seeds of confidence and self-esteem, and the seeds in him nurtured and watered into bloom through empowerment to rise above his hurts, to realise his dreams and fullest potential, is a family saved. Only then, can healthy, happy families emerge.

The past decade has seen me part of different organisations and also taking on volunteer leadership roles, but the core focus and hunger that I have to make a difference to young people remains. Each experience and involvement has been life-changing, shaping my perspective and widening my horizons as well as deepening my capacity to contribute. 

I am one individual, but I press on because being a mentor to a young person and enabling youths who were once struggling, to see possibilities in their lives, is life-transforming, important work. By inspiring others to join me in these efforts, by touching the heart of compassion that resides in every one of us -- one person can create ripples of change to eventually shape the culture and DNA of the society into one that is restorative, and one where brokenness is healed. 

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What I missed out from the short piece that I wrote, is God. God is the driving force behind my desire, spurring me on to a life of purpose. Without God, life is all vanity.