Random Acts of Kindness

I love random acts of kindness. I always get feel-good hormones rushing through my body when I see one and wish I had done it myself. I would love to become more creative when it comes to helping others. Apparently it has been scientifically proven that feel-good hormones are released not only by the person receiving the random act and the person doing the act but also by people witnessing it as well. So get out there and spontaneously give, you never know how many people are watching and are being made to feel better. I think this is especially relevant to our children watching us. The seeds we are sowing today will show up later in their lives.

I have been trying to think of a way I can discreetly help our next door neighbour who has just lost her husband to a brain tumour. She has gone away for a break to visit family and I am looking after her chooks and getting her mail, but I do those every time she goes away (although she hasn't been away for a long while with her husband so sick). I can't cook and she is gluten free anyway so on a very specific diet, she was overwhelmed with flowers, even giving me some as she had too many and I really don't know her that well to get her something small, just enough for a quick chat over the fence.

Today I wanted to let the chooks out for a run as they are in a rather small coop but there has been a cat stalking birds in her back yard and there was no way I was going to let them run without me watching them so I started to pull a few weeds out of her garden. It turned into a two hour job with the place looking really tidy when I had finished and I really, really enjoyed it. I'm sure she will notice but if she doesn't that is fabulous. I know I have done something little to help as at the moment she is quite overwhelmed with the grieving process, writing thankyou letters, etc. At least this is one job she won't have to do for a while. I am also going to mow her lawn in a couple of days, if it doesn't rain.

I would love to incorporate more random acts of kindness into my life and want to be really creative with it. T and I have already discussed putting a tidy sum of money in an account next financial year to give where needed (paying others' bills anonymously, donating equipment to sports clubs and other things dear to our heart) and I am really excited about that but often it is not just money that makes a difference but time as well. Listening to someone, running them some place, helping out, having a coffee and a chat. Not just strangers, family as well. I will post more random acts of kindness (where possible, if not anonymous) as they occur. I like the whole pay it forward concept - instead of a fuss being made and people finding it hard to accept that someone would be kind to them, think of some way to help someone else. I get kind of embarrassed when people make a fuss, just something else I need to work on :)