365 acts of Love and Kindness
This year I would like to celebrate John's life by making some random acts of love and kindness in his name.
Inspired by the popular Random Acts of Kindness idea, I 'd like to give it a go, even though I am aware that I might not be able to complete all 365 acts without other people's help.
You are welcome to join me by dedicating your acts of kindness to John and describing them below; just number them so we all know how many there are still to be completed. And we don't have to stop at 365th either...Let's just see how it all goes this year.
Also, it does not really matter how 'random' your act of kindness is, as long as you feel you'd like to include it here, you are welcome to do so.
Let's make 2013 the year of love and kindness - together.
Anna
I was inspired by my sister telling me of a story told at the memorial day about how John supported people to achieve their dreams. I have in the last few days practiced saying 'i believe in you' to people who are expressing an idea they want to make a reality, or facing some problem to overcome. Not trying to solve it for them, but listening to them and offering energy, support and appreciation. I didn't get to meet you John, but Thank You for this inspiration. Love Shilpa x
ReplyDeleteI tried a random act of kindness today in john's memory and it felt good. I was buying flowers at the supermarket and bought an extra bunch. At the checkout, after I had paid for them (!) I gave one bunch to the lady behind me, saying 'excuse me, can I give you a bunch of flowers I am carrying out random acts of kindness in memory of a special person', she said 'aren't I lucky, it's made my day and I'll have to keep it going now'! I felt. Bit nervous doing it but it felt good and brightened up a tesco shop.. Not much of an act but a little one. Love Hannah
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDear Shilpa and Hannah, that's lovely, thank you for posting your comments and sharing your thoughts...your experiences gave me the kind of inspiration I needed!
DeleteToday I bought a book token gift card at Waterstones and offered the token to the lady who was in the queue behind me. I simply said 'this is for you' and gave her the token; at the time she was busy trying to fish her wallet out of her bag. I then left the shop quite quickly but heard the lady and the shop assistant exchanging some remarks; I heard the lady saying 'goodness' and then 'thank you' when I was at the door.
It felt right and a good thing to do. Next time I would probably just leave my token with a shop assistant: it wasn't quite possible today as the lady saw me buying the token anyway.
Some thoughts to share...I think it does not matter how 'big' or 'small' the actual act is: sometimes even the tiniest gesture of kindness can leave a memorable impact.
The impact does not necessarily rely on its monetary value. Chatting with homeless Darren tonight did not cost me anything but was probably more important and valuable than giving out a book token. If these things can be compared at all...
Today was a good day as I realised how important it is to be kind to a stranger - every day. This means being aware, seeing an opportunity and responding to it. We all perform many big and small acts of kindness as we go about our lives though some days may seem more fruitful than others.
So, would it be too much of a commitment to be kind to a stranger every day?
What do people think?
Anna (Allen)
Thanks Anna, Hannah and Shilpa.
DeleteAll of your random acts of kindness have warmed my morning.
Anna, I so agree - about the importance of being kind to strangers. It can have such an impact, both on the 'other' but on our own wellbeing. What I like about it most is that it helps us to break down the barriers of the idea of there being a 'self' and and 'other'.
I did a random act the other day. I went to a Talk at SOAS and the guy next to me kept coughing. I could tell that he felt awkward, and was at times trying to suppress his cough so not to disturb the Talk. I offered him my flask of water. At first he seemed a bit shy, so said 'no thanks' (nicely), but after around 60 secs, he whispered, 'actually, i think i do need some - thanks a lot'.
Having this 'random acts of kindness' in my mind was what gave me the guts to actually offer him this water, and run the risk of him thinking that this random stranger (me) was a little odd :) x
Here is the progress with the random acts of kindness recorded so far:
ReplyDeletealtogether we have 5 of these including Shilpa's 'i believe you'; Hannah's flowers; Anna's book token, a chat with Darren and donations to two charities.
Let's keep the kindness spreading across the world!
Love Anna (Allen)
Act 6:
ReplyDeleteThis weekend I was fortunate to attend a session of Dharma teaching by Khenpo Gyurme, who is the vice-abbot of Shechen Monastery in Kathmandu, the seat of Rabjam Rinpoche and formerly of His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. It took place in Marpa House in Ashdon.
I wanted to share one simple message from Khenpo's talk: 'Do not waste your time.' I don't think it needs any further explanations...
