People often ask me for ideas about doing random acts of kindness. They want something that doesn’t cost a lot or is perhaps free. Something that will be impactful, but not too time consuming. Something that the whole family can be involved in or an act that will create a bond with a difficult coworker.
A quick Google search shows no fewer than 16,000,000 results for “ideas for random acts of kindness.”
Ideas are out there. We have created the wheel over and over and over again. So instead of telling people what to do, I tell people to slow down and listen.
Ever heard of a gut instinct? It’s that feeling deep inside our bodies that says, “Do this” or “Don’t do that.”
When we listen to our gut, we stay out of trouble, but we also open up a huge avenue for kindness.
Life becomes incredibly fun when we go about our daily activities looking for someone in our path who could use a little pick-me-up.
Anything we do to love on another person matters. We can go wild with creativity or simply say “Yes” to that voice inside that nudges us to do a quick act of service.
As Dorothy from Minnesota shares, kindness comes in lots of different forms, and they are all greatly appreciated.
“I am a widow in my 80s who would like to share an act of kindness with you and your readers.
A family, who are friends of mine, are always doing kind things for me. The father helps with anything around the house that needs doing. The older children, who are teenagers, have shoveled my driveway and sidewalk. I have a pear tree and apple tree, and they come over and help pick up the fallen fruit.
Getting back to my original story, last year, I had foot surgery on the ninth of March. I was unable to go to the St Patrick’s Day parade so they decided to have a parade for me.
They brought over a bag with hats, necklaces and even a bowtie for our dog. They told me to get decorated, and they would be coming by with a parade. They put two chairs out in my driveway, one for me to sit in and one to prop my healing foot.
First came the youngest girl doing cartwheels down the sidewalk, even though the temperature was about 30. Next came the son, dressed up and leading their boxer dog with his bowtie. Next came the mother, leading their other boxer dog also dressed up, followed by their other daughter who was pulling a wagon decorated like a float.
After they were all past they came back and gave me hugs and boxes of candy, for both me and my dog!
I was overwhelmed and blessed that they thought to do this for me.”
Please continue to share your stories of kindness with me at info@nicolejphillips.com. Or send a letter to Kindness is Contagious c/o Nicole J. Phillips, The Forum, 101 5th St. N., Box 2020, Fargo, ND 58107.
Nicole J. Phillips is a former television anchor for Fox News in Fargo. She is a writer, speaker and mother of three kids. Nicole is married to Ohio University’s men’s head basketball coach Saul Phillips. You can visit Nicole at nicolejphillips.com.
