Category Archives: Random Acts of Kindness

Labor Day Lovespiration

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The inspirations for this blog always come from life. My life to be more specific, and often the themes and issues that I see in the lives of the people I work with. As we approach Labor Day and a wedding I will attend over the weekend, I can’t help but think of this little love story. Sometimes the hardest thing we do in life is let more love in.

3 years ago on Labor Day my partner and I decided to go to Seaport Village to play tourist in our own beautiful city. We walked around and then grabbed a snack but couldn’t find anywhere to sit. A couple offered for us to join them and we learned that their names were Pat and Kathy. He was a pilot for FedEx and was overjoyed that his wife was able to join him on a business trip for the first time ever. They told us about their kids and the wonderful life they had shared so far and then asked us about our relationship and if we planned to get married. My boyfriend spoke up and said “Oh, she doesn’t want to get married”

Pat shared that, like me, he had come from divorced parents and told Kathy from the start that he didn’t plan on marrying her. He said “we were together 5 years before we got married but I can honestly say marrying Kathy is the best decision I have ever made”  Cue the tears and the most tender “see it wouldn’t be so bad” look from my love. It was a special moment that I didn’t know would get even better. You could tell the couple was moved as well and Kathy said to Pat that it felt like a “vadeju.” She explained this to be a reverse dejavu and that once when they were our age they saw a cute older couple who had been together a long time. They both felt very inspired by this couple and hoped that one day they would be able to pay it forward. More tears. In fact, as many times as I have told this story I can’t do so without getting goosebumps and a little teary eyed.

We said our goodbyes, mentioned some things to do in San Diego and gave them our free zoo passes that we get for being members. As we walked away my boyfriend had the biggest grin on his face and I think he was sort of skipping (although that’s not terribly out of character) I told him he looked like he had won something. He promptly responded “Oh, I have!” You see, he knew as well as I did that they were placed in front of us for a reason. He barely even believed in that at the time but knew for certain that we were meant to meet them. Sometimes we wish we could find them and say thank you and maybe we will get to someday. But, more than anything we hope we get to inspire another couple down the road with our love and commitment.

My now fiance loves me more than I could ever explain but it has not always been easy for me to accept that love. It’s getting easier and easier and I definitely have Pat and Kathy to thank for that.

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Waterfall kissing in Ecuador

31 Random Acts of Kindness

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No-act-of-kindness-no-matther-how-small-is-ever-wasted-Meaningful-Picture-QuotesI 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!