One year later, and i am still thinking about it. It is not that i agree rightaway with the statement. I still chew on that up to now and i do not think that i can agree 100% with the statement. However, i think there is some part of this generation (well maybe, to be more subjective because this is just an opinion post - my generation) that reflects the instant habits.
Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines instant (adjective) as "becoming something very quickly" "happening or done without delay"
We have so much instant things right now. You name it. Instant photos, instant foods. I, personally, like instant noodles (despite the fact that eating too much of it will cause health problems), it is really good, cheap, and you can get a decent meal (well at least according to my taste - not for all brand of instant noodles though) in about 3-5 mins. It is just like getting something good in a snap. We can see that people are trying to invent almost every type of food in its instant form.
The pastor used iGeneration, and Apple products came rightaway to my mind, i think the pastor was inspired by them in throwing that statement. Apple named their products with i.... iMac, iPod, iPad, etc. I was curious about what the i stands for. I did some googling (i think this is a new verb - a verb just formed during the time of my generation; as a reflection of the issue i am talking about), and found that actually when iMac was first introduced, the i stands for internet. It was launched in 1998, the beginning of the www. phenomenon and the i was given basically to make people realize that iMac will enable easier internet connection for its users. They just need 2 steps to connect to the internet (maybe back then they need more than 2 steps - so different from now, when we are connected anywhere anytime).
So.. i for internet. I think this is the beginning of the "instant" phenomenon sweeping enormously over my generation. Internet is the beginning, and then netscape, internet explorer, and Google. After google, we can find anything (the hardest question - like how was the universe formed; or the easiest - like how to make instant noodles) in milliseconds. Then.. we started to enjoy this thing, and now we are so used to it. I cant imagine my life without google to be honest. Google = instant intelligence.
I just graduated school, bachelor then master rightaway, why?I dont know why, almost all people told me to work first and then do master education, but my guts told me to do so. I had been praying for a long time asking God if it was something right to do and everything seemed like working together and telling me that the answer was "Yes". My principle in life is - you gotta do your job excellently, that is how you will get excellent things; so i studied really hard, and i kept in mind that God bless those who work dilligently; so i did it, expecting that i will land in a good company with a good position easily after i finish school (people supported this statement btw). It has been 2 months since i graduated, i have lodged in a lot of applications to my dream companies and other good companies (not my dream companies, but i see them as a really good companies to learn). Have i gotten a job? Nah. I still struggle, i thought... Why did i bother studying so hard if this is what i get? I thought i will get a good job rightaway because i have been doing well throughout my studies.
I asked God why, and just like other humans do... i asked God, "God, if You are willing, please... let me get a good job quickly." but i am still jobless now. Everytime people asks , "What are you doing now?" "Have u got a job?" "Are you in Jakarta already?" (FYI I dont live in Jakarta but I want to work there, because it is the ultimate city of opportunity in Indonesia), actually people, it is like you put more weight on my shoulders. Everyday is like a battle - a battle with those negative thoughts that haunted me - "Will you get a good job?" "Will you make it?" It was a tiring battle.
I asked my mom... and she just said "Be patient. Pray. Know that job hunting is not an easy thing. Do not be so ideal." It was hard to receive that kind of statements for the first time, and it is still hard to accept it for the second, third, and forth time.... But as that statement seep into my mind, that pastor's iGeneration statement came up again in my mind. I think the instant habits have been clouding my life perspectives. I view ideal things as those that come in instant manner. If it is not instant... it might not be that ideal. All those small things, those small googling habits, those small habits of getting anything i need through internet, those small habits of getting good meal in a package of instant noodles. Small things, accumulated unconsciously, developed into a kind of ideology in my mind.
Those thoughts, wake me up. I realized that this is not how i should view my life. I should trust God that His plans - His timing, more importantly; is the best for me. Maybe it is not an ideal timing according to me, but I believe that He is doing it for my own good, for giving me a future of hope.
I am still waiting for job interview calls now, but now I try to spend every minute in a more thankful way. All these waiting times, even inspired me to update this blog again. Looking at the bright side, I think this blog will still be poorly updated if I already got a job lol.
If you are going through a similar obstacle like mine.. please remember the old sayings "good things come to those who wait" (but people said "good things come to those who grab the opportunity") so, i think the wiser statement is the one in the Bible "...in quietness and trust is your strength." Isaiah 30:15b NIV
God also said that "love is patient..." (1 Cor 13:4a NIV) right? So maybe.. if we can be more patient with our lives, then we can see our lives in a more loving way and be more joyful in living . :)
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