Life, Work, Education

What is the purpose of life? I mean as a human being, what, if at all there is one, is the ultimate goal? Are we bees where we spend our whole lives working for the benefit of one? (One being an owner, President, Board of Directors, etc.). Are we here to simply spread the word of religion? Are we supposed to help ourselves more than others? Or is it just the opposite? Obviously the answer to this question depends on the individual, but it is an important question to ask. What is the purpose of your life? What do you want to live for?

I bring this question up after discussing life in full detail with Reed Oliver. Reed is a local business man and a friend of Dr. Larry Cunningham from the Traditional Seafaring Society on Guam. I met Reed a few days ago and he wanted to take me to Fort Richie – his property in Nett. He named his property Fort Richie because of his son Richard who was in the U.S. Army and died in 1999. More on that later.

Anyways, after he showed me around the property we began to sit down and talk and we talked about life. So now I sit here and I am reflecting on the conversation we had. What do I want to do with my life? What is its purpose?

Well let me start by saying I am not a subscriber to the aforementioned “Bee Theory”. I’m not ready to waste away the best years of my life working 40+ hours a week in an office. Sure it would be nice to accumulate some monetary wealth, but even more important to me is the accumulation of mental wealth; learning about myself, living and learning in and about other cultures and lifestyles. I try to meet life with an open mind and a curiosity about things unknown to me. What a better way to know more about yourself than to know about others? It gives you a basis for comparison and allows you to expand your understanding of the world you are living in and the people you share it with. It is unfair to yourself and others to live a life full of egocentricity.

Now I understand that there will be a point in my life – no doubt to happen sooner than later – where I will need a job to support a family. Family is the most important thing in my life, and another goal of my life is to be a great father and husband and this requires work. But I think it is also important for me to do the things I have always wanted to do now so I can devote myself to a family later. What I mean is this; when I am older and have a wife and have children I don’t want to think to myself, “I really wish I could have experienced this” or “I wish I would have went there” because it will be much harder for me to fulfill those desires. At this point in my life I have a lot more to gain that I do to lose and it won’t always be that case. I know I will have to work, but I have the rest of my life to do that.

Right now, I don’t want to devote my life to working for the next promotion or living for the next deadline. Let me put it to you this way, and I am going to borrow a line from the keynote speaker at Josh’s graduation: “Get a life – a real life. You can win the rat-race, but you will still be a rat.”

Now understand that this is only my outlook on my life. Some people don’t have the same desires as me and I respect and understand that. Some don't even ever get a chance to do this, so I feel fortunate to get this opportunity. I am just reflecting on my life with the hopes that some may learn or just consider a different point of view from this reflection.

As for Reed’s son. Actually, this will be more about Micronesians in the US Army. Almost weekly since being on Guam and Pohnpei I have heard about Chuukese, Palauans, or Pohnpeians who died in Iraq and I don’t think it is fair. First of all, I appreciate the fact that these people are serving the United States of America, but they are giving their lives for what? They are fighting and dieing for a nation in which they can’t even vote or obtain citizenship. People like Reed’s son Richard give more to this country than millions of other Americans (including myself) and deserve the right to be a US citizen (if the are so compelled).

This isn’t something that is unique to the war in Iraq; thousands of Philippines were “guaranteed” citizenship during the Philippine-American war if they fought for this country, but the US reneged on this after the war was over.

I understand that these people join the US Army voluntarily, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t grant them certain rights that citizens (again, including myself) are guaranteed simply because we are born here. I haven’t ever even thought about joining the Armed Forces yet I am able to move about this country freely, but a man, such as Richie, can go to war for this country, yet not even vote for his Commander in Chief. It just doesn’t seem right.

Friday morning I met with Willy Kostka to discuss an internship opportunity with the Micronesia Conservation Trust and the Micronesian Challenge. The internship involves training workshops and the development of educational programs that teach youth about conservation. However, we both decided that it would be best for him to consider the other candidates. Willy is looking for people who are committed to working with conservation in Micronesia long after the internship and I don’t know if that is the path I want to travel. Don’t get me wrong – I feel strongly about conservation; the Earth isn’t a disposable entity and we really need to start taking care of it. The problem is that I don’t have any conservation background/education/training. I had interest in this internship because it was an opportunity for me to work here and educate myself in the conservation aspect of Micronesia.

Speaking of education – I want to continue mine. I don’t necessarily regret studying Sports Management because it was something I was passionate about at the time, but I found I had a stronger desire to learn about Pacific Island(er)s after enrolling in my APIA Studies classes. Unfortunately the program is young and only offers a minor degree (thus my need to continue my education). Most people who study PI studies go on to get their doctorate and that is something I can see myself doing (imagine that: Justin Thorington, Ph.D. Or maybe I should go with J.Glen Thorington, Ph. D. haha only kidding).

There is definitely the opportunity for me to undertake endeavors that will allow me to improve the quality of life in the Pacific. I don’t like the way that sounds. How can I put this? I just think there are systematic areas (the government in general, education, public health, etc.) that can be improved. I am not an imperialist (in fact, probably the opposite) and I don’t want to sound like one. If I find that people are fine with the way things are then there is no need for help, but I don’t get that feeling. Man all I can think of as I write this is everything I learned about Empire and colonization and I hope it doesn’t sound like I have that same sort of superior-inferior mentality because, believe me, that is far from the truth. PLEASE let me know if it sounds like that though.

Later that day I walked around Kolonia again as a tourist and saw some historic things. For example, I saw the Spanish Catholic Bell Tower and climbed to the top to get some cool views of Kolonia and Sokehs Rock and I saw an old WWI tank in the midst of some buildings in Kolonia. I also walked up to the Kapingimarangi Village where they are master carvers and weavers. They make everything out of coconut tree wood/palm leaves and ivory nut.

Well kalahngan for reading. I think I maybe circumnavigating the island tomorrow with Reed's son Andy. I need to start hanging out with people my own age! I look forward to your comments or replies. Kasalehl koros. Justin