The Dawn of A New Era

Dear Friends,

When I started our P2P group 2 years ago, I had 2 objectives in mind. The first is to use this as a platform to share kindness opportunities, e.g upcoming volunteer events, donation drives or any meaningful causes that require support. The second objective is to encourage everyone that we can all come together to make a difference and that every one of us will just need to contribute a little each. This concept is illustrated by using a small contribution of $2 as an example; if we have 1,000 donors, we would have accumulated $2,000 and if we have 1M donors then the total contribution will be a large sum of $2M. As simple as a small contribution of $2 can make a big difference when we combine our efforts, the same goes if every one of us give kindness whenever and wherever we can, all our acts of kindness when added up will help create a big impact, thus building a more heartwarming and gracious community for us and our future generations.

Our group slowly evolves to serve other purposes as our number grows. When positive energy generated from giving kindness attracted more like-minded friends on board, we helped many volunteer groups and individuals achieve their targets in helping the less fortunate, at times when all seem lost. We are starting to make an impact collectively as a group. With the great privilege of having many founders of volunteer/ charity groups gathered here in P2P, we slowly become the bridge connecting volunteers to volunteer groups to beneficiaries to individuals campaigning good causes to anyone who wish to make a difference. The kindness community which I always envisaged is forming right here in P2P. I am so proud to see the sheer volume of love being spread around as everyone is focused on the giving. The fact that a giving group like us has grown to 9,000 members is a perfect testimony of the Singapore Spirit and what the people of Singapore are really made up of. You can't find the best deals that would benefit you here, you won't take anything much away from here but still you came to give. You do that because there is love in your heart and because of what you do, our future will be brighter and the world will be a better place.

The last 2 years have been one of the most memorable period in my life as I enjoyed every minute doing what I am doing. What started off as an interest slowly became a passion which then gave me a sense of purpose in life. I sometimes wondered if this is my calling. With smartphones and data plans, I am no longer bounded by the desktop as I can be as involved as I possibly can, even on the go. There was once when I was sharing one kindness initiative per day and even so, I was already holding myself back in order not to flood the group with too many posts. I can do P2P stuff anytime, anywhere, before office hours, during office hours, after office hours, weekend and every single day of the year. Even when I was overseas on my holiday trips, I checked in to see how were things going in P2P. Some friends asked if this was my full time job while others complimented on my relentless energy in being so involved with these online work. The downside of it all is when you spend so much time, effort and energy in one area, you are likely to sacrifice time in other areas of your life.

All these while when I have been so involved and focused in promoting kindness among our community, encouraging everyone to be kind whenever they can, even to strangers; all these while when I preached about loving your family members and loved ones, I asked myself this, "have I, Jason Cai, been kind enough to my own family?" For every second I spend thinking how to help a charitable cause, for every second I spend writing my long winded post, replying all the enquries on my posts or via PM, consolidating pledges, researching and compiling lists on where to donate your preloved stuff, children items, sharing about volunteer groups and opportunities; for every second I spend promoting kindness on P2P, is the very exact second I lost connecting with my loved ones, my family members; the same second that I could used to care for their well-beings, understand their needs, show more concerns and be more loving towards them. This is harsh reality of life as we cannot have the best of everything.

I pondered this a long while, now that things are more or less settled down in P2P, maybe it's time for leadership transition in P2P? Maybe it is time to slow down and pass on the responsibilities to someone who is equally capable, if not more capable than me? I started talent scouting for my admins way before I had these plans. Back then, it was more of finding a covering admin just in case I am not around. Now, it is not about finding someone to cover anymore, it's about finding successor who can really take over the group and take it further. I wish to express my gratitude and appreciation to my 3 admins, Derek, Vicknes and JiaJia, who are gracious and brave enough to take up this admin role. They did not become our group admins by chance, I saw great potential in each one of them and persuaded them to take on the admin roles. Over the past few months, I have shared with them all my knowledge and experience in managing the group, in view that they may one day take over the group from me. The time has come earlier than expected but I am pleased to announce that it's time for them to step out of the shadows and take over the main duties of managing our group. I very much hope that you can continue to give them your trust and support as P2P continues to be the platform to create more awareness for kindness opportunities and to provide much needed support for the volunteer groups and charitable causes.

