I'm still alive! Though it does feel like an age since my last blog. I actually had several occasions to update the site, but I didn't feel like writing just for the sake of an updated blog. The mindless rambling didn't seem worth another entry, if you know what I mean.
I've been pretty restless lately. Restless with my life and where I've taken it (or where I haven't taken it, rather). Not to say that I'm unhappy--no, not at all. In fact God has been good. Bebs and I reached our second year last week. Pretty amazing feat for a culture that takes marriage so casually. Work's work. Church's church. Everything's been peachy. Too comfortable even. Then again, that's probably it. I have admittedly been lackadaisical about the bigger things in life: giving back, making a difference, doing something larger than myself, pursuing that bigger calling. Believe me, I talk about it often, though I have now caught myself just talking without the corresponding follow-through. Not good. No, not worth the rambling.
The other night, I found myself checking out the World Economic Forum with Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Tony Blair and Bono and I insisted on watching it because I specifically wanted to hear what Bono had to say. Now, I've always loved the guy and held him in great esteem for his work and music, and though I've read about his lofty dreams of 1) eliminating third world debt and 2) fighting against AIDS in Africa, I've never really heard it straight from the horse's mouth.
And so I listened.
He didn't talk much, but when he did... boy, there was passion. And sincerity. And brilliance. The rockstar simply blew me away. He talked about people patting him on the back with "Well done, Bono. Great cause!" And to this he replied,
I'd like for the tone to change... I don't think 6,000 people dying of AIDS in Africa is a cause. I think it's an emergency. 5,000 dying of a simple mosquito bite: it's not a cause. It is an emergency... The world actually wants to be involved in something bigger than itself. What else are we going to be remembered for? We will be remembered for three things: the internet, the war against terror, and what we did (and didn't do) about Africa and its travails. And I think we can be the generation that ends extreme poverty. And I will pledge my life to that commitment.
He also talked about branding and the need to "redescribe ourselves to a world who is unsure of our values". He then concluded with a conversation he had withTom Lantos, a Hungarian politician who recounted his experience in the days of Fascism when he, as a Jew, actually watched families being led onto the trains. And though they didn't ask where they were going, you saw in the children's faces the look of fear. Lantos then analogized it to the present times where he said,
Here, we know where they are going. We know that Africa can die from a lack of drugs -- drugs which we can get at a drugstore round the corner. We know that people can die from a mosquito bite when they shouldn't have to.
Bono then capped off with words I will never forget,
Tom Lantos then gave me permission to use this analogy wherever I went. And when he asked me what I was going to use it for, I told him, Everytime I will talk about this analogy, I will say that this time, we will be the generation who will lie in front of the trains.
I didn't want a preachy entry for a blog comeback, but I just had to share all this.. Wouldn't it be great if we all did a little more than what was required of us? Wouldn't the world be so much better if we looked out for others and not just ourselves every once in a while? I for one want to make a difference. I'm sure there's something in me--a skill, a gift, talent, whatnot--something I can contribute and give back. I don't think I need to be rich (although that would definitely be nice) to do something. It doesn't even have to be in some grand scale. I just need to do something.. Be better at my crafts, work a little harder, give a little more, pray a little deeper, read, learn... something.
Anyway, to Bono:
Even if your Bay Area concert was sold out four minutes after the launch of ticket sales (sniff), I wanna thank you for the epiphany. I do want to be the generation who will lie in front of the trains. One way or another.
I guess yesterday is officially the start of the new year for me.
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