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| 2. I visited these 3rd graders at High Tech Elementary school in Chula Vista. I told the kids about my work, and helped their teacher, Amber George, make felt geodes. (I volunteered my time.) |
4. I offered a scholarship to one of my workshops, to someone I know would appreciate it, but could not probably afford it.
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| The back of my yoga teacher's t-shirt |
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile,
a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring,
all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring,
all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
Leo Buscaglia
and kindnesses to me:
1. A student brought me flowers and told me how much she enjoyed my class. (thanks Janel!)
2. A teenage girl (who I did not know) told me how much she liked the blue in my hair, and how good it looked on me.
3. A fifth grade boy, in my Mundo Lindo after school art classes said "my mom made me come to these classes because I was bored and I thought they'd be boring, but they are fun."
4. Always and everyday, the way my husband treats me.
Do you want to participate in The Kindness Chronicles with Lyric Kinard, Tracie Lynn Huskamp and me? Grab the logo here OR email me here and I'll send you the jpeg and you can put it on your blog. Do a blog post the first Sunday of the month. If you do a blog post, leave a link in the comments or if you did or received a kindness, tell us about it in the comments. Really, there are no rules~ we just want to spread kindness...
Here's my April 1, 2012 Kindess Chronicles post.
I love this idea! I'm setting out on a 4-month trip around the U.S. I wonder what kind of kindnesses I will encounter in my travels? More importantly, what will I contribute?
ReplyDelete(LOVE to see someone reference the Bhagavad Gita!!!!)
I actually forgot about your Kindness Chronicles, but I stopped for gas in NJ (where they pump it for you--by law) where there is a convenience store as well. I was going to get a cup of coffee and offered the attendant a cup of coffee or something. He said no I'm fine--as if we hung out together regularly--I expected something in return--a thank you, surprise--and thought forget your tip! But I came to my senses and gave him the tip--which my husband taught me, and is quite unusual these days-- and he was grateful.
ReplyDeleteMy problem was that I find today's youths rarely have the manners that I was raised with, and that is why I was going to withhold the tip. It taught me the lesson that I will have to have beaten into me--stop having expectations.
Good project!
So excited to be a part of this Jane. Thanks for your inspiration. I love some of the wonderful ideas you've listed. Here's the link to my first post.
ReplyDeletehttp://lindakittmer.blogspot.com/2012/03/kindness-chronicles.html
Hugs, Linda
such a wonderful idea! just reading this makes me smile and fill with hope. thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI is a more beautiful world because people like you, Traci, and Lyric have made it so. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Buscaglia quote. I haven't thought about him in years. I used to love hearing him speak -- such a thoughtful soul!!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post. It warmed my heart. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your idea, our poor world needs kindness as much as air and light; so let's bring some more kindness around us!Thanks for this great initiative!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Jane! Your ideas are great, and inspiring. My first Kindness Chronicles blog post is at http://fiberreflections.blogspot.com.
ReplyDeleteLove it Jane - love it, love it, love it!!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the reminder...one that I shouldn't need.
ReplyDeleteI share about it here: http://motherjulie.blogspot.com/2012/03/kindness-chronicles.html
It's a day late, but the kindness doesn't know that. This is a project that has the potential to grow all over the world. Thanks for thinking of it! Here's my link for the first post: http://wp.me/p2H1i-28t
ReplyDeleteThere can't be too much kindness in the world for sure. I give to homeless people who beg on the streets because I do not know what pain and hardship they have had in their lives to bring them to this...there but for fortune...
ReplyDeleteA kindness can be a simple smile and if that is all you can afford it is better than nothing. Best wishes to you :-)
ReplyDeleteReally great idea Jane and Lyric and Tracie Lyn! I too used to love listening to Leo Buscaglia! Great quotes and wonderful kindnesses!
ReplyDeleteI am going to follow your lead!
xo
Thanks so much for this idea! I hadn't thought about Leo in years.
ReplyDeleteYou've got me thinking!
What an inspiring, motivational thing to read with my morning coffee. I'm in. I'm going to see how often today I can be kind rather than right.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Love this !! i practice random acts of kindness every day- even if it only holding a door for a stranger or a smile and a compliment to the server at the coffee shop or a compliment on a girls smile, nails or cheerful demeanor at a drive thru. We MUST all do this!! I am in!!
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful. What a little bit of effort it takes to have a lasting impact on someone who might be having a difficult time.
ReplyDeleteLeo Buscaglia was a friend and penpal of mine. Every Christmas he always sent a photo card. The world lost a special soul when he passed.
P.S. Love your vibrant art.
Madeline
I have no doubt your desire to spread kindness is genuinely heartfelt, but any time you withhold your kindness because you judge that person as not deserving of it, you run the risk of causing an innocent person great pain.
ReplyDeleteThere are a gazillion hidden debilitating disabilities that make it impossible for some people to work, forcing them into homelessness. Given you are not omnipotent, you have no idea who is, or is not suffering from one of them. Imagine the pain and shame you may very likely have caused such a person when they heard your words, spoken to another in kindness, that so clearly demonstrated you were purposely refusing to offer him/her your kindness as well. The thought of that breaks my heart.
Finally, so what if the person doesn't deserve your kindness? More often than not such a person acts the way they do because their own lives have been so devoid of kindness it changed them from a sweet child who just wanted to love and be loved into a hard, bitter adult who does not care about others. As such, those you would deem as not deserving of your kindness are, in fact, the ones who need it the most. I understand it will most likely mean nothing to most of these people, but isn't the chance that it might mean the world to one of them worth treating them all with kindness, regardless of whether they meet your standards or not?
True kindness is offered to all human beings, without judgement. Otherwise, it is only "so-called" kindness.
dear anonymous, I do not claim to be a saint. And I know VERY well about hidden disabilities (my husband has a brain injury).
ReplyDeleteI'm just doing the best I can to be a good person.
Have you suspended the Kindness Chronicles?
ReplyDeleteNo Tess, I do it the first Sunday of every month.
DeleteDuring the winter, everything feels so dreary. I was walking around Target where SPRING is starting to show in the merchandise. There was abundance and color everywhere! I decided to make a little package for a little friend. I picked out three beaded bracelets and a perfect key-and-phone sized clutch, went home and boxed it up with a card and sentiment, and mailed it off to her. She is a young teen, and her Dad emailed me that it came at the perfect time. I remember being a teen; it is fraught with worries!
ReplyDeleteIn the last couple months I was able to give a small gift to my massage therapist and one to my dry cleaner. Both cried when they received the gift. It just came at a time when each of them needed a hug or a hand. It just about brought me to tears. But how neat that I was inspired to give at the right time for these friends.
ReplyDelete