after i signed up i found out that the challenge closed in july so thats a bit weird but the site still took my pledge of five kind acts a week for eight weeks and it will still count them for me, so i still get to do the challenge.
it was interesting that NSW, our most populous state, is not proportionately very kind, we are way behind other states and i would have thought that we would be trying to beat queensland, at the very least! kindness is more important even than football and we have more chance of winning!
these eight weeks of kindness cant be random, the calendar is written up with a different focus each day: yesterday was kindness to women in my life, today's theme is family and there are days for animals, the planet, kindness to self, awareness of diversity etc etc
the universe decided to test my intentions today (and it rudely departed from the family theme) when i found a prescription left in a local cafe. as i had my coffee i waited for the owner to come looking for the package but they never did and mindful of my pledge i actually delivered it to the address on the label. any other day i probably would have handed it to the waitress and forgotten about it.
as i drove there i wondered who i might meet, whether this kindness lurk was going to add to my "story store".....it didnt because nobody was home but i left the bag and went on my way, happy to note that the property was very run down and my kindness target might be well in need of the $5 a replacement script would have cost them.
this kindness thing is kind of exciting and scary all at once, i wonder where it will lead?
The idea of practicing kindness as a test I THINK (no psychologist)is to get an individual to ingrain it to the point where it is a habit.
ReplyDeleteSomeone punches you in the nose the tendency is to find someone else to punch in the nose. Someone drops off your forgotten script and the tendency is to return the favor. You remained anonymous so the recipient is able to return the favor at random.
Beyond all that though, a little kindness goes a long way towards making someones and your hard days a wee bit easier.
What a lovely idea. And I was so pleased to read that kindness to yourself is also featured. That one seems to me to slip away far too easily.
ReplyDeleteWould it be asking too much to ask for updates as you progress through your challenge?
I like the idea that you might start out with one sort of kindness in mind and then end up with an entirely different sort! as you say, where will it lead? A kindness adventure!
ReplyDeleteReminds me of the lovely Philip Thiel from Melbourne and his daily posts on a particular mission (like the year he kissed someone every day). Perhaps you could relate your daily act of kindness?
ReplyDeleteI hope I'm always as kind to people as I can be (I'm inoffensive, right?) so I don't need to make a special point of it. I'm not very kind to people who try to start wincingly boring conversations though....
"this kindness thing is kind of exciting and scary all at once, i wonder where it will lead?"
ReplyDeleteFor god's sakes, give it up while you still can!
P.S. I emailed you a couple of weeks ago and it bounced.
ReplyDelete