Burst The Bubble – Miss Batten
Confessions of a twenty-something: burst the bubble!
Through the hazy, lazy days of the post-Christmas slump, finally it’s here…and I’m ready! 2019. The year I become the version of myself I always wanted to be. Enthused by aspirations of my own future greatness, like millions of others, I begin the new year with a plethora of New Year’s resolutions. Determined to the core, I vow to be healthier, sportier, to spend more time with my friends, visit my family more often, learn a new language, travel more, read more, play my instruments more, bake more…oh, and probably learn to drive (it’s on my “to-do” list – honest!). Well, as I write this, January is rapidly drawing to a close; and how’s my quest for perfection working out? Surprise, surprise, not brilliantly! No doubt it will come as a shock to you to hear that sugar-free diets lack any semblance of joy (chocolate is a necessity for life); regular exercise takes time and effort; and, in case you were wondering, I’ll still be walking to the Co-op for a while longer yet.
There’s one New Year’s resolution, though, that I will be keeping, one which has been an ongoing personal project for me since I left university: broadening my perspective. Ambition, combined with a determination to improve ourselves, is healthy and vital for success. Yet, fixating or indeed obsessing about our goals and imperfections will not bring us happiness. It is all too easy to become blind to what is beyond our “bubble”. After I graduated, one of the reasons I chose to leave academia and to enter teaching was from a desire to be less introspective. While our problems and anxieties are real and pressing in our everyday lives, we are all guilty of forgetting to look at the bigger picture. While it may not always feel like it, we are lucky. We are lucky not to suffer from hunger or thirst; we are lucky to have a warm bed to sleep in tonight; we are lucky to have unquestioned access to health care and education; we are lucky not to live in fear of war and crime; we are lucky not to have value ascribed to us based on our gender and sexuality; and we are lucky to have people who care about us and our happiness.
We all have a responsibility to become more informed about the world around us and the experiences of other people. It is only through this that real change is effected; and we acquire a greater understanding of our own lives: we gain perspective.
Last Sunday evening, I am sitting at my desk and I look at my timetable and the “never-ending” to-do list with a sigh. I turn on iPlayer and idly click on a documentary about Saudi Arabia and women’s newly received right to drive. I discover that the eight female activists who campaigned for this right are all still locked away in prison; and the documentary’s presenter had her license to film removed before her prompt coercion onto a plane back to the UK, simply for mentioning the existence of these women on camera. Then I start to think… in how many countries would I be allowed to teach, as a woman? In how many countries would I be deemed worthy of university tuition, or even a school education? The answer can only be: not enough. Suddenly, my own troubles pale in comparison.
Closer to home, I remain haunted by the degree of homelessness I witnessed while living in London; and the helplessness and desperation of those seeking shelter by the train station, metres from my flat. Any glance at the news tells us that violence, poverty and suffering is hardly alien to the UK or, as guest chapel speakers have told us, even to Suffolk.
OK, so we’re all lucky in the “grand scheme of things”; but why am I telling you this? Do I just want to depress you with illustrations of what is wholly sinister and unjust in the world (because if so, thanks a lot!)?
No. With perspective comes an appreciation too of what is beautiful and good in the world; and the differences that the smallest acts of kindness can make to the lives of those around us and indeed, our own. Everyday, every one of us has the power to do good; and make the world just that little bit better. Remembering others, even when our own lives can feel like they are spinning out of control, will make you feel better (science says so!) and bring a smile to those you show a care to.
Back, then, to January 2019. Nobody’s perfect and to some extent, we will always be a “work in progress” – perhaps one day I’ll even get around to learning to drive – but if there’s one thing you do more of this year, make time to burst the bubble. Find out what’s happening in the world: watch the news; listen to the radio; read an article (even if it is only on BuzzFeed); chat to your family; listen to your friends – get informed! Broaden your perspective; and use it to remember the people around you. It will make your New Year happier.
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