We have a few sharings in the pinned post that are quite useful for our members, like the list of volunteer groups, the lists of where to donate preloved and children items. I have made them all editable under our shared group documents, so that all members can add on to the list if you have anything useful to add. I have also managed to launch my ebook today, which I hope can be a source of inspiration for friends aspiring to lead a purposeful and meaningful life. The ebook can be found in our group files here:
https://www.facebook.com/download/1733918220177815/Be%20Kind%20Be%20Positive%20Be%20Happy%20-%20An%20eBook%20By%20Jason%20Cai.pdf

So, what's next for Jason Cai? I will still be around, not to worry, but I will be taking a more reserved role as I pass the responsibilities of managing P2P to my admins. I do still welcome any friends to PM me to ask for advice but I may not be able to promise you an instant response. If there are any urgent matters, please look any of our 3 admins, they will be more than happy to assist you. As I slow down to fulfil my other responsibilities in life, I wish to thank all of you for your trust, support and many encouragements that you have given me throughout this journey. They are my greatest source of motivation to keep going all these while. I want to thank all the volunteer leaders and friends whom I have worked with to campaign for your causes, it has been my great privilege to be involved, please continue to keep up the excellent work and provide more kindness opportunities to bond our community and help those in need. It is not easy being a volunteer leader so be proud of what you do and what you stand up for.

The kindness journey will never end, we must continue to open our hearts to opportunities to do good, to help one another and to improve things for the better. Why are we building the kindness community and developing the kindness culture? It is going to be our biggest safety net, for you, for me and for many generations to come. The kindness project will benefit everyone as we progress to a better world together. Thank you for believing in this vision and thank you so much for your love and kindness. Till we meet again, please take good care of yourself, stay healthy and happy always :)smile emoticon

With Love,

Jason Cai

Happy Valentine's & Friendship Day

Dear Friends,

Happy Valentine's Day & Friendship Day & 人日 (human day) to all of you !

Valentine's Day is a day to celebrate love, it is not a day to prove love. Love is all about giving and not about expecting anything in return. It is the same as giving kindness, the only expectation is probably for the recipient to be happy, the rest doesn't matter actually. If you want to celebrate love, focus on what you can give rather than what you should receive, you will be happier that way too.

Love is what we need to heal all the wounds and sufferings in this world, so give love whenever you can, not just to your loved ones but to everyone. Most importantly, remember to love yourself. It is nice that today is Friendship Day as well, I take this opportunity to thank the many wonderful friends who are with me in this kindness journey. I am truly blessed to have all of your trust, support and encouragement all these while.

The Chinese celebrate 人日 (human day) today and what define humanity are the good things we do for one another to make our world a better place for all. We definitely need all the love and kindness we can get to achieve that.

On this special day where we celebrate love, friendship and humanity, I present to you a small gift, my first ever ebook, a compilation of articles I have written over the past 2 years, since I started Project Act of Random Kindness (P.A.R.K.) back in 2013. It is titled "Be Kind, Be Positive, Be Happy" and I hope it lives up to it's name of encouraging you to be kind, positive and happy. Life is only meaningful when we are happy and to be happy, we must always embrace a positive mindset amid all the obstacles and challenges we face. There is great healing powers and abundance of positive energy in giving love and kindness, embrace that and we will uncover the treasures of Life's amazing journey. Cheers :)

https://www.facebook.com/download/1733918220177815/Be%20Kind%20Be%20Positive%20Be%20Happy%20-%20An%20eBook%20By%20Jason%20Cai.pdf
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Health

We all know the art of healthy living; ample rest, regular exercise, good intake of fruits and vegetables, drink more water, less stressful lifestyle, positive attitude in life....etc, yet it takes discipline and effort to practise such healthy living habits.

We push ourselves to the limit at work, we allow ourselves to be stressed out by the rising expectations of life, we indulge in unhealthy food and drinks (probably to reward ourselves for the hard work), we become so busy that we have no time for exercise, no time for our loved ones and no time to relax the mind and body. We think that this is all worth it for that promotion, for earning more money, for getting that dream house/ car, for building a better future for the family members whom we have no time for. We did all these thinking that it's okay, we are young, our health can take the toil. With stress upon us, we get angry easily and hate builds up, so does the negative energy. Our lifestyle becomes unhealthy, physically and emotionally.

Stepping into the volunteer world, we see that the neediest of people are those with deteriorating health, be it elderly or young people with chronic illnesses. Without health, there is very little they can do to turn around their situations. They need help from the charity organizations, the community and it is often for the long term.

