Handed out smiles today

I found some individual mints at the dollar store today when I was shopping and just had to pick them up. They had smiley faces on one side & “Smile, Be Happy” on the other. They’re just like these:

I gave them away to people inside & out of Walmart. Simply told them they needed a smile & to have a good day. Then I seen an elderly lady loading groceries into the trunk of her car by herself and helped her finish. I’m trying to be on the lookout for more RAOK opportunities that I can do. It’s hard some days- the rush of go-go-go life tries to control me.  ;o)   But I figure if I keep trying & make kindness a priority it’ll all balance out.

Now to go work on some fun kindness for my family- dishes done & laundry going will be a big kindness to the hubs. And getting a surprise advent calendar for the kids done before Dec. 1st will be a kindness to them. (Last year was the first year I dropped the ball on the fun Christmas traditions I do & I want to make sure it doesn’t happen again this year!)

Technorati Tags: RAOK,random acts of kindness

PIF 12 Gifts of Christmas

While doing my morning browsing of Facebook I stumbled upon a link to the most wonderful thing:

A Pay It Forward Christmas Project called "The 12 Gifts of Christmas."

Put the focus on the true meaning of Christmas this season- Giving. Not the giving of expensive toys & electronics or what-not. But the Giving that really counts- the giving of your time, of your thoughts, of your love, of yourself. Here is an opportunity for you to give the greatest gift of all this holiday season- the gift of Kindness.

Starting today & for all the remaining days till Christmas join me & many others as we gift RAOK's. It won't take hardly any time or money for you to participate. Every day has a great suggestion- but if it doesn't work for you- then do something that does. It does not matter what you do as long as you GIVE.

If you're on Facebook and want to join the event there- here's the link. Facebook 12 Gifts of Christmas Event. But you don't need to be on FB to do this- comment here and share your gifts that way! If you blog it I'd love to read it there too!  I'll do my best to share my 12 Gifts of Christmas with you daily- but I might have to play catch-up on some days because life does tend to keep me busy.  :o)

PS- There's a printable of the 12 Gifts of Christmas I found on the FB event page to help you remember. If you would like the link I can send it to you- I didn't want to post the picture here b/c it's not my creation.  :o)

Rediscovering the "Giver's High"

I think my favorite thing about doing RAOK's is the look of absolute happy surprise on the recipient's face. When you RAOK a stranger at first they are always wary of you- they don't know you, why are you walking up to them, why are are trying to talk to them. You know in their mind what they're thinking is "What does she want? I don't have time for this- I'm not buying anything." It's always with reluctance that they give you their attention. And to watch the suspicion on their face be replaced with pure shock & joy when they realize that you are giving them something simply out of kindness- wanting nothing in return is one of the best moments to experience ever. I wish everyone could feel the inner joy you get from doing RAOK's. It's like being on a natural buzz- a "Giver's High" that just lights you up from inside and you can't help but smile and spend the rest of the day in a great mood.

I rediscovered this awesome feeling Thursday thanks to a simple kindness suggestions posted on Facebook from Help Others. When I was checking my FB in the morning I seen "Give a candy bar to a school crossing guard this morning, He stands at the corner everday with a smile. :) ---smileswithhope"   And I realized- I can do that. It was such a small, simple thing and would only take me a moment's time. I actually had the candy bars since my Tank is selling some to earn money for his State Bowling Tournament and where we live now there are 2 crossing guards I see every morning. We were running late & I had to work that morning- but I just felt that need to do it. So I grabbed 2 candy bars, a highlighter & some tape before I herded my Lil' Man to the van. I quickly scribbled a message with a smiley face on it made from the highlighter on 2 scrap papers and taped them to the candy bars. On my way to dropping my boy off at the bus stop (hoping we weren't going to miss it) I stopped at the first corner & rolled my window down motioning to the first crossing guard, He approached my van & I handed him the candy simply telling him to have a good day before continuing on. I did the same for the second guard- pulling up beside his vehicle. Seeing both their faces alight with smiles just made me feel so good inside. And I carried that feeling with me into work and for the rest of the day. It cost me only $2 and a few moments of my time to brighten someone elses day and my own as well. There's no pictures of it- no proof to share- because I did it for me & for the simple act of kindness- not for my blog.

