Tick Tock

The clock is ticking.  Tick tock.  Another year is just about over.  Was there something you had planned to do but haven't gotten to?  Can you still get to it before we turn the calendar page?  I hope it was a kind year for you.  Let's make next year even better!

makes my heart sing

Occasionally I hear or see such wonderful things, that it makes my heart sing!  Keep on spreading that kindness!

Love this time of year

Oh how I love this time of year!  The holiday season always seems to bring out the best in people, huh?  Perhaps one of our resolutions can be to show our best (especially our kindness) all year long!

notes of thanks

There was a time when folks would automatically write thank you notes when they received gifts.  Oh how lovely it would be for that custom to return.  Did you receive any holiday cards or presents?  The kind thing is to acknowledge them right away and to say thank you.  I know I am grateful.

Lights and decorations

I love the lights and decorations that we find this time of year.  Someone was kind enough to take me to see some decorations that I would have missed.  Lovely!  How does your neighborhood look?  Did you add anything to the colorful decorating?  My mom used to decorate all year.  After Christmas she would change to a winter theme, then would come Valentine's Day, spring, Easter, and summer.  I love dressing up areas for each time of year.

Holidays Galore

Today might not be a legal holiday where you live but a number of observances occur every December 26.  It is of course the second day of Christmas, but it is also Boxing Day, Saint Stephen's Day, the first day of Kwanzaa, and in some parts of the world it is Day of Goodwill.  It's that last one I especially take note of - goodwill is such a very good thing!

Merry Christmas!

 Happiness and joy to every one of you.  Be kind to everyone!

give some back

Remember who good you felt when someone greeted you with a smile or a cheery hello?  Think of all the kind acts that have warmed your heart.  Hopefully you have been the recipient of lots and lots of kindness.  Each day, try to give some back.  It felt good right?  Give that great feeling to others!

Almost

Almost.  Christmas is almost here.  Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.  Of course we still have several other holidays to come too.  Enjoy them all!

The gift of presence

It seems everyone is out holiday shopping and spending lots of money that they can't afford.  I really don't need a present.  This year, consider the gift of presence instead!

Flowers for my mom

My mom passed away five years ago, and I now live in another stare so can't go and visit her final resting place when I would like to, like her birthday yesterday.  Someone else did though.  Someone who never knew Mom and scarcely knows me, went and placed flowers on her grace.  What a kind thing to do!

My Mom

I've mentioned my mother here before on a number of occasions.  She certainly was one of my kindness guides.  Now more than five years after she passed away, I still hear people who knew her remark about how kind she was.  What a great way to be remembered!  Today would have been her 92nd birthday, and I think of her with love.

Preparations

This is when I get heavily into preparations for various celebrations.  I do the traditional twelve days of Christmas (from December 25th until January 5th), but I have to have certain things on hand, so this is when I usually shop for special things, especially food.  It is also the eve of what was my mom's birthday, so I used to always be thinking of that.  Oh and a little extra cleaning to get everything ready.  With all those preparations, I like to prepare some extra kindness too.  Sometimes this time of year can be difficult for some folks, and I certainly want to help make things better!

Variety

I love December with its variety of celebrations.  Let's come up with a huge variety of ways to be kind too!

Not the 4th day of Christmas

Nope, this is not the 4th day of Christmas!  Everyone seems to be rushing things.  (If you doubt me, look it up).  Christmas doesn't END December 25th, that's when it begins.  This is however another day to be kind.  That my friends is something we can enjoy every single day!

Health update

Normally I don't like talking about me, but last week I mentioned being in the hospital and some folks have asked questions.  Thanks for your concern.  I do appreciate it, but not to worry.  It was just a minor thing.  I somehow became a bit dehydrated.  I'm fine now though!  Another great example of kindness though is you concern.  Thanks again!

More cookies

Someone brought some freshly baked cookies to work again yesterday.  What a kind (and delicious) thing to do!

In the beginning

"Of being kind, I have a few things to say.  Sometimes here I might share inspirational quotes and at other times I'll put forth ideas about kindness and how together we just might brighten up the world.  Hopefully this will help to brighten up things for YOU.  Do feel free to share these posts and your comments below are always welcome as well.  Of being kind, there are so many ways!  Let's use them all up!"    Those were the first words I wrote here back in the beginning.  How many of you have been reading since then?  How many of you share this with friends?

