LANE COVE COMMUNITY CHAPLAINCY
  • Home
  • About
  • Groups and Events
  • Blog
    • Resources
  • Contact
  • CONTRIBUTE

Thinking Aloud

Better than this!

9/6/2016

0 Comments

 
​Speaking with a young man involved in war memorial displays, our conversation turned to the resurgence of interest in ANZAC Day amongst so many people of diverse ages. His theory, based on his observations, took me by surprise. He believed that people compared their lives with those of our ANZAC heroes, concluding that at least their lives were better than those who went to war! Whereas a better life for future generations is an important motivation for service men and women, surely this self-centred attitude is not our key reason for being there? I believe we are better than this! Surely, it is more about an opportunity to express respect for the sacrifices made, to learn from history, and the consequent forging of a national identity of courageous altruism and mateship?
Today’s society, however, does have a huge emphasis on being ‘better than’ the next guy. Competitive sport, academic results, awards, climbing the corporate ladder, brand comparisons - the list goes on and on. We are encouraged to be better than our ‘competitors’ to be victorious, inferring a product of satisfaction and happiness. While that may be true for a little while, the elation evaporates quickly and we’re on to the next competition. And what about the losers? They certainly don’t experience that temporary high and may resent us for winning too. Whereas healthy levels of competition can inspire greater results, when that requires stepping on others to get there, we need to re-evaluate carefully. Recognition of the team’s victory, or even the contributions of other worthy competitors who helped us to produce our best, shares the glory and reduces the sting of loss.
Without the joy of positive relationships around us, our victories will ring hollow in the end. What point is there in being better than everyone else, if societal benefit is not achieved and people are alienated from us in the process? Our pain-forged, national values of courageous altruism and mateship are worth the conscious effort to retain. Can we, in this era of competition, also strive to do our best, without needing to win the gold medal? Let us model our ANZAC spirit to younger generations and refuse to surrender to lesser principles.
0 Comments
    Picture

    AUTHOR

    The articles here were written by Peter Andrews on behalf of the Chaplaincy Team from beginning 2023.

    Articles prior to that were written by Rev. Karen Paull, previous Lane Cove Community Chaplain.

    Blogs appear in The Village Observer, and are repeated here.

    Archives

    February 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Location

What People Say About Us:

We appreciate all you do for our community"
​"It feels like family"
​"Thank you!"

Contact Us

  • Home
  • About
  • Groups and Events
  • Blog
    • Resources
  • Contact
  • CONTRIBUTE