Hey there! I took an unintended writing break. I wish I could say I did something really fun and adventurous while on hiatus, but aside from my weekly adulting responsibilities I was deeply engrossed with reading, studying, and learning. Cliffhanger: I do have a fabulous bucket list adventure on my horizon!! I will be sure to share the details once I have embarked upon the journey.
A few months back I wrote about 37 life lessons I have learned thus far in life. It was suggested to expand on each topic so I’m using this suggestion as my muse for my writing this year. In order to keep things simple I’m starting at the top of the list: “Be kind. It’s free and stuff.”
Kindness is such a beautiful and wonderful thing. When I decided to write about this I asked myself what were some of the kindest acts I’ve received from someone else? Here’s what popped into my mind:
- the hug my roommate gave me after I got the phone call of my Grandma’s passing
- a stranger helping me pick up a box and it’s contents I had dropped before the wind blew everything away (this was back when I wouldn’t ask for help even if I needed it because I thought my pride was sexier than receiving; little did I realize at the time but I was willing to receive “kindness” but not “help”….yep jokes on me!)
- an “I appreciate your friendship card” sent at random from a lovely friend (Hello Captain Obvious! Of course it was from a friend or it wouldn’t have been a friendship card now would have it?)
- my brother bringing me pizza after a minor surgical procedure and hanging out with me that evening while I was partially out of my mind due to pain killers
- my neighbor coming over the minute I got home from work the day after I put Ike (my dog) down….having been through this herself, she knew how unfamiliar coming home to an empty house under these circumstances would be and didn’t want me to experience it alone
- unexpected compliments (I can’t minimize this to one single event because each and every one goes straight to my heart)
- having my driveway cleared of snow (especially the one time when my neighbor rescued this damsel in distress because I had a broken wrist and had attempted shoveling by compensating for the hand I could not use by assisting with my foot….in hindsight I wish someone would have recorded this escapade for comedic relief when needed)
- while living in the middle of nowhere for three years a friend registered to run a race with me, drove all the way out there, and spent the weekend with me; she was the only friend to visit me in the three years I lived there
- Dad parking in the shed when I was growing up so I could have the garage… he gave up his convenience to make the hike to the shed every. single. day. because…. love and kindness
- Mom making, mending, and altering all of my clothes since I was about 12 months old because she’s crazy talented and I have short people problems
- my significant other regularly brings me something from the store he knows I am absolutely crazy about eating (this guy is really swell I tell ya)
I have this trait where I can turn the most simplistic things into elaborate sequenced steps only being able to be understood through a detailed venn diagram which takes a PhD in rocket science to interpret. Thus, the perfect segue to my concept of kindness, which I thought had to be doing something for someone else that they couldn’t do for themselves. As you can see the items in the list above really don’t have anything to do with things I couldn’t do for myself. So please don’t be like me and spend so much time trying to figure out what someone can’t do for themselves that you miss the 96 opportunities right in front of you to do a random act of kindness. Open doors, crack a joke when someone is frowning, offer a hug to the person having a bad day, pay for a tab anonymously, send a card, phone a friend (when you don’t need something or aren’t on a game show), put change in a vending machine, return someone else’s shopping cart, let another shopper go ahead of you in line, plant something, pick up trash, do ANYTHING without being asked, babysit for free, or leave some encouraging words on a social media post (or a post-it note if you’re a traditionalist like me and still have real life exchanges with people outside of the internet).
I’m not sharing anything too revolutionary today. Mostly I hope this will be a swift kick in the behind to super charge your turbo and shift your random act of kindness gear into overdrive. (Does a super charged turbo even work in overdrive???) Please do one other thing not like me: PLEASE for the sake of all things kind and random share, share, share the things you do!! I LOVE seeing humans doing lovely things for other humans, and I doubt I’m alone in this sentiment. Personally, it gives me the nudge of “Hey girl there’s no reason you’re not doing something as super-awesome, considerate, and sexy as that. Get out there and make it happen!’ It really is contagious and motivating for others. So be a spark in this cold, arctic, snowy winter which stubbornly refuses to end and light our kindness fire by sharing your acts openly. I’ll be sure to leave a complimentary and encouraging comment if I see it on social media (or a post-it if I see it in real life)! Thanks for stopping by!
Peace & Love,
Janessa