Random acts of kindness are awesome!
I love it when someone does something nice for someone else, out of the blue, and has nothing to gain from it. Granted, you should do random acts of kindness for your friends and family, that helps your relationship to grow in a healthy manor and lets you know that you love them. You should also consider doing random acts of kindness for people who you have never met and may never see again.
An awesome example of this came up just last week (When I wrote this on December 19, 2012, that is) when I was chatting with one of my former students. She asked me if I though she should bake some brownies and bring them to the fire department across the street from her house, and expressed her doubts about doing so because of the fact that most modern-day Americans will not take food from people they don't know.
I told her that if she wants to do it that she should follow through, but that she should be prepared to eat a few brownies just to prove that there is nothing wrong with them.
Another random act of kindness is the sending of care packages. Thankfully, I have been on the receiving end lately, but when I leave here, I plan on being on the giving end as well. Fortunately, I will have a better idea of what deployed members of the military need when I get back. (Toiletry items, drink mixes, books, crossword puzzles, batteries - whatever kind you are allowed to send, DVDs/Cds, and anything which will provide lighthearted entertainment to name a few items).
I know that people give more during the holiday season (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, etc.), but this is something that we should consider doing all year long. From November until mid January, we kept a candy box for everyone who worked in our area. Soldiers would bring extra candy and snacks which were sent to them and we would all share it. After January, we struggled to even have a box.
Keep in mind that it does not have to cost you anything to contribute a random act of kindness in order to help mitigate the effects felt by the sea of misery which so many people must swim through on a daily basis. You could trim the neighbor's hedges or mow their lawn, especially if they are elderly or not able to do so for some other reason. You could make it a point to hold the door open and warmly greet everyone you meet on any given day. You could even bring some cans of food you have just sitting on the shelf at home to the local homeless shelter.
If you have children, you could even get them involved by asking them to donate some of their gently used clothes or toys to a family in need or to any number of charitable organizations. Children are never too young to teach about random acts of kindness or charitable giving... and these lessons may even follow them throughout life.
There have been many times when I have seen a random act of kindness brighten up someone's day.
One final example is the day I deployed. When I was in the store at the airport, a lady bought a drink and a snack for the soldier in front of me, and myself. She did not know the two of us from any other soldier in the world, and she will probably never see us again, but still, she made it a point to tell us "Thank you for your service," both in word and in deed. We were both appreciative of her actions.
She did not know that I had skipped my lunch on that day or that I was rushed through the airport in order to get to our plane because someone had given our group the wrong time to arrive at the airport, or that I would be away from my family for the second Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day in a row, or that I would be missing Christmas, New Year, and our Anniversary as well. This kindhearted lady just laid down her hard earned money in a random act of kindness in tribute to every soldier, sailor, and marine who is fighting for her freedom.
It is the people like the lady at the airport, and my former student, who serve as examples to us all. The gladness which we can bring to another human being by contributing one simple act of kindness without the hope of something in return is simply amazing.
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David H. Troyer
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