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Published: September 28th 2014
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Keep it Simple; Keep it Real I try to adopt a “less is more” approach to life, and I genuinely believe that simplicity is the key, thus finding myself immersed in a culture that is so familiar with having very little and keeping things simple, has been both interesting and inspiring.
Down the road from our home in Guangzhou is a construction project, a ten story building being erected by a small group of migrant workers. Not a day passes that I do not stop and stare in awe at these men who – from early morning to late evening – work tirelessly at what seems an enormous task. I must mention that they have no machinery, just their bodies and the hand tools they carry with them. I must also mention that until the building is constructed, these men live in the same space that they work in, spread out on the dusty concrete with little more than a few bare light bulbs swinging above the hammocks that rock them to sleep.
Aside from the occasional night when the men happily share stories with each other while sipping on cold beers, one would only know how laborious
Slow but steady!
Little by little, the small group of migrant workers erect this building with little but their hand tools and pride. their job is by stopping to watch them work in the silent, efficient rhythm that defines who they are as a people and the struggles they must overcome. The little money they make is sent to their families who wait patiently in a distant province for the meager income that sustains their simple lives. This is just one example of what one sees in every corner of China, and what makes this that much more inspiring is that no one openly complains.
Watching these men work reminds me of the things that we take for granted in Western cultures. Anyone who is well acquainted with my business philosophies knows that I think unions and social welfare programs are the most inept, counter-productive, inefficient organizations, and are directly responsible for so much of the economical problems that we encounter. But that is another story! Long story short, it is through strong work ethics, perseverance, determination and personal desire and motivation that drives one forward, something that these people know extremely well.
As for simplicity, many here know nothing different. The people work extremely hard, usually six or seven days a week, for low wages and conditions that would have
From morning to night
Despite the 42 degrees, little slows these workers down! every health, safety and labor agency in North America scrabbling in confusion; if this were North America, there would not be a business left open! Nonetheless, they work hard – not to buy fancy cars or designer clothes and not to afford five-star vacations or eat at fine restaurants – to ensure the simplicity of their existence. They have no need for extravagances, for what matters most is that their families are taken care of.
Last week during one of my lectures, I stopped and ask the class, “What kind of people do you want to be?” and nearly everyone said that no matter what they did, they wanted to ensure that they could properly care for their parents and grandparents. I bet if one asked that same question in Toronto or New York the answer would be quite different!
We have become so wrapped up in having our values sold to us by marketing campaigns that we often lose sight of what matters most, namely, friends, family and the comforts that comes from keeping it simple. We live in a culture that pays off its dept with dept and orders diet soda as a way to justify
gluttonous eating habits. We scoff at the beggar on the street – who having no dept ironically has more money than most North Americans – and we ease our minds by reducing our plastic bag usage only to load our groceries into the gaping trunk of our SUVs.
Perhaps there is nothing wrong with these practices as those things are luxuries of our efforts, and I will quickly admit that between driving and flying and through business and personal habits, my carbon footprint is bigger than most. But there genuinely is something to be said for keeping it simple, for simplicity reminds us that there is more to our existence than what lies before our eyes. People matter, strong principles matter, good work ethics matter, the quality of values matter. It is interesting that while theses abstract ideals are easy to apply, they are often the first to be forgotten.
-S-
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Mom and Dad
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Unpretentious treasures in life
Dad and I love reading the blog entries both you and Erin write and wait in anticipation for the next. What we'd like to know is when the book version is coming out :)