The following was written by Mark who, together with his family, has lived in the slums of Asia for the past 17 years.
Consumerism: Reflect on your consumption. Don’t buy things simply to improve your self-image in front of others. Don’t always buy the newest or the best. Don’t become too attached to technology – don’t let your sense of self be tied into an object. Fast from different things at different times. Learn to share things.
Community: Learning to live with others will help your self-understanding. Making decisions with others helps strip away the illusions of independence. Being in community is an antidote to the selfish individualism that feeds consumerism.
Consider Overseas: You don’t know if it could work till you go. Don’t ruminate on it too intellectually. While you’re young & unencumbered, give it a try for a few years, and if it works, commit to longer. Even if it doesn’t work out, it will deepen you and your understanding of God & the world. You don’t need a formal qualification to go.
Creation Care: Measure your carbon footprint (on a website like http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx ). Care about climate change and the damage it’s doing to people and ecological systems. Don’t deny your part in the problem. Don’t fly, drive or consume mindlessly.
Catastrophic inequality: Remember that you are rich, and that many others aren’t. Seek out the marginalised wherever you are. Don’t aspire to further your wealth.
Corporate control of communication: Don’t believe everything the media feeds you – its biased – usually to a pro growth, pro corporate, pro consumption agenda. Be critically evaluative. Seek out media sources that are less biased and/or have a broader agenda. Try ‘The Guardian’, ‘Al Jazeera’, or ‘The New Internationalist.’
Commitment: Don’t be afraid of committing – to a person, to a job, to a principle—for a long time. Don’t go through life selfishly seeking your own experiences and the next interesting thing to do. There is great freedom in committing to something / someone. In a way it’s more freeing than ‘leaving your options open’ and needing to fret continuously about the future.
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