I turned 31 in January and decided that for my birthday month I was going to do 31 Random Acts of Kindness.  It mostly worked out to one a day but there were days I did more than one thing and a day or two that I forgot as well.  The funny thing about the days I “forgot” to do something was that if I really thought about my day there was some act of kindness I offered even if it was not planned. My goal is to live a life where random kindness towards others is the rule not the exception but there was something fun about planning and executing these small gestures as part of my own secret project. 

I did things like leaving a nice note on a stranger’s car, bringing gifts and treats to my co-workers and clients, giving an extra large tip to a server, offering a free reiki session, letting a car into my lane during rush hour, leaving quarters in a candy machine, and being extra friendly to a grouchy grocery store cashier. My favorite was paying for the person behind me in the drive-thru. I rarely eat at places that have a drive-thru so I was thrilled to pick up In-N-Out grilled cheeses one night for my boyfriend and I and offer to pay for the car behind me. It was fun to tell the cashier my plan and to think that he got to tell the car behind me that their meal had been taken care of. I got a nice, but somewhat confused, wave from the car when they found out. And, I was smiling from ear to ear.  Another close second was leaving art supplies for a friend. This ended up being a fun adventure because I couldn’t find her house. I’ve been there lots of times but my sense of direction is impaired to say the least!

Kindness towards others is so gratifying for me it hardly feels like I am doing something nice for someone else. I love that something as simple as stepping outside of your own issues/problems/concerns long enough to give loving kindness to someone else can dramatically shift your perspective. I’ve definitely had days where I don’t feel like being kind but kindness is and always will be the better solution. I struggled to get along with my step-mother growing up (frankly she just wasn’t nice to me) and my mom always used to tell me to “kill her with kindness.” I don’t think I completely understood this when I was younger and while now I fully appreciate the depth of what my mom was saying, on SO many levels, I think the phrase needs so updating.  “Love them with kindness” feels so much sweeter to me. So, here’s to more kindness in the world, one random act at a time!