#12: Social Entrepreneurship lecture by Patrick Dodson.

Social Entrepreneur: Society's change agent; pioneer of innovations that benefit society. These are some avenues of social entrepreneurship and they are not exhaustive; poverty, justice, fair trade, environment, health, community and education

The Handbook on Faith, Hope and Love by Saint Augustine took a lot longer to get through than expected - the concepts aren't really hard to get my head around, but the language of the time was pretty convoluted. So, I thought I'd spend today reading up on the next book, God's Gravity: The Upside-down Life of Selfless Faith by Craig Borlase, which is contemporary. But it was so much harder than I thought it would be to start. Why?

Because it begs the question I've been pondering since I came back so long ago - what value am I adding to God's Kingdom doing what I do where I do now? Because, its a lot less easy to see it than when I was in Japan. (Thank God I'm due back for a visit in 4 days.)

I want to be an Ordinary Radical, I don't need more models and inspirations to know that my feet are itching to go somewhere and my hands want to do something that requires bold and selfless faith. The excuse is that I'm tied down by the work that I do that requires my time 12-15 hours a day and me to be here for the next 1.5-2 years. So, reading books like that really frustrates me.

Meanwhile, there is a creative energy in me that has been stewing. Literally. I realized that I can cook well enough to invite folks over to learn together what it means to follow Christ over a simple meal and with a home, I have a safe space for people to come together to meet, talk and do some simple social action like a clothes-swap. And, over the course of the last few months and weeks, I have come to realize the power of the written word - when I write about an issue or cause. I recycle paper even when I'm not supposed to (the copier and printer in the office has a sign that says, 'Do Not Use Recycled Paper' but who cares?), we take shopping bags and turn down plastic carriers, I try not to buy first-hand when possible and try to find a happy home for things I don't need, my power supply is on a timer to save electricity (less about global warming than about stretching our dollar). But all this 'green'-ness and what little I have done is not enough. I'm not doing enough of what I can do. Do I not feel enough for a cause? Any cause?!

I thought maybe I could go back to pursuing the cliched Literature BA graduates' dream of writing. I remember I wanted to write about my unique position as a diaspora (then), preanakan Singaporean seeking an identify for herself. It's really not so unique afterall now that I am back here. It's not the thing I could write about while I'm in this context. Maybe one day I'll get to write for YWAM International Adventures of my adventures in missions instead, but for now I have nothing to add value to.

I suppose I have a gift in the skills of Education, some reading and writing. But, my passion runs dry outside of work because it takes all of me when I'm there. So, once again, I don't have a learning point for today - just more questions to be answered.