There's an old saying that goes something like this:
Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go.
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living,
But the child born on the Sabbath Day,
Is fair and wise and good and gay.
In the spirit of this saying, I want to encourage more grace - and by this I mean acts of kindness. I heard Dr. Wayne Dyer once saying that acts of kindness actually improve our immune systems and can make us feel good physically as well as emotionally. Additionally those who witness an act of kindness (not just the giver and receiver but the by-standers!) are said to benefit as well. Isn't that just one more amazingly inspirational reason to do something nice?!
There's a lot of space on the web for sharing our emotions and purging our secrets, venting our frustrations, etc. I rely on my blog for that comfortable and non-judgmental space. But I also think that there's a missed opportunity here. Why shouldn't we also use our space for the sharing of good things? What I'm hoping to do is start a series of Tuesday posts wherein we use the comments of the post to share good deeds and random act of kindness. Hopefully, just reading the kind acts performed by others will be enough to lift the spirits of *all* of us.
I encourage everyone to use anonymous commenting since the desire and intent to do something kind shouldn't be judged in any way ("Oh she's always doing things like this. What a goody two-shoes." or conversely, "So and so never comments here. Doesn't she like to do kind things?"). I'm sure all of you who are regulars would never indulge in this kind of petty thinking, but I'm hoping that new readers and commentors will join in and I want to be clear about having some ground rules and expectations.
So tell me, what act of kindness have you performed on this Tuesday?
Note: If you ever need any ideas, you can always check out Help Others.
I love this idea. I hadn't heard of the immune system idea but I truly believe that by spreading kindness we create a better world for all. And no kindness is ever too small to make a difference. So, in the vein of small kindnesses, today I let cars enter the road in front of me whenever I had a chance and stopped at crossings where people were waiting. That really shouldn't even count as a kindness I think but it seems around here it is seen as optional...
ReplyDeleteWow, I love this idea. I haven't done much today yet, but this has inspired me to see what other acts of kindness I can do today.
ReplyDeleteI have answered a lot of questions today, and I always try to treat those who ask questions with kindness and help as much as possible, and not act like someone's wasting my time, no matter how busy or harried I am. I'm not always successful, but today has been good in that respect so far.
I love this idea too. Today I noticed an act of kindness--my twins took off their socks downstairs while playing but at the end of the day, my son gathered up both pairs and brought them upstairs. Which may seem like a pretty lame act of kindness, but considering how little they will clean up for one another, it was this kind, quiet moment where he didn't call attention to it. I just noticed both pairs in his hand.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea!
ReplyDeleteThis happened a few months ago, but I never blogged about it because it felt like bragging. But since this is anonymous...
We'd been hanging out at the apartment of some male friends, and one of them had his girlfriend sleeping over. Right before we left, she gathered up her courage to pull me aside and ask if I had any "feminine products." I didn't. She is a lovely person, but very young for her age and rather timid -- too timid to send her boyfriend to the store to buy tampons like most of us would have done.
DH and I left, and I told him that I wanted to stop at the drugstore, because I knew that otherwise she'd just do without. I mentioned something about the sisterhood of women. The whole thing probably took 10 minutes total. When I came back to the apartment and handed her the box of tampons, she was totally bewildered, as if I'd handed her a bag full of hundred dollar bills. I said, "When you need it, you need it." She started crying and kept hugging me, saying that I was "the nicest person ever."
Since then, whenever I see her, she runs up and throws her arms around me and showers me with praise. I didn't do it for recognition or to make her like me, I did it because it was the right thing to do. But it's nice to think that she still appreciates it, months later. Kindness that the recipient takes to heart feels better than kindness that goes unnoticed.
I have never been so glad to make someone cry.