This trip has made me realise how small my view of the civil svc has been, and how I will never fit into the bigger machinery. Talking to the interns, especially, blew my mind.
what happened to serving people because of the meaning of what you do? why the expectation and the sense of entitlement? Indeed, it is true that at a tender age of 18, the expectation of "the sky is the limit" is not wrong. But I'm amazed, aghast and overwhelmed by the ambitions of these kids in the public service, not for anything else but for success in itself. in a way, Bilahari's speech has never been more relevant for the generation of RI kids coming through it.
I'm... disturbed. Thankfully (to others, maybe sadly), I'm not part of that big machinery and race to the top to get into the management program or admin service or whatever it maybe, AO, hi-po and all the other crap. i'm protected from all that in my little cozy small world of my stat board, never quite realising the bigger world just a step up from my roost.
but it has made me realise that more than ever, that i never want to step foot in there. civil service, without the meaning to what we do, ceases to be a place of any importance. and sharing my view that ultimately it's about being contented and finding satisfaction/meaning that what you do is in line with what God intends for you to do, was so different and mindblowing to them whose primary concern was whether their type of scholarship received now meant a glass ceiling to their eventual ascension up the ladder to be a PS or DS or someone of a sufficient high rank.
i see how some of the bosses take this, too, as their entitlement. i see the way they behave, the way they think, and i wonder... truly. for all they say about love of the country, serving the people, how much of that is true or just simply rhetoric, an attempt to create the impression necessary to continue moving forward, essential for their climb up the ladder, because this is politically correct and looks good.
but all that aside, more than ever, my focus has to be on what God is doing in my life. to be contented with what i have (however little), and to put Him first - that's the way i need to live, without being distracted by what the world offers. never mind what these people think. i need to look at what i have in my hands, thank God for all He has given, and entrust all that I have to Him for His glory. To work, then it is!
what happened to serving people because of the meaning of what you do? why the expectation and the sense of entitlement? Indeed, it is true that at a tender age of 18, the expectation of "the sky is the limit" is not wrong. But I'm amazed, aghast and overwhelmed by the ambitions of these kids in the public service, not for anything else but for success in itself. in a way, Bilahari's speech has never been more relevant for the generation of RI kids coming through it.
I'm... disturbed. Thankfully (to others, maybe sadly), I'm not part of that big machinery and race to the top to get into the management program or admin service or whatever it maybe, AO, hi-po and all the other crap. i'm protected from all that in my little cozy small world of my stat board, never quite realising the bigger world just a step up from my roost.
but it has made me realise that more than ever, that i never want to step foot in there. civil service, without the meaning to what we do, ceases to be a place of any importance. and sharing my view that ultimately it's about being contented and finding satisfaction/meaning that what you do is in line with what God intends for you to do, was so different and mindblowing to them whose primary concern was whether their type of scholarship received now meant a glass ceiling to their eventual ascension up the ladder to be a PS or DS or someone of a sufficient high rank.
i see how some of the bosses take this, too, as their entitlement. i see the way they behave, the way they think, and i wonder... truly. for all they say about love of the country, serving the people, how much of that is true or just simply rhetoric, an attempt to create the impression necessary to continue moving forward, essential for their climb up the ladder, because this is politically correct and looks good.
but all that aside, more than ever, my focus has to be on what God is doing in my life. to be contented with what i have (however little), and to put Him first - that's the way i need to live, without being distracted by what the world offers. never mind what these people think. i need to look at what i have in my hands, thank God for all He has given, and entrust all that I have to Him for His glory. To work, then it is!
posted by jo at 10:14 am
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