Random Acts of Kindness

Imagine a world without kindness!

A world where we all attend to our own needs and ignore everyone else’s. It would be a miserable place to live, don’t you think? Because we can’t be happy without being kind, by giving and caring for each other. However, what we all can do is start practicing random acts of kindness to promote peace, love, and general respect for others. Because an act of kindness, no matter how small, can have such a powerful ripple effect on others.

When people are treated with kindness, they will often convey that same kindness towards others, and before you know it, you will impact quite a few people. No act of kindness is unimportant; anything done with kindness is significant and beneficial to our world today.

I want you to do a small practice. Could you please come up to your neighbor, family member, or friend and tell him or her something nice about their appearance or how they look? But don’t say it all at once; do it one by one and say it gently. Did you feel something different inside you? How your heart beat increased or maybe a tingling sensation? In fact, when you give affection to others, you get much satisfaction out of it than those who receive it. Also, this practice made you closer to the person.

But why do we avoid acting this way? Often, it is our insecurities, lack of self-esteem, self-love, fears, and doubts. We believe that if someone is kind to us, it is because they want something from us, or they might have an ulterior motive. If we don’t value and love ourselves, then we might think, why would someone be kind to us, and that we have nothing to give because we feel unworthy. Being kind requires courage and strength.

There is a good quote from American poet Maya Angelou that shows why it is important to be kind and make random acts of kindness. She quoted, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou. Kindness is magical; it brings hope, it brings love, and it makes us human.

Random acts of kindness are essential to our well-being, as they liberate us from self-obsession, selfishness, and isolation. They are the effect of an open and loving nature. True generosity is giving without expectation, with no need to be repaid in any form. This is the most powerful act of generosity, as it is unconditional, unattached, and free to land wherever it will. Whether we give to our family, friends, or to strangers, it is the same.

Now, I know that we all live in a world full of violence, injustice, judgment, and hatred. And sometimes it is very hard to be kind or view the world as a kind place. However, it is always about small changes that actually make the change, and we can start making changes. The golden rule is to treat others the way you want to be treated.

To start our journey in changing people’s lives and the world itself, I will give you a small guide of random acts of kindness you can practice every day. First, let’s not forget to be grateful. Let us be grateful and appreciate our loved ones, our family, parents, our Mother and Father for raising us for who we are, caring and all the love we received and lessons we learned. It’s easy to take what our family members do for us for granted, so we oftentimes forget to tell them how grateful we are for their help. When you tell your parents how thankful you are for them, you’ll certainly make their day, if not their life! Say thank you to your parents.

Let’s appreciate our friends, our teachers, and mentors. Because teaching is very hard and it takes a lot of effort and time. It only takes two words to appreciate their work - "Thank you"!

Secondly, an act of kindness can be anything insignificant. It can be simple, such as holding doors for others, giving up your seat for the old lady on the bus, buying a sandwich for a hungry, homeless man, and having a positive attitude when it seems impossible. There is no limit to the ways we can be kind to others.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, "Almost anything we do will seem insignificant, but it is very important that we do it." When we support others, we increase our level of dopamine in our brain, making us happier, increasing our attention, and feeling emotional warmth.

Lastly, be kind to yourself. Don’t worry too much or stress yourself with different things; keep it simple and be happy. Smile!

Now, to wrap up! Remember I told you I would give you a reminder. Because, as we get older, we sometimes forget our first lessons: to be kind, be supportive, be grateful, and simply to smile as we used to when we were kids. I provided you the importance of kindness and essentially the ripple effect of random acts of kindness. Because the ripple effect of your actions can make a huge change in people’s lives, on our planet, and on our own life.

Please don’t forget two magical words, “Thank you”! Start your journey of giving affection to others and doing random acts of kindness, and I am sure your life will change! Be positive and smile!