Finding Joy Through Random Acts of Kindness

Written by Cindy Leavitt

My daughter is in the middle of a stressful semester in college. The last time I talked with her, she shared that to help herself feel better, she started looking for ways to share kindness with others.

Recently while on campus, she noticed that someone had left a water bottle behind at the end of class. She took that bottle and tried to track down the owner. While she wasn’t able to find them, she reflected on how good it made her feel to have tried to do something kind.

That reminded me of some advice my mentor gave me during my recent job transition. He told me to take time each day to thank someone for something they had done, with the goal of surprising that person for being recognized. The challenge was to surprise and delight.

When we combine attention with creativity as we look for ways to be kind, we can delight ourselves and others. As I prepared to write my blog post this week, I felt weighed down by obligation. When we approach kindness as an obligation rather than a fun game, we risk losing our joy in the journey.

February 17 is National Random Acts of Kindness Day and I invite you to join me in finding joy as you look for creative ways to be kind.