Tag: Kindness

WORLD KINDNESS DAY

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Tomorrow, November 13th is WORLD KINDNESS DAY!! My challenge to YOU…do one thing that will spread KINDNESS. 

Here are some ideas. There are so many more online, but hopefully these will get you thinking and doing. Have fun. Make a difference with your smile. Make the day a little brighter for those around you. Just begin with a heart that wants to spread kindness.

SMILE . Write a thank you note to someone you are thankful for . Leave random love notes . Celebrate someone you admire by taking them out to breakfast or dinner & share with them things you appreciate about them . Take some of your left over change & make people smile as you drop it in tip jars . Write fun messages in chalk on local paths or park areas . Leave change at a laundromat . Leave a Happy Day note on random cars . Buy flowers for a friend or teacher . Organize a local activity to pick up trash & fishing line (doesn’t break down for hundreds of years) in your local park . Make cards for Meals on Wheels . Do a sock drive for your local United Way (most needed item at shelters) . Leave a kind note in library books you have checked out . Genuinely listen to people when they talk to you . Turn off lights you are not using . Say kind compliments to others . Share something positive . Hand out some $1 bills to kids at a dollar store . Buy a huge bag of bird food & feed the feathered, little ones . Offer to walk an elderly person’s dog . Deliver positive notes to an elderly home . Put your phone down and invest in the people around you . A little way to say Thank you–give little baked goods or candy bars to those who give you great service at a drive-thru, nail salon, grocery store, delivery driver, mailman, etc . Write encouraging notes for strangers to find . Share something yummy with your coworkers . Give an unexpected hug to someone . Say hello . Walk a path, smile & say hello to every person you see . Start a family gratitude text chain (daily text of five things you are each grateful for) or family gratitude journal . Take a vase of flowers in to an elderly person who doesn’t get visitors . Plant a tree . Make a meal for someone . Give movie passes or tix for an event to someone who would enjoy them . Share a favorite book with someone . Make pinecone bird feeders . Thank local heroes (police, fire) by dropping off a fun bbq kit or baked goods . Ignore your phone when you are with someone for an entire day–try it! . Reach out to someone you have not connected with in awhile . For one day make sure you say ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’ . Write a letter to a teacher or mentor (someone who has inspired you) & thank them for the influence they have had in your life . Clean up a hiking trail near your home . Connect with someone who seems alone . Send a great joke to someone . Ask someone a highlight from their day . Be happy . Use a reusable grocery bag . Take some time for yourself . High five a stranger . Be present with people . Give longer hugs . Always remember the ‘golden rule’ . Check your personal attitude–is it positive or negative . Get grateful . Do your best to spread some kindness & love . More ideas…

JUST BEGIN. Begin small. I am trying a little harder to send love, make small changes and to begin a positive ripple in some way. I figure we should begin in our own backyard. As individuals you don’t need to start revolutions or host a talk show to try to make a difference. Just begin. Begin small. I put a small poster out in my front yard to tell everyone tomorrow is World Kindness day. I also put a bucket of Hershey kisses with a note that says…”Take one and do something Kind.” I also printed off the above list of ideas for anyone who wishes to take one.

We are all here to learn, grow and become better. Being kind is a good step.

Love, Peace, Hugs and Kindness. -H

Sobering 9/11

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njdg1tawqxjbq964frl2Many people will never forget where they were or what was going on around them on 9/11. It is so humbling to walk back in your mind and remember how paralyzed our nation was and then how joined it became.

I was living in a tiny, country town, Shelley, Idaho. It was a place of acres and acres of potato fields and very few people. I will never forget how at that time in our nation, it became a place of American flags on every car, people honking and cheering on our local fire engines and public safety, giant flags painted on barns…it was a beautiful thing to see a community join together in such patriotism.

I don’t think anyone will forget the images that kept replaying on the televisions across the country, the sobering stories of everyday heroes, unbelievable stories of survival and the heartbreaking realizations of loss.

Every 9/11 is a mix of emotions and this morning I woke up to an email that informed me of my dear neighbor with six young kids (under the age of 14) who just found out she has breast cancer and its spreading. My heart ached and I immediately ran over to be of service and see what I could do.

Any tragedy is sobering, so I ask of you on this day of 9/11…find those things within your life that you daily take for granted and give thanks. Hold your family a little tighter. Reach out to someone in need. Take something to your local fire department or public servant and say thank you for their service.

We are all in this one life together, so if we can remember this daily, then when any tragedy hits your family, your neighbor, your community, your country, then you will be ready to take on anything TOGETHER.

TOGETHER: Here is something soo interesting: [I posted this years ago, but it has always stayed with me on 9/11–shows how connected we truly are]

Out of the horror of 9/11 some amazing scientific discoveries were made–our satellites positioned thousands of miles above the earth–every 30 minutes the satellites send a signal that tells us how strong the magnetic field of the earth really is. It ebbs and flows each day. On 9/11 there was a huge spike and the researchers had never seen a spike like this before or on both satellites. They were trying to figure out what on earth happened & this led the researchers to understand the collective heart-based response, The human emotion that was outpouring in a particular time of that day. It was so powerful that it coupled with the magnetic field of the earth. It showed how everything is connected to the field. It took a tragedy to understand the connection, but what heartmath is trying to decide is if they can utilize the same connection without tragedy.
Can heart-based coherence bring people together in peace. Heartmath has a coalition has sensors throughout the world trying to decipher human emotions trying to see how to bring about human coherence throughout the world.

