Random Acts of Kindness is Infectious!
Friday, February 17th, is National Random Acts of Kindness Day. National Random Acts of Kindness Week kicked off on Tuesday, February 14th, and will continue until Monday, February 20th. Every day we all make roughly 35,000 decisions, this means that if we choose to, we can be positive, kind, and helpful to those we know, those we don’t know and even ourselves. We hold the power in our thoughts and in the actions we take every day to make a difference in lives for good.
National Random Acts of Kindness Day & Week
This initiative is about showing selfless compassion to those encountered or who are in your presence. It is the ability to plant positive seeds of hope via conscious kind acts in people’s lives. Though it should not be limited to one week in February or a single day, it offers an opportunity to bring awareness to those who may not have heard of the day or week to open their heart to do good. There are endless things that everyone can do to display acts of kindness. Take a minute to think or just be spontaneous about it and live in the moment. What act of kindness can you demonstrate this week in others’ lives as well as your own? Need some ideas? Continue reading below or check out our previous year’s blog post.
Things you can do during National Random Acts of Kindness Day or Week:
1. Plant Some Seeds.
a. Sow encouragement seeds with words in the lives of the next generation, your family, friends, and even strangers.
b. Sow money seeds if you are able.
c. Plant seeds of your favorite fruits or herbs. Share with others some of the seeds so they can do the same.
d. Plant a seed to grow a tree.
2. Compost
a. Recycle your food instead of having it go into the landfill.
3. Go on a nature walk.
a. Clear your mind by getting out in nature. Smell the air and listen to the animals speak and clean-up what you can.
b. Feed the birds if it is safe to do so.
4. Donate
a. Donate your time to organizations in your community, school, office, etc.
b. Donate money to causes you believe in.
c. Be open-minded about your environment, utilize more sustainable goods and shop locally when able.
5. Smile
a. A smile offers a gesture of kindness and may have one reciprocate your action.
b. Compliment and smile at someone you know or a stranger. Admit that you look good today or tell someone their outfit looks nice or whatever it is you think is attractive about them. Be generous, kind, sincere, yet truthful. Also offer up kind gestures to yourself; this is a part of self-love.
6. Reach Out
a. Being that so many people are going through so much, take this time to check on someone you have not heard from in a long time. Pick up the phone and listen to the voice of the person on the other side to notice if you hear what the person is really saying behind their words. Are they being truthful to make themselves appear together or are they masking an issue that is going on in their lives? Listen attentively to what someone has to say. It can be helpful in you being aware of depression or a mental health condition.
b. Visit someone that may be alone, they may want to hear your voice, see or hug you.
c. Send a thoughtful text.
d. Listen to that still small voice when it tells you to reach out someone, it may be telling you to do so for a reason unknown to you at that moment, but do it anyway. Intuition exist for a reason, be sure you know how to hear so you can take action as needed.
7. Gift
a. Award someone with something they have been eyeing but have made every excuse not to get.
b. Contribute gently used things that you no longer use to an elderly home or shelter.
c. Buy someone a meal or coffee
d. Share your lunch.
e. Purchase a stranger a drink.
f. Give flowers to someone you admire or appreciate.
g. Provide a helping hand to a stranger.
h. Invest in making kindness the norm in your life.
i. Pay for someone's toll, gas, train or bus ride. Pay something forward.
j. Say "Good Morning & Thank You" more often.
Conclusion
Never underestimate how your acts of kindness can make a difference in someone else’s day. We never know what anyone is going through at any second, but one act of kindness from you can turn someone’s frown upside down. Any act of kindness, no matter how small, really can make a difference in someone’s life for the better. Won’t you do your part and make someone’s life better today than it was yesterday. Not only will they feel good about your gesture; you will feel good too. What act of kindness will you deliver today and moving forward to make a difference in others lives; including your own?