Monday, March 15, 2010

Random Acts of Kindness

Twice in the last month, I've witnessed... and once been the recipient of... a random act of kindness.

Heading home from an afternoon out shopping with my mother not long ago, we drove through the Sonic drive-thru for a quick lunch. I was very surprised to hear the Sonic employee tell me at the window that the gentleman in the car behind me wanted to pay for our lunch.

The first thing my mother and I did was to turn around and see who it was... expecting to see someone we knew. But it was someone we didn't know. We had never this truck or the driver before. We thanked him with waves and smiles, which he humbly returned. It was obviously not done for recognition. I've never forgotten that day or the kindness he showed us... two people he'd never met. Something like this makes you want to jump in with both feet. You start looking for something you can do in return.


Once again, I witnessed it on Friday when Ian at The Daily Dose of Reality chose to Pay It Forward with a give-away he chose to bestow upon one of his readers, rather than keep it for himself.

I've decided that, although I cannot change the world, I can change me. I am going to seek out ways to Pay It Forward each week. I will post on my "Pay It Forward Fridays" something I've found to to do for someone else. I created a button just for this and invite all of you to play along and Pay It Forward. It can be the simplest of things. Make an effort to go that extra step. I look forward to hearing about your gestures of kindness and the impact it made on someone.


7 comments:

  1. I love this idea! I will definitely come and play along with you.

    Kindness is too far and few these days.

    I'm from Kentucky, too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a wonderful idea. I will incorporate your button in my Friday Five posts whenever I have something else to give away.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awesome idea. Sorta like that insurance commercial. I actually love that commercial because it is inspiring to do something nice for someone else.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You must be a mind reader! I have decided to do this over at CCWA! I just have to find the day to do it. I'll have to make sure that everyone does this one as well!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. The late king and I stopped for dinner in Nebraska one day (lunch to you uppiety types) We went to a USA steak house.. as we went to pay, they said no.. the folks in front of you paid when they went through. It was something this elderly couple did every week. Paid for the couple behind them..

    We started doing it at random times.. it was so neat.

    I have always believed in Karma.. so random acts of kindness play in to that..

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a great Idea! I was convicted on the need to show kindness to my neighbors last week so we baked cookies and dropped them off...being kind just gives us warm fuzzies, doesn't it?

    By the way, Thanks for stopping by my new blog, I would love to show you the products! Feel free to e-mail me at pagescoi(at)yahoo(dot)com to tell me when a good time to chat would be. =)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love this post! I especially like what you said about jumping in with both feet. I usually do things half way when it comes to reaching out to others.

    Thanks for making me think!

    ReplyDelete