Skip to main content

Random Acts of Kindness


“The best part of life is not just surviving, but thriving with passion and compassion and humor and style and generosity and kindness.”

Maya Angelou (1928)

Kindness. It’s a word we hear far too little of these days. The news is filled with violence and death and often leaves us feeling drained and pessimistic. Is the world truly as bad as the media portrays?

There is an old saying in journalism that “if it bleeds, it leads,” and that certainly seems to hold true with every news outlet I access regularly. But right now, I’m putting forth a challenge to you. February 11-Feburary 17 is Random Acts of Kindness Week. I plan to do several random acts of kindness throughout that time period…won’t you think about doing the same?

And instead of keeping it a secret, why not write about it here? Leave us some comments on what kinds of random acts of kindness that you plan to do/have done (even if it’s not specific to that week).

I’ll give you an example.

Several months ago, a friend and I went to dinner at Fuji’s. As anyone who’s been to the restaurant knows, the food is delicious, but a tad on the pricey side. You get the option of sitting at a private table, or around a large grill where you’re entertained by the chef doing tricks and cooking your food in front of you. The thing about the grill is, if you are only there with one other person, you’re likely to be sharing your grill with others—which honestly is part of what makes it fun. Even when you don’t know the people.

Well, that evening, a couple and several children—about eight, if memory serves correctly—joined us at the grill. The kids ranged in ages from infant to about fifteen years old. The father apologized in advance for the fact that our dinner was going to be ruined by the chaos their family brought. My friend and I simply smiled, and assured him it wasn’t a problem. After all, part of being out in public is dealing with occasional chaos.

All of the children behaved like perfect angels. They were polite, and they did not yell or fight or talk loudly. As they were leaving, the mother again apologized for the chaos. I told her it was no problem—they hadn’t ruined our evening at all! My friend and I stayed a little longer, catching up and finishing our meal, and then flagging down the waiter for our tickets. To my astonishment, he informed us that the family who’d been sitting with us at the grill had paid for both of our meals!

I don’t know who this family was, but I appreciate and think about their act of kindness regularly. Now I’m not saying that you should buy a stranger’s meal (unless you really want to and can afford it, of course). I’m saying that kindness comes in many forms. It doesn’t necessarily have to involve money at all. A kind word or smile is often all a person needs from you in order to brighten their day.

What act of kindness will you perform today?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

You don't have to be able to Dance to do Baskets

  Growing up in the world of dance, one of my favorite things to do each year is participate in The Nutcracker Ballet. My favorite part? Giving the audience a magical Christmas experience with the perfect setting of lights, music, glittery costumes, and refined steps by ballerinas. The audience is transported to a magical land of sweets that makes even adults feel like small children in awe and wonder. Of course, that’s just what the audience sees! What they don’t see is the months and months before hand! Long rehearsals, bandage wrapped dance feet, and stage and tech crews working tirelessly so that every detail before the final show is perfected. After several years, I have started comparing the Christmas Baskets Process to that of the process for The Nutcracker Ballet. Starting months and months before, staff and volunteers work endlessly for the exhilarating distribution week to come. With that said, the magical essence of the Ballet experience cannot happen with just the prim
Post a Comment
Read more

A Woman of Dove's History

 March is Women’s History Month and during this month I want to acknowledge a woman who assisted Ray Batman in molding Dove, Inc. Not only was she a founder and volunteer, but her passion, dedication, and drive were so vital to building the stellar foundation that the organization stands on today. She may have been tiny in stature, but her presence was vast. She was eventually hired as the Program Director in 1974 and remained an active and avid supporter of Dove after retirement and up until her passing in 2014. Her “never take no for an answer” attitude assisted with building collaborations that are still matched today.  She was extremely instrumental in the organization of a multitude of community-related programs throughout the city of Decatur. This includes the Nationally Renowned Mother-to-Mother program, a programming concept that has been widely adopted across the country. Sue’s presence still shines through those of us who have come along beside her. Her commitment to resolvin
Post a Comment
Read more

CoC Funds Available

CoC Funds Available The Decatur/Macon County CoC announces approved Consolidated Application for the FY 2024 CoC Program Competition. Review the Approved Consolidated Application and Approved Priority Listings and all New and Referral Project Listings at the link above. For Comments or Questions about the Approved Application, email fredspannaus@gmail.com.
Post a Comment
Read more