On the way back from Ashdon I stopped over in Saffron Walden to get some stamps in a local shop. I bought some tulips (they just looked so beautiful!) and then gave them to a lady on a street, on my way back to the car. At first she did not want to accept them, probably thinking that there would be some strings attached to my offer. 'Why would you want to give these flowers to ME?', she asked. 'Why not?', I answered and smiled. She then took the flowers. It seems that at first she was worried that I would try to sell her something (religion or some other stuff that she does not need). I did not mention John to her or the acts of random kindness as I felt there does not have to be a reason to be kind...
'There does not have to be a reason to be kind'. Thanks Anna for sharing this pearl. I will try and keep that in my awareness throughout the day today :) x
ReplyDeleteThank you Jilly. We now have seven acts between us, thank you everyone.
ReplyDeleteJust sharing a quote I picked today from 'Dhammapada: The sayings of the Buddha'...
"Set your heart on doing good.
Do it over and over again,
And you will be filled with joy."
So simple.
Woke up early this morning to look at the snow falling and to feed a black bird that visits my little garden every morning.
ReplyDeleteGot my mug of peppermint tea and came across this by chance or ( if there is such a thing ) in the BBC news
and discovering another form of kindness at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21900202
Last weekend I helped to organise and run a party for friends and family in order to raise money for charity. My partner is going away with a charity group to the Amazon in order to help them build sanitation facilities such as showers and toilet cubicles. He has to however raise all the funds for himself, including flights and helping towards the costs of the resources so this party was a massive boost to helping him on his way.
ReplyDeleteIt was a really lovely evening and Anna made some fresh bread which we served with dips (which everyone wants the recipe for!!). We hope to do something similar again soon as a donation to this brilliant charity work.
Thank you Ella for sharing this, I am glad that the party went well and that everyone liked the bread. :-)
ReplyDeleteI was working in Northampton today and stopped over at a local HWSmith to buy some postcards. At the till there was an old lady queuing up right behind me. I looked at her and then felt a sudden wave of compassion towards her and all people of her generation. Just had to buy a gift card quickly and give it to her. I am sure she used it straight away to pay for her goods - it looked like she was buying some books for her grandchildren.
So, we now have 8 acts between us. Thank you everybody.
Sometimes the opportunities to be kind to others present themselves to me when I least expect them, don't have time to respond or am too busy with my own life. These opportunities challenge. They drag me out of my comfort zone. They expose my ego and question my real motives and values. They are the best gifts in life. May we all receive them, experience them and learn from them.
ReplyDeleteLast Wednesday morning I was driving back home. It was about 2 am and I was tired and sleepy. I had at least two hour journey in front of me. All I wanted was to get home quickly and without any delays. I was just pulling out of a car park near a motorway when I was approached by a woman. She said that her husband had difficulties starting their car and asked if I would not mind helping them to jump start it. I looked around - there was nobody else in the car park. It was dark and quite scary. Some disturbing thoughts started firing through my mind. All I wanted was to wind up my window and get away as quickly as possible. Then I realised that driving away was simply not an option. I have no choice but to stay and try to help although I was quite scared myself. So I had to calm myself down and start trusting the situation instead of surrendering to some crazy scenarios in my mind.
It turned out that the couple was real and their car problem was real. It also turned out that the lady's husband was a big bulky Dutch bloke who would probably look quite convincing as a Mafia character in a movie.
We did not manage to fix the car but at the very least we tried. In the end we called the roadside assistance and I continued my journey.
My car also had an engine fault light on and I wasn't sure if it would last for the journey. It did. And I hope the Dutch couple was able to reach home ok.
So this is the story behind the 9th act of totally random kindness.
Here goes the 10th act of kindness.
ReplyDeleteIt happened in a supermaket in Cambridge. I was queuing up to pay for my goods. The lady at the till was a bit slow and I noticed that the man queuing up behind me was constantly checking his watch. So I offered him to go in front of me in the queue.
It was amazing to see his reaction - he was so grateful and delighted! He said, 'it's ever so kind of you. You are very kind' and then turned around and thanked me again and smiled at me as if I was his best friend who he had not seen for ages.
I found it amazing that such a small act can generate so much gratitude - without the need to use the money!
My 11th act of random kindness took place on a late evening on M11. I was coming back from Northamptonshire and stopped to help a lady who hit a deer. Unfortunately we were unable to save the deer though we tried our best to release it from under the vehicle. Back home I did a tonglen prayer for the poor animal.
