Kindness: Practiced Is The New More

In response to today’s Daily Prompt:

Click over to your favorite blog, and pick out the 4th and 14th words (that aren’t “the” or “an”). Drop them into this phrase:

“_____ is the new _____.”   There’s your post title. Now write!

The favourite blog I went looking for in my reader was the Kindness Blog.  Their most recent post is “Are You In? Kindness is Free …” by Leigh McManus.  The first sentence that generated the words “practiced” and “more” for my prompt title was this one:

‘Tis The Season!

Get the tinsel out, hang the wreath on the door, put up some mistletoe … it’s Christmas in July!

That’s right folks, it’s one of my favourite days of the year, next to Christmas in December of course.  The big day is only 5 months away now, or 23 weeks less a day, or … see for yourself just how close it is here at one of my top bookmarks!

And while yes, it may be a bit away yet, the messages of Christmas apply year-round:

Kindness   ♥   Charity   ♥   Love   ♥   Celebration   ♥   Sharing   ♥   Peace   ♥   Joy

Here is a list of things many of us traditionally do over the holiday season, but that ALL of us can do at any time of the year … including NOW!

Kindness … I Dare Ya

Kindness.  That’s a topic I could write a whole book about.  Hmm, maybe I will one day.  Good thinking Marianne.

Anyway, back to writing this post …I read some of the responses for today’s Daily Prompt and got that warm fuzzy feeling inside.  Cool.  Thanks to those who posted.  Your willingness to do so was an act of kindness to a stranger.  It made me smile.

Oddly though, reading them didn’t help me come up with a response to write on how a stranger has extended kindness my way.  It actually made me ask myself:  “how can I be MORE kind?”.  And I answered myself with this:  “make a bucket list”.  And decorate it, fill it, and share it with kindness.  Call it a Kindness Bucket List.  So obvious.  And create a new blog category in that name to keep you focused on it.  So simple.

I already try to do some of the “usual” acts of kindness on a regular basis.  Once a week, I buy the order behind me at a Tim’s drive-thru.  I give money to charity.  I try to be helpful to those in need.  But people can get in a rut doing routine things so I want to stretch myself.  It’s the overachiever in me.  So here are some things I’m going to put on my Kindness Bucket List that will extend my creativity, my effort, and hopefully the amount of kindness shared.

Celebrate: Pay It Forward

Wonderful.  Improbable.  Hoped-for.  To many, these words describe kindness received.

Wonderful.  Possible.  Rewarding.  To many, these words describe kindness given.

To some, any or all of the words on the first or the second line will be a response to today’s Daily Prompt.  Will you be one of those people?  Will I be one of those people?

• Did you receive good news about a loved one’s health?  Pay it forward by taking care of your own health so your loved ones can love you longer.
• Did you get a new job, promotion, or other good work related news?  Pay it forward by donating interview suitable clothing to a local charity to improve someone else’s chance of good luck with their career aspirations.
• Did you get the weather you hoped for today?  Pay it forward and spread a little sunshine into a stranger’s day by speaking kind words to them.
• Did you come into some money?  Pay it forward by sharing just 10% of it with someone who needs it more than you do.
• Did a new child recently arrive in your or a friend’s family?  Pay it forward and invest some time with an elderly person listening to their stories of a life well lived.
• Did you get a new like or follow on your blog?  Pay it forward and tell someone in your world why you appreciate having them in your life.
• Did you open your eyes, rise, and get out of bed today?  Pay it forward and help the hungry start their day right by donating breakfast items to your local food bank.
• Did you not get some bad news you were hoping wouldn’t come?  Pay it forward and not create bad feelings in others by refraining from speaking or writing words of intolerance, anger, or complaint.
• Did you arrive at your destination safely?  Pay it forward and donate personal grooming items, furniture, or toys to your local abused persons shelter to help the residents start their new life in safety and with basic needs provided.

Think you’re not in a position to spread a little kindness in another’s day?  If this man can, anyone can.  Me included.

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

John F. Kennedy

Photo source:   Artomen user on Flickr.com, CC BY 2.0