26 Acts of Kindness
We live in such a go, go, go society. Put your head down and get your business done. I’ve been guilty of this plenty of times. In college, friends would ask me why I ignored them when they said hello. Truthfully, I didn’t even notice they were there. I was so focused on getting to class or practice and didn’t always look up. Now, I do my best to look up. When I am on the trail running or hiking I like to at least give passerbys a smile or nod. It seems that good manners have also been fading away as generations grow up. This holiday season take some time to spread some cheer with acts of kindness. It doesn’t matter if they are random or planned. Start now and make it a New Year’s Resolution to continue all year long.
1. Say hello to a stranger
2. Hold the door for someone
3. Pick up something that dropped on the floor
4. Call a friend you haven’t talked to in a while
5. Give a friend a hug
6. Greet a cashier by name
7. Look at the person you are talking to
8. Move a shopping cart out of a parking place
9. Draw a picture and send it to a Children’s Hospital
10. Write a Thank You note to a first responder
11. Leave a card for your mailman
12. Smile at someone
13. Volunteer
14. Donate clothes to a charity
15. Bring your neighbor’s trash bin back up to their house
16. Carry something for someone else
17. Let someone go in front of you in line
18. Bring in snacks for coworkers
19. Say Thank You
20. Apologize when you are wrong
21. Give someone a compliment
22. Share inspirational quotes
23. Help someone shovel snow
24. Share a toy
25. Help with trail maintenance
26. Be grateful
This list can go on. There are so many things that we can do for each other. The best thing we can all do though is make these everyday habits. Pay more attention to the people in your life and let them know that you care about them.
Excellent idea! As it turns out, this blog fits in nicely with a movement on the Internet to do one act of kindness in memory of each of the students and teachers killed at Sandy Hook. While I still think we need to address the easy availability of assault weapons and the lack of sufficient treatment for mentally ill people, simply being kind to one another would go a long, long way toward solving our society’s problems. Oh, and getting outdoors more wouldn’t hurt either!