Tag Archives: kindness

Random Acts of Kindness

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The holiday season is upon us.  Rather than adding to your wish list, or stressing over the trappings of the season; find your joy by doing random acts of kindness.

Random acts of kindness are selfless acts of kindness directed at complete strangers, with the sole intent of spreading love and kindness.  There is no better way to celebrate the joy of the holidays.

Below is a list of easy and fulfilling random acts of kindness.  Give them a try and see how they improve your holiday season.  You might just want to make them a part of your everyday life.

  1. Buy a stranger’s coffee.
  2. Leave some change in a vending machine, so that someone can get a free drink.
  3. Take some homemade treats to nurses, firefighters, teachers, or cops in your community to thank them for all they do.
  4. Leave a big tip for a waiter or waitress in need.
  5. Make treats and put them in the mailbox for the mailman.  Be sure to leave them a note, so they know the treats are for them.
  6. Take pet food, old blankets, and pet toys to your local shelter.
  7. Take flowers to a local hospital and have a nurse give them to a patient who needs to be cheered up.
  8. Donate food, books, toiletries, and warm clothing to the local homeless shelter.
  9. Do chores for a friend or family member.
  10. Adopt a deployed soldier and send him/her some much needed holiday cheer.  Here is the website:  http://www.adoptaussoldier.org/
  11. Give someone your place in line.
  12. Visit a nursing home.  Just talk to the residents, play board games with them, or get some friends together to sing Christmas carols and hand out Holiday cards.
  13. Give a hot drink to a Salvation Army bell ringer.
  14. Give a gift card to a stranger at the grocery store.  Any amount shows you care.
  15. Take classroom supplies to a teacher or two.  If you have Dr. Morton, then you know he always needs dry erase markers.
  16. Adopt an Angel from an Angel Tree.  Most of the time, these children aren’t asking for a lot.  I personally have adopted several angels over the years, and each time it cost me around $50.

Above all, this Holiday season and all year round, show kindness, compassion, and love for your fellow man.  Restore your faith in humanity by blessing strangers with random acts of kindness.

Put a little love in your heart

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With recent events, such as Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria, and the mass shooting in Las Vegas, it is hard to stay positive.  So many lives have been lost in all of this devastation.  The death toll for those four events alone, has reached more than 200.  How do we move on from such tragedy?  When the media mostly reports on horrific events and politics, how do we begin to see the world as good again?  There is far more good, than bad, in the world.  We simply must look for the positive.  Check out these examples of humanity at its finest, and put a little love in your heart.

When 4-year-old Sidney moved in to her new home in Colorado, she was certain there were monsters in her house.  She called on police officer, David Bonday, whom she met at a community fundraiser for help.  Bonday was happy to help put Sidney’s mind at ease. Check out the video below for more on this heartwarming story.

In Columbia, Maryland, grandmother Stacy Lee, was out shopping for a dress for her granddaughter.  Money was tight, and she couldn’t afford the dress.  The grandmother asked the shop owner to hold the dress.  When she did, a stranger walked up and offered to pay for the dress.  Lee said, “Thank you, but I cannot accept such a gracious gift.”  The stranger replied with a story.  She informed Lee that she was once homeless, and if it weren’t for the kindness of strangers, she would not have survived.  Since that time, the stranger’s situation had improved and she wanted to pay it forward, and the only payment she would accept in return was a heartfelt hug.

Lebanon, Connecticut resident, Donna Kachnowski’s 6-year-old grandson, lost his home to a fire in January 2006.  He lost everything, including his Christmas presents.  A classmate from his school had a birthday around that time and gave the boy all of her birthday presents.

Hallie Twomey of Auburn, Maine, lost her 20-year-old son to suicide in April 2010. She and her husband, John, donated CJ’s organs.  But Hallie felt she had to do more.  She made the decision to donate one of her kidneys to a stranger.  Hallie was proud of her decision, “Not only did I give life to someone else, but my life has changed as well.”

Collin Carlisle, owner of Collin’s Lawn Care Service, saw a post on the Facebook group, Texarkana Cheers and Jeers, complaining about a neighbor’s yard being overgrown.  According to the complaint, the neighbor had not mowed their lawn all year.  Collin decided to go cut the woman’s grass, free of charge.  The resident was not home at the time, but she took to social media to thank Collin and the countless others who offered to help her, “I just want to take a moment to thank every single person that reached out to me about helping me with my yard work, odds and ends around the house, and any other things you to offered to help with.”

These are just a few examples of the kindness that is still residing in this world.  Please keep all of these stories close to your heart.  I ask you all to spread compassion and love through random acts of kindness, and put a little love in your heart.