Over the course of the past 2+ years my views on a lot of things have changed substantially, perhaps no single view more than any other but reading Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan made me realise how much I've now become passionate about conservation (of our planet). I was sitting in the basement of the Business school at university waiting for my Reason and Science Society meeting reading Pale Blue Dot. Next thing I know a group of business faculty members sit down on the next couch over. I couldn't help but overhear what they were talking about, and it was distracting me and irritating me.
What annoyed me most was not that they were talking while people around me were studying and I was reading, it was that they were talking about profiteering. There I was reading about how humanity could all too easily wipe itself out if we don't take measures to protect our planet, while they were getting excited about how much money they could make. 3-4 years ago I wouldn't have been annoyed at what they were saying, in fact I would probably have been interested in doing the same thing. Now it almost disgusts me, and instead I get excited by things that can improve the quality of life for others, while not only doing no harm to our environment but helping to protect it. In the space of a few short years I've gone from a conservative, capitalist Christian, to a liberal, socialist, green atheist. Hows that for a paradigm shift?
Tis a strange thing when stopping to think every once in a while and find that you have what seems to be no reason at all to do good and help others. It's also awesome.
ReplyDeleteNice - I totally get where you're coming from. It seems so weird that when we stand back and look at people critically, we see things that used to be (or in some cases still are) part of who we are. It's fascinating seeing how much one can grow in such a short time. Keep it up KJ!
ReplyDeleteYour paradigm shift, is a true paradigm shift :) (the LTE riff comes back to me, and its a cool musical interpretation of a paradigm shift)
ReplyDeleteI'm similar to you in how my view has changed, minus the religious shift. But its hard to know what I will do to help when I'm out of university , studying marketing. I will find something however.
Great read KJ!
ReplyDeleteI've also been experiencing similar paradigm shifts since I have engaged in Tertiary study, and not just in a religious sense. Education certainly has a wonderful ability of broadening one's worldview and thinking!
Sam S.
It certainly does! I'm about to embark on another journey of potential shifts in ideas especially regarding political theory and social policy. Always looking to broaden my horizons.
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