My family began practicing Random Acts of Kindness when my kids were teens. Now they have teens of their own. This year, I decided to make RAKs my focus. With a twist.

CoCo received a beautiful Act of Kindness at the beginning of the year. The train conductor on her short commute surprised her with a generous Christmas Gift. She smiled for weeks with wonderment and told everyone she knew about the conductor’s kindness. However, I initially responded with suspicion. After a bit of reflection, I remembered an observation I got from a friend.

You are a much better giver than a receiver. It takes some humbleness to receive without the intention of paying back.

My dear friend, Nancy S (circa, 1980)

So with that in mind, I am devoting 2022 to recognizing kindness given. I noticed a change in myself. My effort to recognize the kindness of others helps me remember to be kind, too. I’m benefitting from the kindness of others. Now that I think about it, so are others.

Sometimes a little act of kindness, a smile, or a word of recognition can make a big difference in someone’s life. Sometimes we don’t even realize we are being kind with our automatic response to someone. This week’s recognized kindnesses are like that: People being kind effortlessly.

Kindness of a friends and strangers

This week I traveled into Chicago for a writers’ meeting. Thanks to my GPS app, I thought I knew just where I was going. But… every time I looked at the app, it said I had another 40 minutes to walk. Two miles turned into four miles. I arrived late. And I arrived exhausted. Still, three things happened that filled me with joy:

• George brought my books to me from our abandoned booth at Printers’ Row Lit Fest. He went above and beyond by separating them by title and shrink-wrapping them so they wouldn’t absorb any moisture in the torrential downpour we had. Now that’s kind!
• A new member stopped to tell me that my input at the meeting helped her a lot. Oh my! All that walking was worth it!
• After all that walking, I felt sweaty and exhausted. So imagine how I felt when a stranger stopped me to tell me she liked my hair. I know it’s a little thing, but I swear it carried me for a couple of days.

Kindness in the fourth quarter

If you’re a regular reader, you know I like the Nice News. This week two brothers encourage me with this quote:

“Destiny is like this. Sometimes one finds success later in life.”

Carlos Cevallos

Carlos and his brother, Miguel, are artists in the 80s. They have over 25,000 followers on Instagram. They work out of their apartment making posters for businesses, from hair salons to cocktail lounges and restaurants. I love that Carlos takes his success with such grace. And he kindly encourages all of us that success isn’t only for the young. You can find (and follow) Carlos and Miguel at https://www.instagram.com/cevallos_bros/?hl=en. Here’s an example of their work.

What acts of kindness did you observe this week?

The official Random Act of Kindness Day is February 17. But RAKing can go on all year long. Visit the Website here. “The work to create a kinder world never ends. There is no limit on the amount of goodness we can put into the world..”

Use the hashtags #MakeKindnessTheNorm #RAKday #RandomActsofKindnessDay. Most importantly, “In a world where you can be anything…Be kind.” (And be willing to receive the kindness offered.)

I’ll be watching through my rose-colored glasses for opportunities to give a RAK. And I’ll have my antennae up ready to recognize when I get a RAK or see one.