One of my favourite things about the new is its development to regularity. 5 days in the office is a relatively short time, but already I’m discovering some regular habits that I’m particularly pleased about:
- The fairtrade filter coffee that always appears around 10am.
- The necessity of twitter and facebook as a Digital and Events Intern.
- An abundance of fairtrade chocolate floating around the office. (Granted, I’ve been warned that this isn’t actually a regular occurrence but an abundance post-festival).
However, I’m also learning that in a charity office, there’s the risk of falling into the trap that you’re just working in London. There’s something inclusive that comes with being part of a ‘family’ of people who are all really excited about the idea of eradicating poverty. However, much day to day office work can feel a little bit detached from the realities of injustice - a morning commute, cups of coffee, a few emails here and there, an evening commute - and it can often be difficult to maintain that balance. Caring enough so that you’re still passionate about your job, not caring so little that your job becomes more important than the ultimate goal. But also being careful not to care so much that it actually hinders your ability to do anything about it.
This week I’ve been humbled as I’ve done some background research on tax justice, and also through the training I completed in preparation for my imminent trip to Africa. As I’ve looked over statistics and read stories of real people, I realise that what we’re working towards is a bigger goal that affects individuals. Poverty isn’t just an abstract concept that means not having much money. It’s much more complicated than that and works at many different levels.
This is something I don’t want to forget easily. The people behind the statistics, the reality behind the words. It’s something we all don’t pay attention to; something that is easy to ignore. And you’re just as much in danger of that when in the charity sector. Maybe more so.
I’ve been reading Generous Justice by Tim Keller, a book given to me when I left Durham in June and one which is very appropriate for my setting at the minute. In it is a beautiful quotation that really sums up what perspective means as a human:
“The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbour’s glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken.... this does not mean we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously - no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.”
Taken from The Weight of Glory, C S Lewis.
And our neighbour isn’t just the person who lives next door - although I’ve learnt that living in a terrace means knowing your neighbours very well indeed - but the very people on the other side of the globe who need us to petition, to provide, to be part of a movement which cares for them. As people, with rights, who are human, like us.
It’s ambitious to replicate that sort of love. And something which is sacrificial. But if we’re the ones with wealth, both financial and emotional, perhaps a perspective to bear in mind is one which accounts for the needs of others.
Perspective: noun.
A true understanding of the relative importance of things; a sense of proportion.
On an entirely unrelated note...
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