[Reflection] First Volunteer Activity after 7 years

Today is a day that I have been looking forward to because I am going to do something which I have procrastinated for a long time. More than 3 years ago, I signed up as a member under a Volunteer Portal called SG Cares, which provides ad hoc volunteering activities, for busy Singaporeans who are unable to commit to volunteering on a regular basis. However, a combination of timing mismatch, lack of interest from my circle of friends and procrastination meant that I have not signed up for a single activity under SG Cares since then. The reason I always give myself is the same, "There's something more important to do that particular day". Deep down, I have always missed the good old days of active volunteering during my undergrad studies.

One of the reason of setting up PARK and starting my kindness journey is to tell myself that if I can't find time or motivation to do volunteer work, let me do something meaningful instead of doing nothing at all. Therefore, I made it a point to start from the very basic, the very small things that I think I definitely can do. It is also another way of building momentum towards bigger things to come. When I open my heart to kindness, more opportunities start to pour into my life, starting from the simple acts of kindness that I can do everyday, to the volunteer opportunities with 'A Packet of Rice', 'Willing Hearts', 'Caring Singaporeans Outreach Group', 'Keeping Hope Alive' and Lovorth's '12 Days of Christmas' Project. Every opportunity gets me excited and motivated to be involved.

I am amazed by how far kindness has taken me and I believe I am only seeing the tip of the iceberg. In this journey, I met amazing people who have so much love for this world and have stepped out to make a difference for their cause. They are the ordinary people who do extraordinary things and their spirit of giving is truly inspirational. Looking back, if I had not started my journey of giving kindness, I guess I would still be procrastinating about when I am going to start my volunteering journey and soon, many 3 years would have passed and I achieved nothing, with a large part of my life gone. Whether I become an active volunteer (I hope I do) or not, the mission of embracing kindness and proactively giving kindness must go on.

It is my biggest wish that you, my friend, can join me in proactively giving kindness, because you will soon realize that it is one of the best thing you have ever done in your life. This journey will bring you happiness, satisfaction, meaning and purpose and I am sure you will not live to regret it. My humble advice is always to start small and over time, you can accomplish big things!