There was an old scene from E.R. that I still remember: some of the main characters were interviewing medical students wanting to work at the hospital. When asked why they wanted to become a doctor, every one of them invariably answered, "I want to help people." Needless to say, the interviewers were not impressed with their uncreative responses.
Aside from the funny aspect, the scene stuck because to me "I want to help" is the fundamental reason I work hard. It may even be the reason that I still exist, as I have more or less ceased subscribing to consumerism. Instead, I continue to explore ways to help other people. I can't say there is any point to doing that either, but I doubt anyone really knows the true purpose of our being unless one ventures into the realm of religion. Frankly I don't oppose worshipping a God, but I prefer to spend that time helping someone in need, if that's possible. If the price for that is going straight to Hell then so be it.
Even thinking like a typical, sane person there are many things I can do to help the community. In fact, entering the workforce and providing service to the public already helps other people. The advantage of this path is I get paid for my work. However helping just any people is not good enough for me. Often times I have an overwhelming desire to focus helping those in more urgent and basic needs. This means the underprivileged in our society, people in third-world countries, etc.
To this end, there are basically two approaches. One is to leverage my knowledge and skills as (hopefully) a professional to provide the relevant services. The other approach is to provide less skilled work, probably some physical, mundane jobs. Both approaches have their places but I prefer the second one because it shows everyone can help the less fortunate if they choose to.
I still do not know which path I shall go down. The best way to find out is to experience it first hand, so at the end of this year, I am flying to Costa Rica as a volunteer. My job there is undecided -- it doesn't matter because I think I will enjoy it regardless. It will also be interesting to see how far I can cope with the living conditions in a developing country. I hope my accommodation will closely match that of the local inhabitants, as it would be insincere to be helping the poor when most of the resources are used to ensure my comfort.
1 comment:
amen to that! i couldn't have said it better, but that's exactly how i feel - i'd much rather devote my time towards helping my fellow man, either through my friendship or my career or volunteering or whatever. that, to me, is they way a life is well spent. i never knew exactly what i wanted 2 do (u know how some ppl grow up 'knowing' they wanna be a dr/pilot/architect/etc), but right from the start, i always knew i wanted a career that was founded on helping ppl (something health related).
...yeah.
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