I am a global citizen.
OK, I understand being an international citizen is not unusual anymore. There are many of us around. Nonetheless, stay with me and perhaps I can bring out some of my ‘uniqueness.’
Quantifying my life on earth is as good a starting point as any. (Despite being an investment manager who routinely plays with numbers, this is the first time I have broken down my mortal life in this way.)
Below is my life in numbers. Albeit without the significant time I spent spent traveking since I started my banking career in 1988. Perhaps as much as 15–20% of my life has been spent traveling.
Oh, in case you are wondering, at the time of writing I am 57 years old.
Interpreted differently, my time can also be represented as follows:
Even if they do not lie, numbers don’t always tell the full story.
For example, digging deeper one learns that the bulk of my formative years, from the teenage age of fifteen until young adulthood at twenty-two, were spent in two Anglo-Saxon Western Christian societies, i.e. the UK and US.
Does my time in these two countries suggest I am steeped in the values of capitalism, democracy, freedom and the rights of the individual? Or have the first fifteen years of my life residing in two Muslim and Arab — there is a distinction between the two — infused me with a combination of Islamic, Arab and South Asian values?
Human psyche is not so simple that it can be dissected into black and white neatly. Indeed, a shrink may have a field day trying to figure out what makes me tick.
To me, many things just depend on the day. Music is a good example.
On some days, it’s classical music — Rachmaninoff and Mozart are among my two favorite composers. Notwithstanding my fondness for attending concerts of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, rock tunes by Black Sabbath, Motorhead and Def Leppard (I prefer the late 1970s, early 80s tunes!) are among the most played songs on my YouTube account. Last but by no means least, is 1970s Elvis with his unique musical style amalgamating country, rock and soft ballads.
Music, mood even cherry picking my heritage? It simply depends on the day.
Values, however, define the man. On this subject, it’s easy to write the politically correct stuff and claim ‘woke’ perfection. Nonetheless, that will be patently false as humans are simply not perfect.
(Did I just type some lines of religious morality? Or a philosophical view of morality? After all, I was a student of Philosophy as an undergraduate student!)
The best way to get to know me and my values is through my writing. My personality shines through — mostly unfiltered — into my my articles so please stay tuned!
NB - this story was first published on Medium here.
I am a Singapore based Tour Guide with a special interest in arts and history. I have lived and worked in several countries during my career as an international banker. I enjoy traveling, especially by train, as a way to feed my curiosity about the world and nurture my interest in photography. I am available on twitter (@grandmoofti); Instagram(@imranahmedsg) and can be contacted at imran.ahmed.sg@gmail.com.
Posts
