Time: 3:00pm
Location: Job Numero 2 in Coral Gables, FL
Friday the end of the work week for most of us. whoo hoo! But kindness, and teaching about how to be kind apparently never takes a day off. Between the launch of this fabulous site and Jobs # 1and 2 my mind can sometimes seem a bit erratic. I tend to jump from thought to thought and pray that whoever I am directing my thoughts to can learn to bounce from idea to idea right along with me. ( Its a learned skill.) Thankfully I have a rockin assistant who can do just about everything, including reading my mind sometimes. Really! I swear that girl can read my mind!! During a very rare today she mentioned that she checked out the site and was very impressed (Squee!) with the stories of how simple things can make a difference in other people's lives.
So she very honestly asked me a question that was so easy to answer but I still sat there with my mouth hanging open in a confused stare:
"How do I be kind?"
For some it comes naturally, its a given. But in this society, its really easy to be so wrapped up in ourselves that when we want to do kind things...we kinda get stumped. I get it. So after I thought about it for a quick second... Here's what I came up with.. a "how to guide" to being kind.
First the Dictionary.com definition:
–adjective, -er, -est.
1.
of a good or benevolent nature or disposition, as a person: akind and loving person.
2.
having, showing, or proceeding from benevolence: kindwords.
3.
indulgent, considerate, or helpful; humane (often fol. by to): to be kind to animals.
4.
mild; gentle; clement: kind weather.
5.
British Dialect . loving; affectionate.
Now I present to you my How to Guide for the Overwhelmed Person
How to be Kind
1. Take a moment and decide to be kind.
2. Look around, there are plenty of opportunities to be kind.
3. Leave your house, room, wherever you are by yourself and go find people.
(side note: I always love my local coffee shop, I meet the most interesting people there!)
4. Find your target, is there a mom sitting near you dealing with a fussy baby on the verge of tears, or does that teenager that's sitting at the table surrounded by a table of textbooks looking totally stressed out look like she/he
may need a break.
5. Find some loose change in your wallet, purse, satchel? and buy them a cup of coffee.
6. Walk over to them, smile and hand it to them.
7. When they look at you like you've lost your mind, just say " I thought you needed a little pick me up, have a nice day."
8. Smile politely then walk away. Your good deed will be a good deed if you don't expect anything in return.
9. Read Step 1 and repeat steps 2-9 every day. Wash, Rinse, Repeat.
But don't keep your kind acts confined to your coffee shop, go to your local school with a basket full of those 99 cent dry erase markers and give them to your kid's favorite teacher. (Did you know teachers spend on average $600 a year on school supplies out of their own pockets?)
Be creative! I fed the parking meter of the guy parked next to me. You KNOW that evil meter maid is just WAITING rack up another parking ticket on his quota. I should know, I've gotten 2 tickets for letting the meter expire 3 flippin minutes! REALLY?!
There are always opportunities to be kind all it takes is a conscious decision to do it.
So now (prepare yourselves!)I'm going to use my college degree (Dad would be proud) and assign YOU my loyal and overall awesome reader a social experiment in kindness.
Social Experiment in Kind Acts
Experiment # 1 The Parking Meter Exercise
Objective: To get out of your head and do something nice for someone you don't know.
Hypothesis: Performing 1 act of kindness to a stranger will create a ripple effect and thus provide more opportunities for future acts of kindness.
Method: This weekend dig out the change in your purse or car and feed the parking meter of any car that may be almost out of time, take a picture of your act, come back and post it on this website and smile! You've performed your first act of kindness!!!
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