Random Acts of Kindness

Thirty-three days ago I turned the big four-oh. In the days leading up to this birthday, I thought about what I could do to mark the occasion. After kicking around on Pinterest for a while, I saw a couple of posts of people who did random acts of kindness on their birthday as a way to spread a little cheer while celebrating their day. They did one random act of kindness for every year of their life. In both cases, the do-gooders where MUCH younger than 40 and were able to all of their random acts of kindness in one day. I knew there was no way I was going get 40 random acts done in one day. So I gave myself the entire month since my birthday was on the first. Then I added the component of asking friends on Facebook to do one random act of kindness on my birthday. About ten people told me they did a random act of kindness on my birthday! How cool is that? And they happened through out the country and even one in Canada. :) Spreading the kindness.

So, did I get all 40 done in May? Nope. I fell short. I have about 10 left to do, so I'm going to keep going into June to get all 40 checked off the list. I didn't do 40 different acts, but rather did several, and often times I did the same thing more than once. But here's some of what I did do in May:

1. In a store parking lot I ended up parking next to a car that had a firefighter designated license plate. So I put a pack of licorice on their windshield with a note that it was a random act of kindness. I kept extra candy in my car and did this two other times as well.

2. While shopping in the diaper aisle of a store, there was a woman buying a specific brand. I had two coupons for the brand she was buying so I gave the coupons to her, saving her a few bucks. One was a manufacturer coupon and one was a store coupon so I told her she could use both that same time. She was grateful.

3. When our baby had a check up at our local clinic I brought small baskets of Starburst candy along. I gave one to the girls at the check-in station, one to the crew at the lab, and then I ran one down to the nurses in the birth suite of the hospital where we had our baby. Each time I explained that I was doing it in honor of turning 40. I gave to the lab and the check-in crews because I figured they probably don't get a lot of treats or gifts from patients.

4. I taped a dollar with a note to the back of a toy in the dollar store. Some child will eventually find it and get a free toy! I taped it so the dollar was sticking out a little bit so it wouldn't get missed. I'm going to do this one again, I just need to get some more dollar bills. I like thinking about some kid finding it and getting a free toy! It's only a dollar, but if you were a kid and found it, wouldn't you remember that for a long time?

5. I bought a box of microwave popcorn, taped a random acts of kindness note to each one and wrote with a marker "Enjoy free popcorn with your movie!" Then I drove to five separate RedBox locations near my work and home and taped popcorn to the boxes. I still have one left to give away.

6. I put four quarters in a baggie with a note and taped it to a pop machine so someone could get a free pop. I'll probably do this one again as well.

7. I had a bunch of coupons that were expiring in a few days and knew I wouldn't use them. So I spent an extra 20 minutes in the store, walking around and putting the coupons on the products so that when people were shopping, they would find a little savings!

8. I gathered stray carts in a parking lot. I'll probably do this one again too...doesn't cost me anything!

9. I left a gift bag filled with taffy for our mail carrier. I put a note on it and the next day I got a post-it note as a thank-you from our mail carrier. And now I know her name.

10. I donated food to the local food shelf.

Most of my random acts included candy. Because who doesn't like candy? Hopefully I didn't give any to any diabetics! Is some licorice stuck under a windshield wiper going to change the world? Nope. But there is just so much DARKNESS in this world. So many people are hurting. Or making really bad choices. It's so easy to spread some LIGHT. It does the heart so much good to take the focus off yourself and simply be kind or encourage. Our society would be so much HAPPIER if people would just take the focus off themselves once in a while. There's so much entitlement and so many who have not been taught that the world is not all about them. There are so many miserable people because they care only about themselves. The thing they have not discovered is the irony of when you think of others is that it brings you happiness. I am so thankful for all of the people who DO spread cheer and encouragement and light and love. Not in some hippy-dippy way, but in practical ways. People who encourage the discouraged, people who give their time and efforts to volunteer and make someone else's life a little better, people who treat the helpless decently, people who respect authority, people who go the extra mile to bring a little happiness to someone else. All without expecting anything in return. I am SURROUNDED by people like this. And I'm so thankful for it.

I really like the song "Do Something" by Matthew West. The message is so true - so many people ask God, "Why don't you fix these problems?" And His answer is, "I did. I created YOU. DO SOMETHING." Don't wait for someone else to tackle the troubles of this world. You ARE someone. And God gave you talents and abilities to help others. It doesn't matter your age, your education, or economic standing. Everyone can do something to make the world a better place. It's like the song says, "We're never going to change the world by standing still." Go out and encourage, spread kindness, serve, SHINE.