Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Kindness

“No kind action ever stops with itself. One kind action leads to another. Good example is followed. A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves.”

Amelia Earhart

After finding this amazing quote from Amelia Earhart, I was thinking how great it would be if there were a kindness month. Lo and behold, a google search revealed that February is National Random Acts of Kindness month. I missed it, darn it! But because it is better late than never, here’s my challenge for April: to practice at least one act of kindness daily. Does it have to be elaborately planned for every day of the month? Goodness no! Something as simple as holding the door open for someone or being polite when we speak to people during the day or inviting a person to go in front of us in a check-out line just might brighten their day. And there are acts of kindness that others don’t see, but are just as meaningful, such as donating clothes and food to a charity or picking up trash in the park.

A few months ago at Starbucks, the person ahead of me, a complete stranger,paid for my cup of coffee. It was such a treat and I would have paid it forward except I was the only one in the cafe, so I placed the money I was holding to pay for my coffee into the tip jar. The young woman behind the counter asked me if I wanted some change back but I told her to keep it and left with my coffee, both of us smiling!

Enjoy this month of April, spreading roots of kindness.


Warmly,

Jan