All Acts of Kindness Welcome...

I was at Trucchi’s last week, shopping on my lunch break, when I heard a voice behind me. 

“Miss, can you help me reach I few things?”

As someone who is vertically challenged myself and is always asking the same question of my husband, I was happy to help. 

She asked me to grab a few things, the quart size milk – 2% please.  The creamer, the tall one by Garelick Farms and something else.  It was clear that this was part of her shopping routine.  I forget what the last item was, but I remember putting it in her cart as she thanked me.

She thanked me.

As I walked away, I began to think about kindness; random acts of kindness to be specific.  Did what I just do qualify as a “Random Act of Kindness.”  Was it not random because she asked me?  Does it only count if I see someone reaching and then I help?  Hmm, no, I think you have to be anonymous to make it random.  I don’t know.  *SMH*

What about the time when I answered a friend’s request for help.  I gave ten minutes of my time and she gained hours of her time in return.   Where does this act fall in the grand scheme of things?  Lately, there has been such a buzz about it.  The more random – er, the more anonymous - er, the grand- er the act - the better.   It seems that there has begun to be a little bit of snobbery about it – competitiveness, if you will or rules.     I’ve been caught up in it myself.    Sheesh, humans, we complicate everything.

Just a few weeks ago, my husband was the recipient of one of these "Random Acts of Kindness."  It was truly random, right down to the core of it.  Derek has been taking Bob out on Saturdays for over 20 years now and they had never, ever gone out to breakfast.  It was always lunch, usually Wendy’s, unless Bob said that Derek could surprise him.  Since Derek took the  2^ndshift with his new job, he had to change things up with Bob and move their iconic Noon-4 outing to 9am-1pm.  It went better than imagined.  And on this particular Saturday, Bob said, “Let’s go out for breakfast.”  And, so they did.   I received a call from my bewildered husband that not only had they gone out for breakfast, but when he got up to pay, the waitress said that the family who sat behind him had taken care of their check already.   He asked me what he was supposed to do.  “How do I thank them?” he asked.  I said with a smile, “You pay it forward.”   I was giddy with glee over it and quickly reported it to Facebook.  Everyone loves to hear about this crap.  It makes people feel good and they can share their stories and maybe get on out their and bestow a random on someone else.  It’s like a fever these days and in a good way!

The “thanking”, that is the part of the equation that is separating acts of kindness from random acts of kindness.  With a random act of kindness, the recipient cannot thank you, so the hope is that they pay it forward.  It is an anonymous act.  A pure act…or is it?  The bestower can still smile knowing that they’ve just done something good.  Isn’t that why we do it?  C’mon, be honest?  It’s ok to have that warm glow from knowing you have made someone’s day.  It doesn’t make it selfish or self-serving.   And, so just the same, regular acts of kindness are just as good and deserving of our praise as the random - anonymous ones.  They're all good!   There is no need to separate, label and pigeon hole kindness.  Just be kind, even if it's just to make yourself feel better. 

So, I say, ALL acts of kindness welcome!

Don’t get caught up in the monetary value either…whether you pay off someone’s Christmas layaway or close the door of a car you saw left opened in a parking lot, it may mean the world to someone.   Give your time to a friend who’s asked for help or for goodness' sake, pick up the phone instead of texting.  I did that during Christmas & New Year’s - called at least seven friends who I hadn’t talked to in awhile and I am certain those 10 minute conversation gave us more than pages of txting ever would have! 

So, get out there and:

Hold the door for someone

Smile at a stranger

Wave a car ahead of you

Let someone cut you in line

Mail someone a card

Grab coffee for your coworker

Pass along the kids' out-grown clothes

Make a meal for a neighbor

Feel free to had more ideas into the comments

“Each smallest act of kindness, reverberates across great distances and spans of time --affecting lives unknown to the one who’s generous spirit, was the source of this good echo. Because kindness is passed on and grows each time it’s passed until a simple courtesy becomes an act of selfless courage, years later, and far away.”  Dean Koontz, from the Corner of His Eye