Random Acts of Kindness

”I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget the way you made them feel.” Maya Angelou

My week started off with a stranger buying me coffee on Monday morning…….then again on Tuesday morning, then a few random “I saw this and thought of you” gifts from colleagues, then today a surprise delivery of cider and donuts to my office. I was actually starting to feel a bit of guilt for receiving so many kind gestures for seemingly doing nothing to deserve it.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always enjoyed sending cards, buying a friend dinner, mailing a hand written note, surprising someone with a gift, sending flowers, etc. to friends and I never realized how important doing small things like that can leave such a lasting impression until they are done for you. I was so inspired by all of these generous acts this week that I decided to start paying it forward more -- every day for a year, and keeping track. I try my best to live a generous life and try to do nice things for people every day, so I thought this would help me give back in a more purposeful way. It takes 10 seconds to hold the door for someone, 30 seconds to post a Happy Birthday message to a friend on their Facebook wall, 60 seconds to send someone a card with a hand written message.  The next month and a half are the busiest of the year for me, and probably not the smartest time to start this, but I realized that if I can’t find time to do something nice at least once a day for someone no matter how busy I am, then my priorities are not in order.

When I stopped to get coffee early Monday morning, I was feeling a little sad because my family had just left the previous night from a great week-end visit with me. It amazed me how a random stranger buying me coffee for $1.65 could turn my attitude around so much and bring a smile to my face. What was even more surprising was how great it felt to buy the person behind me their coffee. If you really stopped to think about the little things that you could do that would improve someone’s day – you would be astounded. Why not stay the extra ½ hour at the office and help a colleague out with a project? Why not dress up in costume and volunteer at a friend’s event? Why not send a friend a thinking of  you card when she’s going through a difficult time?

“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”- Mother Teresa