Random Acts of Kindness

8 January 2007 17 views 6 Comments

No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted. ~Aesop

A random act of kindness is doing something nice for someone, other than yourself, without wanting anything in return. Kindness actions can be anything from thanking someone or giving a compliment, to sending a surprise gift or paying for the person behind you, in the checkout line.

The beauty of kindness is that one simple gesture can make a difference. The “power of one” has the capacity to spread like wildfire.

Here’s an article snippet from Vancouver Sun.

“Try this for one week: Each day, make a point to say something kind to another human being.

Say something thoughtful and unexpected to your spouse, partner, children, co-worker, or a stranger on the street or in a store. It doesn’t have to be a grandiose declaration. It’s better if it’s not, actually.

It costs nothing, takes little effort and a moment to do. It’s a simple thing, but it really can lift people and, in turn, change how you feel about yourself and your place in the world.”

Random Acts of Kindness Week begins February 13.

Imagine if you started the day with showing kindness or generosity to someone else.

There are a plethora of sites that offer suggestions and stories.

actsofkindness.org
angelscamp.com/r-how.htm
kindnessinc.org
generosity.org
helpothers.org
umich.edu/~dorak/Raks.htm

How to make a difference in 15 minutes.

“I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do.” ~Helen Keller

Tell me your most recent “random act of kindness” experience.

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6 Comments »

Kathy said:

The random act of kindness in itself, gives you a sense of peace in your inner soul. I love a raok when you don’t know who the giver is. My last raok was at a car wash in the town I live in. There was a young man,probably just 16 and just a beginner driver, that had just finished washing his truck and it wouldn’t start. There were all kind of people around and no one offered to help this young man. Being the “girl scout” as prepared thing…ofcourse I had jumper cables. So I went over and popped the hood on my car and jumped his truck. I think he was amazed more that anything that I was a girl and knew how to use jumper cables, but he offered to pay me and I told me that I would want someone to help my child and that he should do something nice to help someone else today and that would be my payment. I have since seen this young man in town and he always waves or ackowledges me in some way. So as the old saying goes…”A hundred years from now, no one will care how much money you had in the bank, or what kind of house you lived in or what kind of car you drove, but if you can make the different in the life of a child, your journey has been worthwhile”…Blessings to you Sara…Love your blogs..Kathy aka nwmissourigal

# 10 January 2007 at 1:35 am

Bumplett said:

this may seem silly, but my most common random act of kindness would be that I will leave a good coupon on top of an item in the grocery store for someone else to use - or if I see that someone has an item in their cart that I have a coupon for & I’m not going to use it, I’ll give it to them -

# 18 February 2007 at 12:59 am

Marie78 said:

Bumplett, I find coupons for things I need all the time at the grocery store! I never thought they might have been placed there on purpose. I am going to do this now too! I enjoy finding them, so I can only imagine that others would too. I bring extra bags with me to a grocery store that doesn’t bag your items for you. I hand out my extra bags when I see people need them. I always get a smile and a thank you, it warms my heart to the core! I hope this isn’t a selfish act, because I get such satisfaction from it.

# 18 February 2007 at 5:07 am

mom23boys said:

I loved the quote by Helen Keller. It is perfect. My most recent random act of kindness involved purchasing a ticket to an entertainment venue for a friend of one of my children. His family couldn’t afford to take him and since we were going, we took him with us and purchased his meal and ticket to the show.

# 18 February 2007 at 10:41 pm

Maggi said:

Last week we had a Valentines dinner at church. I knew Dh and I wouldn’t be there since we were going out of town to friends. When it came time for donation to help offset the costs for those attending. I paid for someone who wouldn’t be able to afford it. I told the pastor after church to let a young couple who couldn’t afford the dinner to go in our place.

# 19 February 2007 at 12:13 pm

emily_hope said:

Hmmm, I am not sure if this qualifies for a random act of kindness, but… My DDs have a friend who is moving to Texas. My DD16 has been friends with him for over 7 years. We threw a surpise going away party for him. He was very surprised!

# 21 February 2007 at 12:59 pm