I was remembering my dad this morning. He was an avid photographer. As a kid, I used to get so excited when I saw him get excited over a camera; how he would get a better camera; his delight over taking pictures and waiting for the pictures to be developed; talking to be about SLR cameras and depth-of-field and different filters that could be used. I remember very clearly, him coming back one day after he had been out of the country, bringing a Polaroid camera back with him. The excitement of taking a picture and showing us how the picture developed within 8-10 seconds! To know that photography was progressing so much – these were things that captured his imagination. If he was alive today, he would just enjoy the scope of digital photography – to know that films don't come today in 24 and 36 blocks but you can take thousands of them with a camera – would have blown his mind.
But I was thinking about the Polaroid camera and Edwin Land who invented it. It's an interesting story. He didn't think about it. His daughter Jennifer came to him after he had taken a picture saying, "When can I see the picture?" He replied, "It will take some time as it has to be developed." She asked, "But why do we have to wait so long? Why can't it be done immediately?" Land says, "I thought – why not? Why not design a picture that can be developed right away?" Land recalls in a speech many years, asking the question, "What if you could somehow have a dark room inside the camera? How would you be able to do chemical processing of film inside a camera? How could you actually create a printed photo within those constraints?" by 1948, which was about 5 years after his daughter Jennifer asked the question, the finished product was introduced. The problem was identified, articulated by young Jennifer and was solved in the Polaroid camera.
Warren Berger says that there are 3 questions that we need to ask of many things in life. Those are:
· Why? These questions deal with the existing challenge or problem.
· What if? These questions can be used to explore fresh ideas from a hypothetical standpoint.
· How? Practically, what would be action-oriented ideas that could be used to make it a reality?
Co-founders, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia, who started Airbnb (Air bed 'n breakfast) asked this question. They lived in San Francisco and they felt that thousands of people came into San Francisco every year and couldn't find accommodation. Hotels were full. So they asked the question: why is it that people coming to San Francisco as certain times of the year have so much trouble finding a place to stay even though there were available bedrooms and sofas in apartments and homes all over town. From that, in August 2008, was born the idea for Airbnb. And today, just under 6 years later, has 600,000 listings. They cover 34,000 cities all across the world and are in 192 countries. And all they do is connect people who need housing in different parts of the world with people who have a room to spare or a home that they would like to give out to these people. Three questions: why should this problem be? What if something could be done? Then, how could this be done?
I thought of that this morning in the light of the work that we do with HIV/AIDS-affected and infected persons. Outside the office there was much excitement because today was picnic day. We had arranged for a picnic for them at a water park and every year, this is the highlight of their lives. We book the entire park so they have the place to themselves; they are able to enjoy without having to think about what other people think of them. It's a wonderful time for them. In the midst of it, I was thinking of what else could be done for different things in our community that we ought to reach out to, things that are far beyond the scope of our jobs. Can we ask the why/what if/ how questions about society, about the community that we live in?
One of the persons in this group was sad. He was just sitting there quietly. He had lost his wife this past week. There was no joy because he was thinking about last year when she was with him. Yet, he couldn't stay away from this group because they had become his family. He needed to be with them even at a time when tears were rolling down his cheeks as he reminisced. But, friends, it brought home to me – how much of a responsibility we have to the community that we live in.
I still remember quoting to you, Bill Gates, in his commencement address at Harvard. He said, "I've learnt many things here at Harvard. But knowledge, if not applied to reduce the inequities all around us, is of no use. Reducing inequities is the highest good."
Some months back I talked to you about two occupational behavior engineers in Bangalore who looked at the 10,000 deaths that happened every year at unmanned level crossings and decided that they would do something about it. The wonderful plan that they came up with to reduce deaths at unmanned level crossings. Why should this exist? Why can we not do something about it? What if I began to apply all my knowledge and skills to reducing this inequity? Finally, the action question: how can I do this?
Our Holy Book says, "The one thing that we are required to do is to seek that justice is done, that mercy will be our first concern; and then, to humbly obey our God." Justice, mercy and obedience!
Just for today, I speak to all of you on this call, look outside of your office spaces, your work environments, as you are travelling to work and ask the question – why should this exist? What if I got involved somehow? How do I do it? Why? What if? How? 3 questions that I throw out for you as I throw out for myself! But today, let's think about the gifts and resources that we have been given and how it can go to reduce inequities in the communities that we live in. that's my challenge for you and me today.
Almighty God. Bless every person on this call. Challenge us today to look beyond our work environments, to see injustices, inequities, needs and let compassion and mercy rise within us; that we would look at every situation and say – what if I got involved? May we lean on your understanding to help us to know how we can get involved and solve this inequity. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
• Warren Berger, "Tackle any Problem with these 3 Questions." http://www.fastcodesign.com/3030708/tackle-any-problem-with-these-3-questions
• Bill Gates quote: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/060807-gates-commencement.html
• Airbnb stats: https://www.airbnb.com/about/about-us
• Bible quotes: Micah 6:8 CEV
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