Recently, I have developed “a thing” for finding out and celebrating unusual holidays and celebrations. It started out a few years ago when I wanted to know what else was celebrated on my birthday, May 27th. I found a few sites that listed the more popular as well as unusual days worth noting and celebrating.
I have all the ones interesting to me marked down in my calendar. I especially like today’s Random Acts of Kindness Day. Last winter I wanted to boost my winter blahs and decided to do more old-fashioned letter writing and let the people who are important to me, know I am thinking of them. This activity has snowballed and I now have included people in my church and community, and people who have lost loved ones. I’ve also added to my letter writing by sending people needing hope or encouragement “God Rocks” marked with the Bible verse Psalm 18:2 on it (The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold). This summer after attending a cross-making retreat, I also started making crosses out of discarded, broken, or found items in nature and randomly sending them to people on my mind as well. It’s a form of prayer and you can learn about this awesome and therapeutic process from the book Making Crosses Ellen Morris Prewitt.
This is my wall of crosses in our mudroom.
I continually add new ones I’ve made and send out ones that call to me for someone in particular, or if someone comments on a particular cross, I give it to them. There’s a reason why a particular cross catches a person’s eye, and they should have it.
Another activity I enjoy besides letter writing is baking. Once this summer I baked a pan of cinnamon rolls and had my husband take them into our local parts store guy, who has always treated us with the best deal he could get us, best suggestions to try before buying a part, or helping us troubleshoot any mechanical problems we needed to bounce off someone. I included a note of gratitude letting this local business owner know how much we appreciate their customer service and business in town.
Doing random acts of kindness by doing something for someone else is an amazing way to feel good about myself. Sending a piece of mail out of the blue, usually a postcard, has become a fun way for me to demonstrate kindness and thoughtfulness towards others randomly. Anytime I think about someone, I send them a quick note on a postcard. It makes me feel awesome knowing I’ve surprised someone and hopefully made someone’s day!
So what’s your you’re preferred kindness to share with others? Be the reason someone smiles today!
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