09.11.08
Random Act of Kindness and Gratitude #4
Reflecting on the tragic events that took place in our country on September 11, 2001, and all of the people we lost that day, has also made me remember some of the kind things that took place on the days that followed.
I can remember marveling at how considerate people were to one another in the wake of those horrible terrorist attacks. People looked each other in the eye and said hello as they passed by on the streets, they held doors open for each other, they let cars merge in front of them on the highways, and so on. It was a strange few days after 9/11 in so many ways, but the kindness that was displayed is what stands out in my memory today the most.
I hope that others also remember not only the fear and sadness of that time period, but also the kindness that we are all capable of. Please try to remember that kindness and be grateful for each other (friends and family of course, but also strangers we encounter each day).
The random act of kindness that I will suggest for us all to do is to simply smile at strangers and say hello when you stop for your cup of coffee in the morning, or when you are on line at the grocery store after work. Hold the door open for the person behind you and say hello to them when you walk into your office building or the gym. Just acknowledge each other and try to be tolerant, patient, and kind.
I know we can do it.
~Melissa 
09.06.08
“Feeling gratitude…”
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”
– William Arthur Ward
Being grateful for what is good about our lives is an important thing we can each do for ourselves. It helps makes anything that is not-so-good-at-the-moment easier to deal with, and keeps us in a proper perspective so we can focus on all of the things that are amazing-at-the-moment!
I think it was Oprah Winfrey, a few years ago, that advocated a “gratitude journal” because she believed that expressing our appreciation adds to and intensifies the appreciation and gratefulness for all of the little things in our lives that we might otherwise overlook. I (of course!) also advocate keeping a journal or notebook and using it, in part, for this reason. It is a great place to jot down notes to yourself about the wonderful things in your life, including things that people have done for or said to you, and just list all that you have to appreciate about your life. (Hopefully this takes you a while to do…)
Now, while I do believe that journals are a fabulous place for these thoughts of gratitude, expressing the actual gratitude to the people who have done or said something nice to you or have in some way given you something to be grateful for is much more important.
So, take a moment and reflect on the things that you have to be grateful for and wrote about in your journal. Then, look at those things and if there is a person responsible for even one of them, take a moment to write a note of “thanks”, send a small gift or some flowers, or pick up the phone and thank them for it personally. They may not realize that what they said or did had the impact on you that it has. Share the gratitude.
This will be our (not so) Random Act of Kindness and Gratitude #3.
Thank you for reading!
~Melissa
PS…I came across this blog today and thought I would share it with all of you: http://gratitudecollections.blogspot.com/.
08.31.08
Random Acts of Kindness and Gratitude #2 – Donate Clothes
I tend to be a “saver.” I hate to throw anything away. Now, this bad habit of being a pack-rat left me with a closet crammed full of clothes that I didn’t ever wear, and boxes of off season clothes that I didn’t really even have room to store. In the beginning of the summer, I went through these clothes and made a “pile” for donation. I ended up with seven large bags full of clothes – many of the clothes actually still had tags on them and were in very good condition. They either just didn’t fit any more, or were gifts and really not my taste. But, I figured that someone could get good use out of them if I donated them.
I have a drop center really close to my house, and so that is where I bring the clothes. I keep a bag open on the floor of my closet at all times so whenever I come across something that I know I won’t wear again, I put it in the bag. As the bag fills up, I take it to the drop center. I brought up this idea because I have filled up another bag and will be dropping it off later today.
Here are some sites that may help you find a location where you can donate your clothes:
http://www.njredcross.org/clothingDrive.asp
http://charityguide.org/volunteer/fifteen/clothesshoes.htm
http://www.clothingdonations.org/service.htm
NOTE: Every suggested Random Act of Kindness and Gratitude that I post is something that I do myself. I won’t ever post anything that I think is unrealistic, costs a lot of money, or isn’t worthwhile to me. The point of sharing these ideas is to show that there are dozens and dozens of things that we can incorporate into our daily lives, and there are probably many things that you already do and don’t even think about. I hope we all get to that point and the acts ultimately become far less “random.”
08.24.08
New Category – “Random Acts of Kindness and Gratitude”
Here, in this category, each post will be a suggested random act of kindness or gratitude. I have been hearing a lot about random acts of kindness, and paying forward gratitude lately, and feel compelled to share some ideas with all of you.
Also, if you notice on the menu side of the blog, I have been awarded the Kind Blogger badge! I was pretty excited to get it and want to make sure that this blog continues to encourage us all to be a little kinder each day.
So, since I’m already on the subject of blogging, the first Random Act will be to find new blogs, read what the writer has to share, and post a positive comment. Here are some more details and thoughts:
Random Act of Kindness and Gratitude #1 – Post encouraging and positive comments on new blogs
I particularly think this is a nice idea because I know how grateful I am whenever I get a comment on my blogs, especially from someone that I don’t know at all. It is such a wonderful feeling to know that you are reaching others with your words.
Find at least two blogs written by people that you don’t know personally, and that you have never commented on before and leave some encouraging words. Hopefully those people will then be inspired to seek out some new blogs, too, and leave some comments of their own! (I try to find two new blogs to leave comments on each time that I sit down to work on my own blog…and even though that may not be as often as I would like it to be, I have reached out to several new blogs in a short amount of time. Here on WordPress, the Tag Surfer has helped me find so many new interesting blogs.)
~Melissa