Kindness from the hospital

Today's post almost didn't happen.  I'm in the hospital.  Not to worry.  It isn't life-threatening.  I told them I write a daily blog which I never miss, so they have to discharge me.  (I had nothing with me, not even a phone, when I was admitted).  Well my nurse couldn't get me released - that will probably happen in the next few hours though, but she let me use her tablet.  What a a great example of kindness!

Tradition

There isn't a single holiday decoration up at my apartment and I haven't sent out any Christmas cards.  I do celebrate.  What am I waiting for then?  Well, I'm very traditional.  It isn't Christmas yet.  I'll be putting up a tree next week, and I will be singing carols, just not yet.  I'm very traditional when it comes to kindness too.  Oh how important it is to be nice to folks!  Oh and I mean always, not just during the holidays!

Remember me

You sometimes hear folks taking about being remembered after they are gone.  I think it would be far better if people remembered us while we are still here!

Rewarded

The other day, someone told me he appreciated my kindness and wanted to reward me.  "Would you prefer a gift card or a check," he asked.  Oh my!  Neither!  I was already rewarded just seeing how appreciative he was.  Besides, I don't want to be kind in hopes of some kind of gift.  We are rewarded every day by the positive reactions of those we encounter.

Welcome Sunday Morning!

Let us all welcome Sunday morning!  Oh course it is wonderful to welcome each day with enthusiasm, but for me, Sundays are special.  It is after all the beginning of the week.  Enjoy the day.  Enjoy the week ahead.  Be kind to yourself, and most certainly, be kind to everyone!

Making people happy is great

At work, I gave someone a gift anonymously.  I was hoping to make them happy and wasn't looking for any special thanks.  Making people happy is great and for me, that is enough.  He realized though who the gift was from and sought me out to formally thank me.  Wow!  That was a very nice gesture too.  These days many people don't even say thank you when the giver's identity is obvious, and this guy went out of his way!  That's kindness.

Not just December

Most folks love the parties, the gift-giving, and all the extra happiness that seems to show up every year at this time, but I wish we could all do a better job of spreading it out through the rest of the year.  Why should one month get all the fun?  Kindness is not only for December, but for every month and every single day!

Saint Nicholas

The sixth of December is celebrated as the feast day of Saint Nicholas, and it has nothing to do with Christmas.  The legend tells of three bags of gold coins.  Whether or not it is true is really not important.  What Nicholas has come to represent is good honest giving with no expectation of anything in return.  That's what kindness is all about.  We should be kind because we want people to be kind to us.  We should do it because it is good and proper and because it makes other people feel good.  Today, think of Saint Nicholas as you do kind things and expect nothing at all in return.  You WILL get something.  You'll get a wonderful feeling!

Senator Dole's tribute

One of the most emotional moments I have ever seen was yesterday in Washington when former Senator Robert Dole was helped out of his wheelchair and saluted the casket of Former President George Herbert Walker Bush in the Capitol Rotunda.  It was a kind gesture to be sure and it was heartwarming.  Sometimes with politics we get to caught up in policy and we forget about our shared humanity.  Thank you Senator Dole for a very moving tribute.

cookie day

Guess what today is.  (I can smell them baking in the oven).  Today is National Cookie Day.  Yum!  That gives me dozens of ideas relating to kindness.  Can you think of some too?  Let's brighten the day for some people with cookies!

loving December

I am loving December!  Is it because Hanukkah is upon us and Christmas and Kwanzaa are soon to be here too?  Is it the lights and the parties and the sales?  Is it the happier attitude that descends on so many of us?  Is it because folks seem to always be kinder around this time of year?  Maybe it's all of these things!

Today there's a difference

Many of you won't notice but today there's a difference in this blog.  Generally I rise before the sun and take a walk or run, and then refreshed from my morning ablutions, I enjoy some hot coffee while saying something here about kindness.  Normally that would have happened a couple of hours ago, but today I slept late, something I never do.  I'm fine.  I feel well rested.  I'm just late.  Like I said, most of you wouldn't even notice, but I do.  Let's all be extra kind!

Remembering and looking forward

Remembering those days when I went to a funeral five or six times a week, or made trips to Ward 86, or stood in the cold air with hundreds or others, holding a candle. Remembering the rallies, the marches, the speeches, the AIDSWalks, the quilt panels, and the meetings.  Remembering the kindness of strangers and all the folks who cared.  On this World AIDS Day, doing a lot of remembering and looking forward to the end of AIDS.