One Tama Blog

An old friend asked me an interesting question once: “When was the last time you did something for the first time?”**

Makes you think back for yourself, doesn’t it?

As humans, we put a lot of importance and ceremony in firsts–first day in this world (birthdays), first step, first word, first day in school, first crush, first dance, first kiss, first heartbreak, first job, first paycheck, first born– and the list goes on and on. My guess on the underlying reason for this is our predisposition to be dynamic and ever-growing. We celebrate milestones to see how far we’ve come, and what new frontiers lie ahead.

The best thing about all this, though, is that the firsts don’t ever have to stop coming. Determined by us for the most part, we can choose to keep on trying new things, seeing new places, tasting new food, meeting new people throughout our lives. We can choose to do something new everyday.

On Doing Right

I recall another wise quip from the same friend: “You are what you do repeatedly. Excellence is not an act, it’s a habit”**

We can apply the same school of thought to many things besides excellence. Doing Right, for example. While a single good act is commendable, repeated acts of goodness define character. Elevate it another level, repeated acts of goodness shared with community define a culture.

We must not get caught up in the grandeur of the idea, though. Before we can build character and culture, it is essential to first engage inividual good acts. The importance of individual actions cannot be ignored. We are but reminded that these individual good actions must be undertaken in the context of character and culture formation.

There is a challenge to all of us in this, putting the two together. The challenge is for each of us to make a habit of finding new ways of doing right. To make firsts everyday by discovering new ways of doing good, and integrating these actions to our ways of life. To not tire of constantly asking, what new good thing can I put my self into today? And how can I share it with my community?

There is a challenge to all of us in this, and we call it One Tama.

Find out more about this challenge, visit www.Onetama.com

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** I am sure many of the wise things people say to one another, they picked up from someone else. And that someone else, in turn, picked it up from yet another someone. And though by the time they reach us, we may not know by whom most wisdom was born, I hope it is sufficient to those wise men that they have shared to the world some sense worth telling over and over and over. Nameless they perhaps become, they are immortalized by the wisdom they’ve lent to us.

The quotes above, I am sure, were not originally my friend’s. I wish I can name the real sources, but I cannot. I thank them though for the discourse and insights they’ve catalyzed.