Good Morning, Agents!
Over the past 15 days we have hoped to provide you inspiration in seeing how powerful you can be to combat negativity and suffering, and that doing so isn't as difficult as many of us first think. You are now in a position to recognize that you don't need daily missions to carry out the work of spreading kindness, patience, empathy, and compassion.
You know what to do. Deep down inside, you always have.
On this, the last focused day of the 2018 Compassion Games, take some time to reflect on what you've done over the past 15 days. See if you find a nugget of truth in the idea that EVERY act of kindness and compassion you performed increased the goodwill that was already inside of you. As such, consider EVERY kind and compassionate thing you do in your life as making the world a kinder and more compassionate place.
Think about that. Now put a word on it. Define it for yourself.
What word did you choose?
Write it down. Post your word on your Facebook page and share it with others. Tweet your word with the hashtags #compassiongames and #secretagentofcompassion. Write your word on sticky notes and post them around town. Make yourself a T-shirt with nothing but your word on it.
Choose an action today that supports what your word means to you. Do the same thing tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that…
In other words, spread the word. Your word.
Finally, post your word and a short summary of your personal experience today on the Compassion Map.
Thank you, agents.
Thank you, my friends.
Kind Living 
Hi, Andy.
So, like this? ….
Loving synergy: When you start to see how you are not separate from the social & physical environment around you, all your moods & actions & words exchanged with others can have an impact, especially when you feel the freedom to act in simple, loving ways, without an agenda for what you want to accomplish. Sometimes actions have only a “mindless” impact because you’re not aware of them/yourself in relation to those around you…but when it becomes more mindful, then magical things begin to happen in which new opportunities are constantly unfolding for you in relation to the community around you. The more you try to control it, the less well it works. Much of “loving synergy” seems to happen when you surrender control and just stay alert for opportunities to connect with…the beauty around you, sometimes within people, sometimes within nature, and sometimes a unique combination of modern technology, people, & natural environment.
So…I’m on my way tomorrow to help with my first 7-day field trip for Grade 9 students. Apparently, every term (trimester of about 10 to 12 weeks), the Roong Aroon students in each grade take field trips. Grade 9 is when the trips progress to being a full week long. It’s part of the STEM/science & integrated (Social Studies & Thai) subjects, and they go to places all over Thailand (later Singapore in Grade 11) to investigate community issues especially pertaining to sustainability. In Grade 9, they split up a bit, so each of the 3 classes go to different distant parts of Thailand. The 2 homeroom teachers have done most of the organizing of it.
I’m still far from being in the “groove” of 9th grade mentality & ways of being, so I should learn A LOT this week!!
The teachers arrange for students to do homestays with local families in the villages who have extra spaces (sometimes because their kids have moved to Bangkok or gone off to university). So, I will be going to the southern most-province tomorrow called Songkla. It’s an all night train (> 13 hours), and staying 5 nights in the village. And I’ll be staying with 7 girls in a room and am just responsible for going along and watching after the girls’ safety, and getting to know my grade 9 students better in whatever ways I can. The itinerary that I was given on Thursday is all in Thai, so I’m still trying to work out the details of what we’ll be doing, but they summarized the gist for me in English.
Wish me luck! I’ll be using ideas gleaned from this week’s kindness activities just to help me keep emotionally stable in the thick of the unknown of a completely new experience!!
Hugs from Thailand, 🙂 Robin