Maya Angelou

I could easily quote the wonderful Maya Angelou every single day. She said some amazing things like "When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed."

I've got your back

It's during the worst times of your life that you'll get to see the true colors of the people who say they care about you. If you say to someone "I've got your back," mean it!

Happy Friday!

Happiness and kindness go hand in hand!  I hope you have shared a lot of both this week and keep in up right through the weekend.  Happy Friday everybody!

transplant kindness

I was just reading about a mother sharing some very moving moments with a transplant recipient. The mother had lost her daughter following complications from a congenital brain malformation and the daughter's limbs and organs were donated, with her left hand becoming a transplant for a young woman who lost her hands as a result of sepsis. The donor's mother met the recipient, and it was a heartwarming emotional meeting. Such a great example of kindness!

Inspiration from Michelangelo

"Danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark." - Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni

It's never-ending

Like I said, the list of random acts of kindness is never-ending.  Here are more:  Pay for the meal of the person behind you in the drive-through. Smile. Bring flowers to work and share them with coworkers. As you go about your day, pick up trash. Pay a compliment at least once a day.  Buy some bottles of water and randomly hand them out to strangers on the street. Drop off a plant or a plate of cookies to your nearby police or fire station.

Feedback

On this wonderful spring day, consider giving us some feedback here.  Do you read this often?  Have you ever shared this with anyone else?  Do you consider yourself a kind person?  We'd love your feedback!

The kindest thing you do this week

What do you think will be the kindest thing you do this week? Oh there are certainly a lot of loving and nice things we can all do for each other, and everyone can add suggestions, but I like the idea of always trying to outdo myself? Let's be kind to everyone! Let's put some smiles of those faces!  Let's all try to be more kind than we ever have been before.

Halfway

It's hard to believe, but we are already halfway through the month of August.  Oh my!  Be kind to yourself and enjoy the remaining summer days.  Be kind to others too.  Do something especially nice.

Always the message

What can I say on this August 14th that I haven't said before? Well, it doesn't have to be a new message, right? Be kind! That's always the message!

The Red Power Ranger

Sometimes celebrities inspire us in ways we might not expect.  I suppose you don't even have to be a celebrity for that to be true.  We ALL can inspire.  The actor who is the red Power Ranger always inspires me.  He seems like such a nice and kind person.  Shouldn't we all want to be thought of that way?

simple

Be kind. (It's really quite simple. The message doesn't have to be complex. We don't have to spend hours thinking about it. Why would anyone not want to be a good kind person? It just doesn't make sense. And so, this very simple message). Be kind.

what about today

It's Tuesday morning and as my fingers hit the keyboard, I ask myself what I am going to write here today.  Is there a new message?  Can I say something I have never said before?  This really isn't about new ideas or reinventing the wheel.  The message of this blog has always been very simple:  Be kind.  What more can I say.  Kindness matters.

be kind

You might have been expecting some fancy quote or an incredibly moving message, but what I write about here every day is really quite simple.  If I encourage you or help you along the way, so much better.  My goal though is just to spread kindness everywhere and hopefully to make me a kinder person too.  So dear friends, be kind.

kindest day of the week

It's Sunday - a day when more people involve themselves in recreation and fun things, than any other day of the week.  Maybe we can also make it the kindest day, huh?  I'm sure that can be arranged!

wise words

Inventor and philosopher Blaise Pascal once said "Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much."  Wise words!

best advice

Writer and philosopher Aldous Huxley said, "It’s a little embarrassing that after forty-five years of research and study, the best advice I can give people is to be a little kinder to one another."

Stay healthy

Take care of yourself.  Stay healthy and fit.  When you’re healthy and energetic, it is so much easier to be kind.

random acts

How about some random acts of kindness this August morning? I think kindness is an everyday thing, but it doesn't hurt to do some special unexpected things from time to time, like surprising the office with homemade cookies, or buying the latte for the stranger behind you at the coffee counter or leaving an extra big tip for your server at lunch.  Any ideas for some random things you might do today?

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day.  Yum!  There are actually some places where you can get free and cheap cookies today.  Double yum!  I have a great idea.  Why not bake or buy a whole bunch of chocolate chip cookies and hand them out to the people you encounter today.  That would be a very kind thing to do!

3rd

What's the third way to be kind or they way to be kind to people on the 3rd?  Oh my!  I have said this so many times and it will always be true.  There are endless ways to show kindness and it isn't specific to the day or the hour.  Let's just always care about others!

Presence

Another celebrity took their own life yesterday.  We hear about the famous people, but not the stranger across town who commits suicide.  It happens every day and it is sad no matter who it is.  The answers are complicated, but one thing I have seen in the past 24 hours is people saying "I am here if you need me.  Please reach out."  The presence of people who care - people who will listen, can make a huge difference.  As I said, the answers can be complicated but a good place to start is the kind and caring folks who reach out.  I'm so grateful there are people like this in the world!

August

Hooray for August!  My birthday is this month along with many others.  Be kind to us all.  Celebrate summer too and all the good things that come with it.  Yay August!