Thursday, March 10, 2011

The March of Kindness

March of KindnessOne of my fellow bloggers, Code Name: Mama has declared this month to be The March of Kindness. She has said:
Who couldn’t use more kindness in their life? I know I could! But sometimes what’s even better is to spread some of that kindness to others. I missed the official “Random Acts of Kindness” week but that doesn’t matter, because I’m going to fill a whole month with kindness, and I want you to join me!


It’s easy (and free) to participate: for each day in the month of March, you perform one random act of kindness. Your act of kindness can be big or small, it can be anonymous or public, you can spend money or you can give freely of your time or creativity. Give kindness to your child, your partner, your neighbor, your friend, a stranger, a clerk, a blogger, a bus driver, a parent. One little act, every day.


It can be as simple as picking up the phone and telling your mom you miss her. Or holding the door for someone at the grocery store. You can send an anonymous note to your church pianist, letting her know how much you appreciate her music. You can leave an encouraging comment on a new blogger’s post.


You don’t need to plan or fuss or worry or look for the “perfect” things to do. Just be kind! That’s it.


Of course I want to hear about it:
If you are a blogger, will you please blog about the March of Kindness? I’d love for you to post about it in the next few days so we can have even more people join us. But I’d also like you to post at the end of the month. Share your story about your own acts of kindness, how they touched other people, and how you were changed in the process.
So I have been engaged in this process so far this month. It is early, but I am seeing some themes that I am bewildered by and not so proud of. I find it easy to be kind to my son, other children, animals, and even strangers. I am finding it harder to be kind to people I am supposed to be close to and depend upon- like my partner. I think I get so wrapped up in the day-to-day and rely on him so much (and depending on others, anyway), that stepping out of my "next!" mindset and being deliberately intentionally kind is foreign to me. And that mindset needs to change.

I thank my fellow blogger for helping me find this out about myself. I will work on this during the month and report back at the end of the month as well. I urge others to join in this project- it has been illuminating for me thus far!

3 comments:

  1. I didn't know about this. Thanks for the post! I have really been struggling with a negative attitude this month. You have no idea how much I need this!

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  2. that's a really good way to describe what's happening with your partner. I have to think about how much of that I do with my husband as well. It's hard to find those places sometimes. Thanks for sharing your process.

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  3. It is hard sometimes ... we get wrapped up in the day to day and forget to appreciate them as a person ... I am often confused by the fact that (in general) people treat strangers better than their partners ... I have even said, on occasion, "would you have said that to a stranger?" ... it's important to remember to be kind to the people we often take for granted ... and I think this whole March of Kindness idea is a very, very good one!!

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