I remember it was June 2008. The global financial market was charging at full-throttle speed. Global economic outlook appears rosy across all sectors. From banking to tourism. From manufacturing to IT. Influx of foreign talents streaming in to Singapore. Property prices soar to historic high. Prices of goods - from food to clothings, from basic staples to luxury items - continue to climb.
Economic projections were all nothing but rosy. Economists and companies are predicting record profits, record surpluses and record growths. These pictures still remain vivid in our mind. As if they were just yesterday.
All of a sudden, reports surfaced that the Wall Street financial giants are facing credit crisis. Financial empires with the likes of Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Citibank etc crumble one after another. The economic tsunami has arrived. In just one night, billions of dollars are swept away. Millions of ordinary people are losing their investments and forced to give up their homes.
Things happened with such extraordinary pace and magnitude. Everyone is clueless and not knowing what actually had hit them. Panic and fear of the uncertainty consumed everyone's mind.
The rosy pictures and projections are all gone. Suddenly, everyone is talking about the worst financial crisis in the history of mankind. Instead of record profits, companies are now talking about record losses. Instead of record surplus, countries are now talking about record deficits. Instead of record growth, companies are now talking about record retrenchments and layoffs.
There is only ONE thing for sure - nobody has expected this and nobody has any idea of where things are heading. No economic experts dare to say for certain when things would get better or at least when things would stabilize. Governments across the globe are frantically doing everything in their capacity just to halt the down ride.
While no one is able to offer any concrete theory on what brings us to this state and at which point things actually gone wrong, there is one thing we can say for certain.
It is HUMAN GREEDS, OBSESSIONS WITH MATERIALISTIC POSSESSION, OBSESSIONS WITH WEALTH PURSUITS, SELFISHNESS AND IRRESPONSIBILITY.
One after another, banks and financial companies are pleading for government support, begging to get a slice of the public money. They are cashing on the fear of the people - claiming that if no money is injected, all these giant institutions are on the brink of collapse.
YET... top executives of these institutions are walking away with hefty bonuses - in record amounts. Even when people are fearing to lose their jobs, homes or even the next meal for many, these executives spend lavishly - millions and millions of taxpayers' money - for personal holidays, enjoyments or luxury decorations of their offices. It was exactly these extraordinary intellectually-gifted executives who brought us to this mess - their irresponsible act to win at all cost, compromising all ethic values to feed their insatiable hunger for power and wealth.
What has happened to humanity? Where have we put our conscience? How did we end up like this? Where is the value of morality? Where is our compassion for people around us? Look at what we have done to ourselves. This is the result when greed triumphs over generosity, selfishness triumphs over common good, materialistic insanity triumphs over gracious living.
Let us be very clear that we, human is the root cause of this epic economic and most major environmental catastrophe.
As we mark the passing of one year to the other, let us understand that time waits for no man. Every single day, single hour, single minute and single second passed is another opportunity gone. We cannot turn back time.
All of a sudden, reports surfaced that the Wall Street financial giants are facing credit crisis. Financial empires with the likes of Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Citibank etc crumble one after another. The economic tsunami has arrived. In just one night, billions of dollars are swept away. Millions of ordinary people are losing their investments and forced to give up their homes.
Things happened with such extraordinary pace and magnitude. Everyone is clueless and not knowing what actually had hit them. Panic and fear of the uncertainty consumed everyone's mind.
The rosy pictures and projections are all gone. Suddenly, everyone is talking about the worst financial crisis in the history of mankind. Instead of record profits, companies are now talking about record losses. Instead of record surplus, countries are now talking about record deficits. Instead of record growth, companies are now talking about record retrenchments and layoffs.
There is only ONE thing for sure - nobody has expected this and nobody has any idea of where things are heading. No economic experts dare to say for certain when things would get better or at least when things would stabilize. Governments across the globe are frantically doing everything in their capacity just to halt the down ride.
While no one is able to offer any concrete theory on what brings us to this state and at which point things actually gone wrong, there is one thing we can say for certain.
It is HUMAN GREEDS, OBSESSIONS WITH MATERIALISTIC POSSESSION, OBSESSIONS WITH WEALTH PURSUITS, SELFISHNESS AND IRRESPONSIBILITY.
One after another, banks and financial companies are pleading for government support, begging to get a slice of the public money. They are cashing on the fear of the people - claiming that if no money is injected, all these giant institutions are on the brink of collapse.
YET... top executives of these institutions are walking away with hefty bonuses - in record amounts. Even when people are fearing to lose their jobs, homes or even the next meal for many, these executives spend lavishly - millions and millions of taxpayers' money - for personal holidays, enjoyments or luxury decorations of their offices. It was exactly these extraordinary intellectually-gifted executives who brought us to this mess - their irresponsible act to win at all cost, compromising all ethic values to feed their insatiable hunger for power and wealth.
What has happened to humanity? Where have we put our conscience? How did we end up like this? Where is the value of morality? Where is our compassion for people around us? Look at what we have done to ourselves. This is the result when greed triumphs over generosity, selfishness triumphs over common good, materialistic insanity triumphs over gracious living.
Let us be very clear that we, human is the root cause of this epic economic and most major environmental catastrophe.
Though we are in no position to change where we come from, we can chart our future. Destiny is not written for us, but it is written by us. Think about what we want to leave behind for our future generations.
We can decide to change our course NOW. We can stop polluting the earth and destroying millions of lives. At least, that's the least we can all play a part. Let us go back to our conscience. We can start caring for others - at least people around us - our closest friends, families and relatives. Let us revive the angelic side of humanity. Let us LOVE, PROTECT and GLORIFY all lives. Let us be thankful for each passing day, for every breath that we take. Let us be thankful and be content for what we have and what we do not have. For the true beauty of mankind is not defined by how much we have, nor does it defined by the size of our house, nor does it defined by the cars that we drive, nor does it defined by the number of credit cards we own, nor does it defined by how much zeros we have in our bank balance.
The true beauty of mankind lies within everyone us and not outside of us. The true beauty of mankind does not discriminate the rich from the poor, the able from the disable, the beauty from the ugly, the old from the young. We are all created equal. Within everyone of us resides the same conscience - the ability to love and to care for one another.
Let us welcome the times ahead with a renewed sense of hope, optimism and rejoice. Let us turn to God (our faith) for the serenity to accept the things that we cannot change and the courage to change the things that we can. Let us pray for our families. Let us pray that everyone will live to care for one another. Let us pray for our parents. May they be blessed with good health. Let us pray for all our brothers and sisters - even those who are not with us today - and people around us. Let us pray that we are blessed with good health and good fortunes - and that we continue to serve and help propagate the spirit of compassion to the world. Let us pray that everyone will make continuous progression in terms of - career, business and self-discovery. Let us pray for the world leaders - that they are given the wisdom and strength to lead the world through this trying time.
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