As Valentine’s Day approaches, it’s important to be aware that everyone around us deserves kindness ALL OF THE TIME… not just our family and significant others and not just on this hallmark holiday. Here is 14 ideas for the 14 days leading up to February 14th of acts of kindness that will not only make someone else’s day, but make you feel good as well.
- Write a short note to someone you appreciate and leave it as a surprise for them to find.
- Treat yourself to a cup of coffee, but buy the coffee of the person behind you as well.
- Send a cute or funny postcard to a friend you haven’t spoken to in awhile.
- When you go out to dinner, pay for the individual sitting alone without their knowledge.
- Buy a bouquet of flowers and give flowers out to strangers.
- Leave a bouquet of flowers on the doorstep of your neighbor’s house.
- Make a bunch of cards and drop them off at your local nursing home.
- Volunteer for an afternoon at the humane society.
- Bring the secretaries at your school or work coffee and thank them for all they do.
- When you make eye contact with a stranger, SMILE. Don’t look away. Offer a compliment.
- Bring your local crossing guards coffee or donuts… or BOTH.
- Offer to take your neighbor’s dog for a walk.
- When you’re ordering inside, pay for the order that’s coming through the drive-through.
- Write a role model of yours a letter thanking them.
To quote Aesop- "No act of kindness is ever wasted." What a wise statement. It is when we understand this that we will live in a happier society, for when we give of ourselves we receive a piece of another that fills us in a way that we could never fill ourselves.
