Personal Development through community-Part 1

Does being in a community play a part of my personal development?

Yesterday was Sunday. It was a day my family spent the first half day in church. Waking up at 5 a.m. and leaving at 6 a.m. every Sunday to attend service at 7 a.m. followed by Sunday School for my two daughters aged 3 and 6 have been a norm.

We normally go for outings after that and come back later in the evening. A full family day out.

Yesterday was a little special. One of my childhood friend's dad passed away during the pandemic and yesterday we could finally meet for his dad's first year memorial service. It is common for long lost friends to meet up during special occasions like weddings and funerals. So, we came back from church and got ready to go to church again for the memorial service at 6 p.m.

Yesterday morning was a little special too. The Sunday School, having completed its first semester had an event to showcase what the kids had learned during the first session. It was my youngest daugther's first showcase. She bravely walked and said a few words about her character, Esther.

My eldest daughter was part of a Guess Who and sequence of events game. She was asked to introduce herself and guide visitors to her corner to engage in two games.

Overall, I had seen children being built up in character to be bold, to learn how to present, to interact with the public, to increase their self-esteem and to raise their soft skills. They are brought out of their comfort zone and help them to gain confidence. I saw science experiments, 3 D model building, and other stuff being put together by the parents, teachers and the kids who are from 3 to 12 years old. I was glad to see this yesterday.

So how would does being in a community help me in personal development?

As I reflect on my life, I look at being born in Petaling Jaya, having spent a few years in Klang before spending most of my life in Rawang. Rawang, Taman Garing and St James Church in Sentul together with school, work and life has played a great part in my personal development. Beginning from being a kid myself to being a parent and husband in the community really helps me. Why do I say that?

Sunday evening, during the memorial of Uncle Samuel Thiagarajan, I met up with friends who grew up together with me in church. We were in Sunday School together, Youth Fellowship and Young Adults Fellowship together. 40 years later, we are all in our separate paths. I was glad to meet the gang again yesterday during the memorial service.

As I look at my buddies, they are all now married men. There were ladies too but this batch that attended were all guys with their families. All of us are busy leading our own lives, on the verge of touching 50 in just 1 or two years while some of us have just begun our journey into the 50s. A formative friendship in a community from the age of 8 to now by just attending church once a week and by being in fellowship together across peer age groups. Does this help?

As I look at my friends. They are all able to communicate well, successful in their own career paths. Success does not mean merely material wealth, but I see mentally, socially, and spiritually sound friends who stand in society and continue to grow and contribute to the world at large together with their families. Being happy and continuing the trend by still being plugged in to society and in our case church, helps us to hopefully continue the personal development trend to the current and next generation.

Church and my other communities have helped me in my personal development and my journey as a HRMS implementer. I will share more about how my kampung i.e. place I live and my neighbourhood has helped me in my personal development. I am sure that everyone is plugged in into some form of community or family unit that forms their personal development too.

It would be great to catch up and learn from one another.

Have a great learning and development week ahead everyone.