I urge everyone to take a step back and evaluate the lifestyle you are leading now. If it is full of stress, lacking time for your loved ones and negative emotions fill you constantly, making you feel unhappy, then it's time to take a step back to pay more attention to your health, both physically and emotionally. I share the below quote from my friend, Nafiz, because I think it is very well written and a timely reminder for those who have taken their health for granted.

To achieve great things, to take care of your loved ones, to experience and to enjoy life, health has to take top priority, not how much money you have in the bank. A poor and healthy man has the ability to start from scratch to slowly accumulate his wealth but a rich and ailing man cannot never use his wealth to buy back the health that he once had.

I wish all of you good health and may you find joy and fulfillment in the things you do, take care :)

You Are The One and Only One

"Because you are one and only one, there is certain influence that only you can bring to this world" - G.E.M.

Every one of us is special and can make an impact in our own unique ways. Believing in ourselves is the first and most important step.

We are given a lifetime of opportunities to make a difference, to the community, to the society and to the world. Let's make full use of these opportunities and create an impact with our unique strength.

When things change for the better and people become happier because of your contributions, you will find that we are all living for a greater purpose in life.

Fireworks in 2016

We all love fireworks, don't we? Be it at the Countdown Party, National Day Parade or other major events, one of the highlights is usually the spectacular firework display. It is not difficult to understand why we are so fascinated with fireworks. Across the dark wide sky, a series of colorful bright lights bursting to the top, illuminating the entire sky. If darkness is a symbol of despair, suffering and pain, then light must be the symbol of hope, courage and faith.

Today is the first day of 2016, we have 364 more days to go before the next countdown party and firework display. It is a great time to start something new and meaningful for this year, especially for those who have yet to embark on the kindness journey. Your love and kindness will be the fireworks which light up the lives on those who are in pain, those who are suffering in silence and those who need help. Your energy and enthusiasm will propel you to the highest point, where your lights will shine the brightest. You will give hope to those who are in despair, you will help them find courage, you will influence others do likewise, you will restore faith and confidence in humanity and you will create an impact, just like the fireworks in the dark skies.

I am not asking anyone to form a new volunteer group or start a mega charity project that would be worth mentioning during the National Day Rally. I am only asking you to take baby steps with the simple acts of kindness, the little things we can do for one another, our loved ones, strangers on the street, people whom you know may need help. If you can only give one act of kindness in 2016, it is still good enough. You will build upon that in 2017, and so on. The key is to get started, to open your heart to kindness, the opportunities will come, believe me, by the law of attraction. Look around our group and be inspired by all the wonderful people here, for there are so many ways to give.

Be someone's fireworks in 2016, it will be rewarding and fulfilling when you embark on this journey with all of us. Thank you for having the kind thought and making that effort to reach out, cheers to a fantastic 2016 for all of us :)

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Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Dear Friends of P2P,

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones, may you have a great celebration with your family and friends. Christmas is the season of giving and because of your love and kindness, Christmas is all year round here in P2P. Thank you very much for giving so much love and blessings to the less fortunate and helping make our community a more beautiful place. The future is bright for all of us because of amazing people like you.

To my diligent P2P admins and all the awesome volunteer leaders, thank you very much for going the extra mile to lead, to reach out to those in need and to provide comfort and hope to them. You owe no one anything and yet you choose to give something that is very precious to make this all work, your time. Thank you very much for the inspiration.

2015 has been a good year for all of us, our P2P family has helped many initiatives & events, bring much hope and joy to our friends in need, young and old. Let's keep up the good work and make 2016 an even better year for all. This kindness journey, this mission that we embark on, it's for everyone, you, me, our children and future generations to come. Everyone can and has to play a part to make it work. Let's influence more friends to join us in this kindness journey and strive towards a better future together. Thank you for being a part of this big kindness family !

Small Thoughts Matter Most

Was shopping alongside an elderly Auntie when she commented that the flowers were not nice. I smiled to her and chose this bouquet and left to buy other stuff. As I was choosing fruits, the same Auntie pop by and told me my bouqet of flowers was nice because of the yellow flowers. She mentioned that the one she eventually chose was not as nice.

Earlier, I was choosing between this bouquet and another selection so I thought since Auntie likes it, she can have it. I can take the other bouquet as I find them pretty too. I went to look for her in the queue and offered her this bouquet. I told her I can buy another bouquet but she declined politely and thanked me.

I think being nice to others and making people feel warm and happy doesn't always require big actions. Sometimes, it is the little thoughts and actions that matter most. If you open your heart to kindness, opportunities will come and you will be a happier person, cheers to a more heartwarming community for all :)