These 30 Days: Random Acts of Kindness

When I picked up Julia from school today, her teacher Mrs. Robin told me how “Julia said the sweetest thing. She said, ‘Ms Robin. I love you, and I’m always going to be here for you. And you’ll always be here for me too.'” (sigh) It’s this kind of love and gentle kindness I want both my children to always have and always give to their family, friends, strangers, and the world around them.

I find that it’s very easy to tell my children to be kind. Those words just roll off my tongue like water. But it’s a different thing all together to set an example and to show them what it means to be kind. To show them, every day, how to treat the world around them, how to make a difference, an impact, a better day for the people around them. I want to make kindness a habit for my children, but I also would like to make the world a little brighter at the same time.

So for the next 30 Days, I will do one random act of kindness each day and then report back here to you. I’ve been really inspired by 366 Random Acts of Kindness as Ryan Garcia tackles this challenge for all of 2012. He is making a real difference and inspiring people all over the world while he does good things. And it isn’t always elaborate or grand gestures. One day, Ryan carried groceries at the grocery store, another day, he donated winter coats from his closet to the homeless. Simple and effective and beautiful.