One of my FAVORITE "National" holidays is coming up.... National Random Acts of Kindness Day!
If you know anything about me, I am a lover of all things kind. I try to live my life in kindness-- in both word and deed. And I definitely try to practice kindness towards myself when I just don't get it right. Because that happens all too often.
"You are kind" is one of the five daily affirmations I tell each of my girls. They say kids are what they believe and I want my girls to believe that they are kind deep to their core, so that they, too, may share kindness with others.
And now for a bit of a personal story. I lost my brother in November 2020. It was a few months after his passing when I was at the library and I saw a flyer that read "National Random Acts of Kindness Day-- February 17th." My brother's birthday was February 17th. He was humble in nature and I was witness to his random acts of kindness once or twice throughout his short life.
It was a collective of these two things: wanting to share kindness with others as well as healing the grief I felt missing my brother that I have chosen to celebrate this holiday in his memory the past two years. In honor of what would have been his 40th birthday this year, I wanted to share a list of ways you, too, can practice random acts of kindness.
40 Ways to Spread Kindness on National Random Acts of Kindness Day
- Leave a note in a library book for the next reader
- Leave a "thank you" in your mailbox
- Bring donuts to your local or school library
- Say a prayer for someone
- Donate water to a homeless shelter
- Have your child(ren) bring a treat to their teacher(s)
- Bring muffins to dance, basketball, hockey, etc.
- Leave an encouraging post it note on the shelves at the grocery store
- Enlist your kids for help in making cards and deliver them to the workers of stores you frequent
- Leave a kind review on a product you use
- Leave a kind review on a business' website, social media, or Google
- Tell someone something you admire about him or her
- Praise your child(ren) when you catch him or her doing something kind
- Wave to your neighbor
- Offer a helping hand by holding the door for someone
- Compliment someone who crosses your path today
- Smile at someone
- Visit an elderly person
- Leave change at a laundromat
- Leave treats for your neighbor
- Let someone go in front of you in a line
- Wave to the person crossing in front of your car
- Bring your cart back into the store as opposed to leaving it in the cart corral
- Leave $1 taped to a vending machine
- Thank the person working in a drive thru lane
- Recall something kind your spouse or significant other did for you this past week then tell them it didn't go unnoticed
- Leave change in a claw machine game
- Do your least favorite job around the house without complaining but instead thanking God for the opportunity to do so
- Leave a diaper in a public changing station
- Buy the coffee or meal for the person behind you
- Bring a package of mints or gum to your local dental office
- Round up change at the cash register
- Make a snack to share at the office
- Bring colored pictures or cards to the elderly in a nursing home
- Share words of encouragement to someone who needs to hear them
- Bring a treat to your hairdresser
- Make a double serving of your dinner meal and door drop it off at a friend's house
- Leave a kind post it note on a mirror in a public bathroom
- Share an encouraging post on social media
- Encourage positive self-talk
Remember, it doesn't matter how many you do or how big the act for that matter. It's the thought of joining in and belonging to something larger than yourself. Together, let's make this National Random Acts of Kindness Day a beautiful one. Now, go, and spread that kindness around!
Have a way YOU like to spread kindness? Please let me know! I'd love to hear it. Email me at mackidbrainerd@macaronikid.com
