Last week, I wrote about the importance of love and how truly amazing it is to be loved perfectly by our Creator (you can read my article here!). However, something that I try to be sensitive to is actually acting out what I write. I would call that “walking the talk”… or maybe “walking the written words,” for you semantically-minded people.
Getting back to it though, I was laying in bed Wednesday night, and I was struggling with how I can further project that love I have been given onto others. After all, let’s face it: we live in a world that could really use some more love and intentional kindness. Nighttime is the time when I do my best thinking because, while I am mediocre at many things, I am sub-par at sleeping. In the wee hours of the morning, I came up with an idea that only insomnia could inspire- I came up with a list. If I put this up in a public place, I am much more likely to complete this list. Seeing as we live in the 21st century, there is not a much more public sphere than that of Facebook.
This is a list of intentional acts of kindness that I hope to complete in the next month as an act of showing love to those with whom I come into contact in the next month.
I post this online, yes, as a way of accountability, but also as a challenge and way of encouragement to others to hop on the bandwagon in an attempt to make this old world a bit kinder and better place. Here goes the “Intentional Acts of Kindness Challenge.”
1. Pay for a friend’s meal.
2. Tip the waiter more than you normally would.
3. Pay for a stranger’s food/meal.
4. Get in touch with an old friend and let them know they’re on your mind.
5. Encourage another person.
6. Encourage a perfect stranger.
7. Give someone a heartfelt compliment.
8. Engage a stranger in conversation.
9. Express your appreciation for a teacher or professor.
10. Love on someone who is going through a hard time.
11. Call your grandparents or another family member.
12. Express gratitude for someone who doesn’t receive it often.
13. Give someone a ride to school, work, etc.
14. Ask someone how their day is going and truly pay attention to their answer.
15. Actually listen, rather than simply hearing.
16. Ignore your phone during a good conversation or meal with another person in order to give them your full attention.
17. Extend grace and forgiveness to someone who needs it.
18. Go out of your way to assist a stranger.
19. Open the door for someone.
20. Write an encouraging note on a public mirror.
21. Tell a friend that you are genuinely thankful for them and what they do.
22. Donate to a cause, whether financially or with your time.
23. Put a shopping buggy in the holder when you see it loose in the parking lot.
24. Send a handwritten thank you note.
25. Give someone who works in the heat a cold drink.
26. Fold your roommates’ laundry when you see it in the dryer.
27. Help an elderly person load their groceries into their car.
28. Give candy to the bank tellers who wait on you (as an ex-teller, I can promise it makes their day).
29. Leave change in a vending machine for someone else.
30. Help someone who is less fortunate in any way you can.
There it is, folks. Thirty not-so-random, intentional acts of kindness to complete in love for the thirty days of September. Best of luck!
