Random Acts of Kindness
July 9, 2009 – 7:55 am
With all of the wind and rain last night I dashed home with one thought in mind – get there safely. So this morning as I wandered around surveying the damage of broken branches and over-turned plants, I came upon a gift. It was a new plant on my porch, randomly left there by a fellow gardener who knew I’d like it. Receiving a gift is always joyful, especially when it’s something you really love, but it made me think about random acts of kindness.
A friend I know was challenged by her coach some years ago to commit one random act of kindness per day. Easy right? We do it all of the time, helping an old person pump their gas, picking up a trashcan that fell over, telling someone they have spinach on their teeth. But here was the clincher: the act had to be anonymous. If she was discovered it did not count.
The lesson: learning to give without the reward of recognition. It’s easy to do something nice when you secretly know that people will think better of you for it or thank you openly in front of others. But doing something kind and not getting any acknowledgment at all is quite a challenge. It makes you realize how much you crave that recognition.
Just for today, I challenge you to commit at least one random act of kindness without telling a soul! See how hard it is to keep it to yourself. If you’re anything like me, you’ll almost burst with the desire to share it. Resist that urge and see how you feel at the end of the day.
Happy Day,
One Response to “Random Acts of Kindness”
This is also a great lesson for children.(who always enjoy doing something”sneaky”)This summer, I let my granddaughter feed an expired parking meter for a stranger. We had a good time wondering what the car’s owner would say when they returned.
By Beth Smoak on Jul 9, 2009