Ghandi, Law, and The Alchemist
Watched Ghandi spread over past couple days. A very inspiring, moving, and challenging movie. To have watched it instead of watching the usually hilarious The Office was one of the best decisions I’ve made this Christmas break. One of my favourite movies now.
Law. Shall I go into law? Thinking about it again. The injustices, the wars and segregation of people in the movie both rile me and deeply sadden me. Many times moved near to tears in sorrow and compassion.
Would law school help me to help them? What did Marc Kielburger go into law for? I should have asked him back at the UW Social Entrepreneurship conference. Ghandi was also a lawyer too before he became Mahatma.
But what would/could a lawyer do? Ghandi’s most influential role was not as a lawyer. So maybe law school isn’t of such ultimate usefulness. But maybe it made him think in a certain way, and about certain things? To investigate justice (systems).
If I am to go into law it must be for more than just money. I won’t find the motivation to do well in school if it is only for money. It must be for some greater cause of humanity: for that I will strive.
Law appeals now because it seems (vaguely) a career which can be very meaningful to combat those things I so hate, and will also make use of my blessings, those gifts from God which put me above average and able to succeed in challenging and ambitious ways by worldly standards. That is, to say it simply, I can leverage my intellect more in law than some other careers I have been considering. Make use of it to go and serve in a capacity not everyone can. Law is hard.
On the other hand what is most important is not what I leverage of my gifts but whatever is most beneficial for others, in God’s name and glory.
—-Big Dreams
I feel so torn as to what to do for a career. And I feel it is so huge a thing to consider because I feel God has something BIG for me to do. Yes there is my whole life ahead of me and there is time for change, but that is no reason not to think about the best/right direction for me deeply now.
Is it my Personal Legend as Coelho in The Alchemist writes? It is my dream, yes, to make a huge difference in the world. But I suppose I am not sold that whatever anyone dreams is a call from the so called Soul of the World, as he says; not necessarily from God, as I see it.
Am I being young and foolish?
Am I being PROUD, thinking I am so capable of accomplishment?
Am I quenching a real call by my pragmatic cynicism?
Am I being a hopeless idealist?
But it is the unbaggaged idealists that change the world, to paraphrase from a previous discussion with Sarah Joy.
Yet on that, perhaps I’ve been suckered by the appeal of a counter-counter-conventional notion, that unbaggaged idealism is effective.
But looking at Jesus and Ghandi: were they idealists?
What’s an idealist anyway? Not one who is necessarily out of touch with reality and naive. I consider myself to have a fair grasp on both: the ideal and the real.
December 31st, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Isaiah 1:17
learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause.
January 2nd, 2009 at 12:37 am
A humbling time indeed. Looking at oneself and dreaming of Gods plans for you.
Some mornings, I just hear Him saying : I have amazing plans for you, you will do great things in my name…
Most of the time i have no idea how He’s going to bring me there, there’s a certain fear out of reverence I hold for future me because I know He’s gonna manifest His glory in me…
For now, it’s most humbling to figure out my first step, where He wants me to go.
I don’t want my pride to be the one thing to cause me to not do anything He asks of me… It’s a kind of complete surrendering to His will that I feel I’m still learning… still unemployed :/
You can be both real and ideal I believe…. grounded at where you are and knowing that there are great plans…..
January 10th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
related post about being real
http://bilyxiao.com/2008/11/in-touch-with-reality/