The Shifting of Sg Dream

Last night I was staying at my friend's house. We celebrated Chinese New Year by having mashed potato, mushroom soup, marinated whole chicken, broccoli & carrot for dinner *See any Chinese food on the list? :p*

Today went for lunch at the Malay stall near her house. The Auntie (or I should call MakCik?) was so nice, she chatted with us in Malay & gave us a BIG portion of food. A good tip for Indonesians to get bigger portion or cheaper food from Malay stall in Sg: speak Bahasa! :)

While we're waiting for the food to be served, the auntie showed us a newspaper. She highlighted the headline on an artist in China who painted his daughter in nude. I scanned through some the pictures paintings. Beautiful art-pieces, I think.

After that I scanned through the whole newspaper and I found a really interesting (and quite relieving) article about the shifting priorities of people living & working in Singapore. I read carefully the infographic (shown as below).

Let me quote some parts of the article:

"The family. It's the most important life raft in times of crisis.
When fears about jobs and the future are all-pervasive, families give us comfort, hope and practical help.
...quoted a recent survey by OCBC which found that this year, the top three Sg-an dreams were starting a family, settling down and buying a home.
This is in stark contrast to last year, when the top three dreams were seeing the world, self-improvement and making money.
This implies that amid uncertainty, priorities have shifted from personal wants and ambitions to home, relationships and family."

As a comparison, you may see below:

The top 10 list for 2008: 1) Seeing the world 2) Self-improvement 3) Making money 4) Houses and home 5) Good health 6) Family and Children 7) Charity & volunteering 8) Automobile 9) Starting a business 10) Retirement

The top 10 list for 2009: 1) Family and Children 2) Settling down/Starting a family 3) Houses and home 4) Making money 5) Retirement 6) Seeing the world 7) Automobile 8) Good health 9) Starting a business 10) Self-improvement

For those of you who are interested to read the full report, you may find it here.

Upon reading the article, I began to ponder...
1.) That it's good that there's a shift in how people in Sg perceive what is MOST valuable in life (usually known as 5Cs of Sg - Cash, Car, Credit Card, Condominium, Country Club membership)
2.) That it's good for Sg who in the past few years has been facing challenges on its demographic issues. (Sg needs more couples! More kids! More babies!)
3.) (Once again) that "Every cloud has a silver lining". The current global financial crisis has really brought great change. And in this case, it's for better :)
I think human are somewhat pitiful. Sometimes people could really be a fool that it takes a super giant wave to make them realize what actually are the more important things in life.
4.) When I looked at the list again, Sg is such a secular country :) Hardly mention about 'God' or religion... But the current situation, I believe, will make lots of people start to ponder about the existence of God and/or relationships with God.
Let me quote an article I read yesterday by Joerg Rieger: "In everyday experiences of pressure and change, people tend to raise questions that have deep theological significance." Hmm... I imagine questions like: Where is God in all of this thing? Why does God allow it to happen? Why is it happening to me? Is there any way out? Where can I find hope/happiness/joy/peace of mind?

Ita, how if one day your boss/ colleagues/ relatives/ friends/ acquaintances ask you such questions? Are you prepared?

... (silent)

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him..."

"... we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts..."

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future"