Compelled by Love.

Over my morning coffee I watched a Vimeo clip that was both heartwarming and reaffirming. The clip, titled 'Compelled by Love,' tells the story of the Free Burma Rangers who bring help, hope and love to those caught in the Burma war zones, purely because they are compelled by love. 

(It's well worth the watch: http://vimeo.com/90716676)

The clip got me thinking.

Throughout my life, for as along as I can remember, I have always craved the resources and the abilities to reach out to others - to use my heart in the way that it was meant to be used. However, for just as long I have heard the same thing over and over from others...

"They don't need your love, they only need your money."

"There are organisations for that type of thing - leave it to them."

"There are too many world problems, how would you know where to start?"

"You're young - don't worry about this right now, you have your whole life to think about that later."

"You're only one person. You can't change the world, just focus on your career."

Well, I'm not listening anymore. They do need my love. With the love of just one person, life can be totally turned around for another. Yes organisations are great, and can do wonderful things, but so can I. Yes the world has so many problems, but I can start small - right on my doorstep. Yes I am young but those in need can't wait for me to grow older. And yes, I am only one person but I CAN and I WILL change the world. I'm compelled by love.

I have been blessed with a loving heart, and I intend to use it in the way that God leads me to. Living here in Thailand has made me certain of many things in life, one of which is that I was sent here to grace others with my love. There is so much need here, and it's not only for money - despite what so many believe, money is not the answer to all of the world's problems. The greatest thing that one can give is their time and their love - we know this to be true in our families, and it's true in the greater world too, believe me. 

Teaching in a private international school that is dripping with money is quite an experience. It is teaching me so much: professionally, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually; and it really pushes the boundaries of my core values and beliefs. These past couple of weeks my teaching position has really started to get me down - I have found it difficult to walk into a space each day to work with children who live in this fabulously sheltered and sensationalised bubble. I knew that while I was teaching 12 very privileged children in a school rich in resources, educational experiences and state-of-the-art technology, mere minutes down the road, in my own city, human trafficking was taking place, children were being abandoned, and others lay homeless and loveless. What was I doing?!

Well, as the days have passed and I have taken some time out for myself, it has been made clear to me that this is just one small step in my journey. The circumstances seem wrong, yet they have all been so perfectly planned out for me. These children that I teach, whom I work with everyday to think outside of the box - to consider new concepts through a number of languages from wire, to light, to water, to graphic representations: they are our future. They are the ones who hold an immense power and ability to change the world we live in. They are the ones who will one day cure cancer, who will eradicate poverty, who will put a stop to human trafficking. I'm just the middle man, enabling them to get there.

We all have the ability to create change, and it all comes down to loving others. Your smile can change one person forever.

In the wise words of Mother Teresa:

"Not all of us can do great things; we can do small things with great love...Do not wait for leaders. Do it alone: person to person."