ReplyDeleteFor the 12th act of random kindness I went to John's favourite Waterstone's book store in Cambridge. Whilst at the till paying for my books I gave a £10 book token to the gentleman behind me. I said to him that I had a spare token left that I did not need. He looked at me in surprise and said: "Thank you. I was just thinking whether I can afford to buy these books." It felt good to give a token in this way, it seemed more natural and less of an "act." Interestingly, we were paying for the same books!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed my act No 13th quite a lot and I am thinking of making it a regular activity. I went punting on the river Granta and whilst enjoying punting along the river I tried to collect any bottles I spotted in the water.
ReplyDeleteLets keep the river clean!
I will be going punting/ canoeing again soon - if anyone would like to join me, please just shout! No hire fees to be paid as I have a season ticket. If you are interested, please just leave me a message here/ email or call.
This evening we decided to go for a short drive and find a nice place for a late afternoon coffee. At the start of our trip we saw our neighbour sitting at a bus stop. We pulled up and asked if she wanted a lift anywhere. She looked so relieved as the buses were late and she was trying to get to the hospital to see her husband who had just been admitted having had a stroke. It felt so good to be able to help her.
ReplyDeleteI painted a picture of a tree, the day after I heard John had died because I was so sad. This tree, I drew in the winter when I was ill and it was a beautiful, strong and tall tree, due to be cut down. I felt encouraged to colour the sky gold and the tree bright colours. The tree I felt symbolised John. The gold in Christianity symbolises worth, wealth, kingliness, splendor, love, constancy, dignity, and wisdom. I have gifted this painting to Anna as I felt it was much better than the prayer flag I wanted to do. x x
ReplyDeleteAct No 16
ReplyDeleteI bought a coffee for and helped to keep an eye on the dog of one of our local homeless whose name is Darren. I've spoken to Darren before and usually stop and say Hello and have a wee chat with him.
Usually I ask him if he'd like a drink or some food. This time we decided to have a coffee together. It was really nice to have a chat with Darren. I think this is as much an act of kindness for myself (if not more) as for Darren. :-)
Act No 17
ReplyDeleteThere was this young chat singing and playing guitar on a street of Cambridge. I almost passed him when a note positioned just in front of him caught my eye. In it, he told a little bit of his story and also about him trying to collect enough money for a deposit to buy a boat.
I felt immediately that I wanted to contribute; did not have any money on me so had to find the nearest cash point but I thought it was a worthy cause. I also felt it was important to respond positively to this urge to help, the impulse in me that in the past I tried to suppress so many times.
Act No 18
ReplyDeleteIt was the time for me to go back to my favourite Waterstones store in Cambridge and treat an elderly lady who was behind me in the queue to my usual £10 gift voucher.
This is becoming such a habit now that I do it automatically and don't even think about it any more. I remember how I was really worried and excited the first time I did it.
I like the fact that it is now a regular custom, a kind of tradition, as ordinary as paying for your books before leaving the shop!
I am aware that many more acts of kindness have gone unrecorded since I had last updated this blog page...There have been charity donations, vouchers, books, friendly chats, coffee cups and other things that seemed to fulfil some need or give comfort at the time - many thanks to those people who kindly accepted them.
ReplyDeletePerhaps I should just mention one of them that is still vivid in my mind:
A young girl who received a book gift card caught up with me on the street and said: Thank you, I just wanted to let you know that I bought a book which will be a great gift to my loved ones so your gift will not stop with me but will be passed on to other people to enjoy.
I wanted to share the exciting news that I will be volunteering for the East Anglian Air Ambulance this year as a photographer and video/ film maker. I will be covering some of the EAAA events and activities to produce some images that they can use for the publicity. I signed up for the helicopter mission training and was supposed to go on a week long training course in January. Unfortunately it got cancelled due to the internal review following the recent Glasgow helicopter crash. I am still hoping to attend the training later this year.
ReplyDeleteI also submitted a proposal for a year long project photographing the EAAA volunteers as they perform their duties and enjoy leisure activities. I hope to discuss the proposal with EAAA staff in January / February this year and start working on the project by the spring.
I will update you all on my progress with these projects later in the year.
Meanwhile, I will keep the acts of kindness coming. Hope you all have a good year!