Acts of Random Kindness to You

Many people seem to think that in order to be considered an act of random kindness, it has to be something big or public, but I am here to say that isn’t the case. I thought of this post today while I was with my husband. On one of the busiest roads in the small city near here, there was a lady that had obviously been trying to get out of a gas station and back into traffic for quite some time.

I said to Tom, “Let that car in, Honey.” At which point, he reminded me that the traffic was horrendous. I simply said, “It is the nice thing to do, we aren’t in a hurry.” Of course, he let the car in because that is the type of person he tends to be. However, it got us talking about all the little chances we overlook to be nice in life. Life being life, he might not have even noticed that car if I hadn’t pointed it out.

So, don’t think globally or big, instead think of the little things you can do. If the wind blows the neighbors garbage can into the road and you have some time, pick it up and put it back on their curb. Maybe you notice someone struggling with their grocery cart in the wind or bad weather. Got a minute? Stop and help them if you are able. These little things will all add up to making the world a kinder and nice place. It will only happen with one act of random kindness at a time.

I often hear people remark that there is nothing in the news, but bad news. I decided today to take a couple days worth of newspapers and see what I could discover that might not be bad news. It may take a little more looking, but I found that there is good news to be found.

I would like to share with you two articles that caught my attention in the newspaper today. The first was about a lady from Plattsburgh, NY. You may not know where that is, but it is about as far north as you can get in New York State and it is also home to the best college in the world, SUNY Plattsburgh !  Anyway, back to the story. This lady, Linda Howard found a bank deposit bag in the road. Inside was $15,000 and can you guess what she did? She headed for the local police department to turn it in. It turned out that an employee of a local business had set it atop her car and forgot about it.  I can’t even imagine how surprised and pleased they were to get it back.  Linda Howard is sure making the world a better place by being an honest citizen.

Another story in the paper that really kind of caught me off guard was about a politician from the Albany, NY area. Bob Reilly announced that he is donating his after tax salary to groups that need it in the Albany and Saratoga area. Over the years, this assemblyman has donated over $218,000 to such groups. He has a simple reason for this kindness, he wants people to think better of their government.  That seems like a good reason to me, how about you?

So, it goes to show that news like anything else is all about perspective. There is good news to be found if you are looking and their is kindness all around us. Sometimes, we just need to take a fresh look. Here’s to hoping you are having a wonderful weekend.

I don’t think I have mentioned in prior posts that I have the good fortune of working with children. However, even better than that is the fact that I don’t work with just any children, I work with high school age kids that have a few learning difficulties. This is an awesome job because they know what it means to struggle and often times, some of the toughest ones in the classroom are the kindest to the underdogs in the building. Let me share a couple of examples.

The other day we had a fire drill and as we headed down the three flights of stairs, I somehow got separated from a young lady that struggles with her vision. As the hundreds of students pushed down the stairwell, I was worried she was going to stumble. However, no sooner than I worried,  a young man also from my classroom did something amazing. This young man, turned around and handed the girl the back of his shirt. Slowly, her guided her down the rest of the stairs and out to the parking lot without incident. There he stood in the parking lot with this little bitty thing still holding tight to his shirt. He never asked her to let go or even indicated that he had done something so kind. He just stood there. I was so touched that I teared up.

Another incident several years ago still stays with me as well. I had this boy that was repeating his senior year and to put it mildly, he was the toughest case I had ever met. He had no parents, for all intents and purposes was homeless, but I knew he had something in him that nobody had gotten to yet. He became my mission that year. Throughout the year, somehow this boy began to care. Oh, he could still be a royal pain, but he started doing things like helping substitute teachers out when I was away or reading things to another student if I got busy across the room and they were struggling. He took kids under his wing that were overweight or that didn’t have friends and looked out for them in the cafeteria. In short, his heart began to shine. He graduated that year and people were amazed that he had made it.  I was amazed that nobody had noticed before what this young man was capable of being.

In short, don’t sell kids short in the game of kindness. They will engage in whatever is modeled for them. You don’t have to nag or preach to them, simply show them kindness and then stand back to watch the world become a better place for all of us.

My father has Alzheimer’s disease and it is advancing very quickly. He is only 63 years old and it makes it tough on my mother who is still working full time as an ER nurse. She has to work overnights to allow the rest of us to be home while she works. It becomes exhausting.

However, one good thing has come out of all of this. My brother and his wife along with my husband and myself have grown closer and closer. We rely on each other to get through what needs to be done.

You always hear when you are younger that the day will come you will need your siblings. Of course, at that time you don’t believe it, but it is true. We were lucky in that we married good spouses and that we all have good careers with some flexibility.

So, the next time you get upset with a family member, just remember how very much you might need them one day.