Life’s Greatest Gift

Minimalism is not all just about having less, its about having more. Personally for me, it’s having more time to do things that matters to me. One of the first things that comes to my mind is how do I add value to other people’s life. Starting this blog with Kate to share our experience is one way of doing it, but organizing events that could make meaningful contribution to others is another way of engaging people’s lives.

One way of contribution is via blood donation. This is a an act that could actually save lives and that one of the greatest gift in life. My very first blood donation was back in my army days, and I became a regular blood donor for quite a number of years before breaking for a while due to my hectic work schedule. Last year, I restarted on this meaningful regime after the birth of Ally as I wanted to inspire her on how she could also give back to society when she is older.

Recently, I organized a blood donation drive at my workplace and it was very heartening to see so many kind souls who came forward to volunteer. Personally, I considered the drive to be successful, as almost 3% out of 600 employees participated in the blood donation drive (this is higher than the national average of 1.83% blood donors in Singapore).  Additionally, a lot of my colleagues who volunteered for this event were first-time blood donors. Through this exercise, I was able to raise awareness about blood donation and repelled the fallacies and false images of “how scary” they were made up to be.

Aside from a blood donation drive, I had also had the privilege to organize a few corporate charity events in the past. Charity events probably means that you contribute time to give back to society like visiting an orphanage, elderly home or participate in a food donation drive. However, a blood donation is equivalent to donating a part of your body and this gift of life is so precious and admirable.

The event was well-received and garnered many positive feedback. Personally, I had also gained a lot of friends from this event and I also got to witness the selflessness of people who came forward to volunteer for such events. This motivates me to organize more similar events in future to contribute to society in a meaningful way.

Life is not just about ourselves. Being able to help others, even strangers, adding value to others lives, is one of the greatest gift we can give to others.