Random Acts of Kindness Week

Random Acts of Kindness week is a seven-day celebration showing that kindness is contagious. It is a chance for those participating to the leave the world a better place and inspire those around them to do the same. Visit the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation’s website to learn more!

Here are a few stories from Random Acts of Kindness to inspire kindness this week (and every week).

A Bouquet of Flowers

When I graduated from college I took a job at an insurance company in this huge downtown office building. On my first day, I was escorted to this tiny cubicle surrounded by what seemed like thousands of other tiny cubicles, and put to work doing some meaningless thing. It was so terribly depressing I almost broke down crying. At lunch—after literally punching out on a time clock—all I could think about was how much I wanted to quit, but I couldn’t because I desperately needed the money. When I got back to my cubicle after lunch there was a beautiful bouquet of flowers sitting on my desk. For the whole first month I worked there flowers just kept arriving on my desk. I found out later that it had been a kind of spontaneous office project. A woman in the cubicle next to me brought in the first flowers to try to cheer me up, and then other people just began replenishing my vase. I ended up working there for two years, and many of my best, longest-lasting friendships grew out of that experience.

Kindness from a Stranger

A few winters ago, I was at a particularly distressing dinner with a friend who was having a difficult time with her then boyfriend and was considering leaving him. I was getting very worked up because the man she was dating was a very close friend of mine and I was torn between loyalty to her and my friendship with him. She got so upset with me that while I was in the bathroom, she paid her half of the check and left. I was dumbfounded and hurt and so I rushed outside in a weak attempt to reason with her. But she was out of sight and I was so confused that I began to walk without thinking toward the bus stop a few blocks away. I was so lost in my troubles that I started when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I whirled around and to my surprise, there was the waitress from the restaurant holding my purse and coat which I had left in the booth. Without a word, she handed me my belongings and gave me a hug. I burst into tears. She smiled and said, “I have been through that before, and I know how it is. Go home, take a hot bath, and watch Casablanca until you fall asleep.” I laughed, thanked her, climbed onto the bus, and never saw her again.

Do Something Nice

Buy a roll of brightly colored stickers and stick them on kids shirts as you walk down the street
Spend a week just being aware of things in nature that befriend you
Visit a neighbor with a bouquet of flowers for no reason at all.
Let the person behind you in line at the grocery store go ahead of you
Laugh out loud often and share your smile generously
Next time you go to the ice-cream parlor, pay for a few free cones to be given to the next kids to come in.
Make a dedication on your local radio station to all those people who smiled at strangers today.