May we always seek to have grateful hearts for the world we live in, the relationships we are gifted to share and the love to freely give—always.

Peace, Love and Light to you on this day of 9/11.  -H

1 Act of Random Kindness makes a difference

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Hello and hope all is well in your world!! Today I wanted to share one of my favorite weeks in the whole year…RAK (Random Acts of Kindness week). Each year the organization randomactsofkindness.org has a week that inspires people to break away from the norm and share kindness in the world. It is usually a week in February (the month of love–fitting). This year it is FEBRUARY 11th through the 17th!! So I wanted to share some ideas and getting you thinking and planning to do this with those you love. Make it a fun event—plan for it & share it with friends & family, get out and make a difference in your community, your neighborhood, your family, your world!

I was lovingly reminded that this RAK week was coming up as I was watching the sweet movie “Evan Almighty” with my little daughter. It reminded me as Morgan Freeman spelled out the words ARK…1 ACT of RANDOM KINDNESS will make a difference.

So, in the spirit of LOVE, HAPPINESS and making a DIFFERENCE, here are some thought and ideas to enjoy your RAK week…

If you have read my blog you know I have a nine-year-old daughter who is an only child and one of my greatest fears is that she is going to grow up and be selfish!! Especially after reading an article about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson who was an only child and personally admitted how selfish he had been. Every red flag went up, Am I doing enough to help this little person think of others??? 

Ever since she was little we have done random acts of kindness…made brownies for the fire department, created hand made valentines for a local old folks home, handed out teddy bears to crossing guards, bought cookies for the McDonald’s employees…

I am always trying to think of ways to get our little family out of ourselves and doing something for someone else. Hopefully we are heading in the right direction, it is an ongoing, loving lesson for our lives. When we think of others, the world is better for it! Our family is better for it!

This last year (during RAK week ) was especially fun because we got others to celebrate RAK (Random Acts of Kindness) with some neighbor girls.  We made a 15 foot banner filled with kindness ideas kids could do & we hung it at their school. In the true spirit of RAK week I made a flyer and sent it to a large local email list in hopes that people would feel the giving spirit & it worked! I received a call from one of my neighbors (that I did not know very well) and she was filled with enthusiasm at the idea of RAK week!

She expressed how her 38th birthday was this particular week and that she decided she was going to take her family and do 38 random acts of kindness in celebration of her birthday!!.

Outstanding idea!

I saw her the next week at a school function and she lit up!! It was soo wonderful to see someone so excited to share in their experience. She told me how they handed out quarters to kids at a local hamburger restaurant so they could use the candy machines. They bought food for the people behind them in the drive-thru, they took a bunch of water bottles and handed them out at a local rec center…the enthusiasm was infectious. I loved it!! Then she got really quiet and she said, “but the best part of it all was that my son (who I struggle with) truly got in the spirit of giving. He is kinder today, he was writing notes to our family, he was moved more than anyone by this experience.”

That was the best part! She even said that he wanted to do the same thing for his birthday!

What a beautiful thing!!

If we can do one thing for our kids…it is to be an example of love, get out and do something random for someone else. Teach them to write thank you cards, help them each week think of some way to serve someone else. Make a dinner for someone in need, take a batch of brownies to someone you don’t know, say thank you to EVERYONE! It is truly the little things that make a big difference.

Here are some additional ideas from the RAK website and other sources:  Clean up graffiti, Donate used books to a library, Give care packs to the homeless (or a blanket), Share your talent of music with the elderly, Help someone with yard work or snow removal, Let someone go in line in front of you, Write a note of appreciation to a teacher, Mentor a child who needs a friend, Pay for a coffee for the person behind you at Starbucks, Return shopping carts, Thank your police or fire department with a fun note or treat, Write a letter or email to someone who made a difference in your life, Visit an animal shelter, Take a bag of dog or cat food to your local shelter, pick up trash at the beach or nearby nature trail or neighborhood, Send a nice note thanking a soldier, Be a designated driver, Give someone flowers, Visit someone who is sick, Collect canned food and give it to your local food bank, Donate $1 to your child’s favorite charity, Start a charity day at your work & give the money to a good cause, Help someone with their groceries, Give hugs, Leave a nice note for your local mail carrier, Thank your child’s bus driver or crossing guard, Plant a tree, Give compliments, Send something inspiring to those you have on your email list, Be a nice driver on the road, Take shorter showers this week, SMILE, Start a piggy bank for a cause, Share something yummy with coworkers, Say thank you to your school principal and office help, Tell your parents (or send a letter or email) how much you appreciate them & everything they’ve done for you, Let your staff leave a little early from work & thank them for all they do, give flowers to be delivered with meal delivery programs, Make valentine hearts for the elderly home, Give someone a “heart attack” on their door (bunch of paper hearts that say nice things), Invite someone new in the neighborhood over for dinner, Have your child take a bunch of fun stickers or suckers and hand them out when the final bell rings & remind everyone that it is RAK week, genuinely thank your waitress for doing such a good job, make and share kindness bookmarks or give them to the school library to give away, Leave a $20 in an envelope and leave it for someone in need, give freely, spread LOVE everywhere you can…

-Spread Love, Heather

–not sure who to credit the picture, but thank you.

A Beautiful Movie to share

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My darling niece just sent me to a beautiful youtube movie that she watched at school.

It is called “The Butterfly Circus.”  I urge you to gather your families around and watch this sweet little movie. It is very well done with beautiful music and an inspired message. I did not want to forget about this little gem & I figured this is a wonderful gift to give to anyone…enjoy!!