The week that was

For an Aussie, the 'week that was' featured the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday afternoon, Melbourne time.  What does that mean for an Aussie in Bangkok?  Well, maybe not much but it is still a time when the cultural strings are pulled.  It was also a time when my American mate here in Bangkok, who always backs football, could for a change study the form and come up with all sorts of statistics.  Amazing!  It is the pull of the Cup. 

The 'week that was' also featured the US Presidential election and that also was Tuesday.  What amazes me is the number of Thais who are so into the US elections and Obama.  For me, it speaks of a world that so needs leaders and Obama is one hope for the side. 

On a more personal note, the 'week that was' also focused on Tuesday as that afternoon I was one of two people responsible for the running of an important meeting in our area of work with urban refugees.  This meeting saw the coming together of all stakeholders who help these people in Bangkok  This meant we had a forum made of a range of strong characters with a range of views on the topic at hand - how to help urban refugees.  What united us was our passion for helping such a desperately needy group in our midst and how to do it most effectively.  Is this not in part what makes us truly human - serving a cause greater than self.  

You know, I got this line, not from some cheap theology book, but from a look at consumerism and how it is destroying our humanity presented last night on Aljazeera.  Its basic line was that our relationships are meant to be with people and not things, and it is in relating with others that we find our happiness.  Good theology certainly agrees with this.