Perhaps some of the most important work we should do is to ensure that ideas that are worth spreading, spread. Act on them. Tell stories with them. Live them out. Nourish and expand them. Anything to keep them alive for those who come after us.
This train of thought coincided with what I've been mulling about for the past weeks. Recently, I attended a lecture by Prof Lee Shulman from the US who is well known in the teacher education field. He studies the teaching and learning practices, or pedagogy, that professions such as law and medicine use to train their practitioners.
To him, going back to the fundamentals is crucial. He asked a group of engineers: so what is an engineer? Their reply: "An engineer uses science and math to mess with the world by designing and making beautiful things...and once you mess with the world, you're responsible for the mess you've made."
Before this lecture, if you had asked me what I was, I would have replied: I'm a writer and editor, and I work with words. Simple.
But now I realise that working with words is just a technical skill, a craft I need to hone for my vocation. What is it that I'm trying to achieve exactly?
I've always felt that those who can't do, write. I look at the other professions, like doctors, scientists and engineers and feel that they are making genuine and tangible contributions to the well-being of others. What can a writer do? Societies can't do without doctors, nurses and teachers, but writers seem...dispensable. But I thought, writers tell stories. And perhaps their responsibility to the society is to tell only the good ones, the worthy ones.
To do that, first, I must learn my crafts well. So be it writing, or taking photos or making music--if it gets the message across, I want to learn more. I know it all sounds very hazy and idealistic, but it's good to have something to focus on. It's so easy to get lost in the daily humdrum. A question that constantly pops up is: What am I doing with my life? For now, I seem to have found some sort of a reply, however vague.
Some people think astrology is bosh. But the description of my sign pretty much sums it up. Those born under the Gemini-Cancer cusp are supposed to be good communicators with an emotional side. That's what I want to be: a communicator with a heart. One who will help the good ideas to spread, and help people to connect the dots by telling stories, and in that process bring about positive changes to lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment