Renewing our Singapore Dream

Occasionally I glance at my footsteps and pay attention to the thudding rhythm that I set. Conflicting

feelings surface absent-mindedly: first a pride that I was heading to where I needed to be at the

fastest pace, in an unglorified satisfaction of efficiency; second, an incredulous and incomprehensible

disgust. How did I become so comfortable with this quick pace of life? Why would I even feel content

that I am hurrying from place to place? Singapore has had to be thrifty with everything she owned, but

cutting a minute here and another there, what exactly are we saving our time for?

I boldly challenge our pipe dream of an efficient society, concerned more with completion than the

route. We are wont to sacrificing time for reflection, time for recreation, or time to pursue other

interests that make slow, arduous progress, interests that demand our undivided attention.

With what our society demands of us now, countless people are being dragged around by their

schedules at the expense of a comfortable pace of life. The cause of this is indeed what is coined the

'Singapore Dream', so absolutely desirable to most. Many, many things are compromised because of

our frantic schedules today, from the development of the arts to our mental health. Despite efforts,

Singapore is severely lacking in these two facets of life, arguably more important than money and

material comforts. It may sound paradoxical, but to progress faster we need to slow down, to mitigate

pressures on the young and encourage a more balanced lifestyle. Burn outs illustrate the end point

should we charge towards efficiency unwaveringly; we will not have much time left if we continue to

use time so frugally.

To me, this means a foremost expansion of the artistic scene, but beyond that, there must be a

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