ALTRUISM FOR 2014

In 2014 I need to be more focused. I have decided that my focus for 2014 is altruism. It is not at all a new idea. It has been there for ages and I have been trying to implement it in my life. In 2014, it's going to be different. It will be my the one and sole focus. I will observe how others are doing it, learn from them and implement it.

This morning I took my son to the soccer game. I sat nearby the field and watched my son. Once in a while, my attention was diverted toward the passers by. A group of soccer team came nearby. Apparently they were the next team to play after my son. They attraced my attention, because 3 coaches were high school students from an International School. They tried hard to communicate in Indoonesian with the team comprising Indonesian children. They definitely did their best for their Indonesian was not too good but still the communication worked. They were giving instructions what to do if once their turn to play arrived.

My curiosity grew deeper as they opened a box and provided food for the children to eat. You could say right away that they were more than just happy with the food. I began to scrutinized them one by one and noticed the graphic on their shirt. So, these children belong to the international school. Another question popped up in my mind right away: Why didn't they speak English? They couldn't be students from that International School. I swiped my eyes through their faces and opened my ears widely. I began to hear the language of the street children. My mind began to draw inferences. I got closer to the children and asked them questions.

The children were from the villages nearby the International School. The students were taught how to lead and share with others. In my son's school, the students are the players, but in  this school, the students are the ones who create players out of the children from the nearby villages. That's altruism in my opinion. That's freedom in Fromm's concept of freedom. I have planned to teach altruism as one of the values in my school. Today I get a clue on how to include it in my programs.  Welcome altruism!