I want that feeling- that inner happiness from giving- that knowledge that I made someone smile for no reason- more often. I let the excuses that life has gotten so crazy, that I've been so busy with kids & work & the new house, that we don't have any extra change to spare stop me from experiencing that feeling. And that's all they are-- excuses. They're not real valid reasons.- there's nothing physically stopping me. I just need to make the time, budget the change & make the effort to go out of my way to do extra kind things. And I'm going to start doing that more. When I read a simple RAOK idea- I'm going to DO it, not just save the idea for sometime when I have more time. And if I have time- I'll blog about it. I'd love to start posting a RAOK Idea to challenge everyone every day- whether it''s my own idea or one I discovered through one of my kindness blogs. But I'm not going to worry about it if I don't. Because it's passing on the kindness & making the world a better place that is most important, blogging about it is secondary.  :o)

Giving Someone a Little Happiness from a Sad Event

Due to a recent death in the family, my husband’s SIL, I became the recipient of a beautiful plant (some kind of Lily I think). After shuffling it around the house for a few days I realized that we had no room for it- it was too big & our house is too small. That fact & my worry that I would kill it (I don’t have a good track record with real plants inside- I even managed to kill a fern once!) made me realize I had to give it away. I didn’t want to be callous by giving it away and wasn’t looking forward to explaining to the lucky friend how I came by it.

I pondered my dilemma for a while and then thought of a way I would be comfortable with passing it on- by giving it to someone at a nursing home! I loved the idea of taking something that was a sad reminder and turning it into a joyful thing. I delivered it to our local nursing home & asked the nurse at the front desk to give it to someone that needs it, someone that doesn’t get much visitors or anything. She was very happy to do so. I left with a happy conscious & joyful heart knowing that I made someone’s day while at the same time kind of honoring a good person’s memory.

Bright Flowers on a Gloomy Day

I’ve had the urge to do extra special RAOK’s lately, but haven’t had the time. I seen these bright & beautiful flowers at Kroger's today and just seeing them made me smile. I decided that I wasn’t making anymore excuses for not doing RAOK’s as often as I wish, so I bought them and celebrated GFTAS day early this month. :o)

This cheery bunch went to a lady coming out of Walgreens. She seemed a little distracted & impatient when I stopped her at first, but being given flowers “just because” definitely changed her demeanor. Her face light up in surprise & pleasure. It made me feel so good seeing how easy it was to make her everyday errands turn from mundane to happy. (I forgot to get a picture of the cards I put in there.)

And since I missed GFTAS day last month- I decided I that I wanted make up for it, so I bought this pretty bouquet as well. I walked over to Speedway Gas Station and gave them to another lady getting gas. She smiled so big when I gave them to her and simply told her to “Have a Nice Day!”

Another Successful GFTAS Day

Today is the 27th of the month which means it’s Give Flowers to a Stranger Day! I’ve been looking forward to this day ever since I discovered & celebrated GFTAS Day last month. Once again I headed to my local Krogers hoping to score a marked-down pretty bunch of flowers. There were many available this time that were nice, but my eyes kept returning to another pink bunch of flowers. They weren’t that much more so I got them instead. I figured if I liked them so much, than so would the lucky recipient. 

I printed a small card tag I downloaded for free here from Whisker Graphics. I wrote a little message on the inside and taped it onto the bouquet wrapping. I also picked out one of the Kindness Cards from Kind Over Matter that I downloaded & printed to use for card drops. I tucked it in between the flowers- it said “People are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

I had been thinking all morning on who I wanted to give the flowers to today. I thought a nice elderly lady would be great and I knew I wanted to find someone somewhere other than a store parking lot. I decided I’d drive to another neighborhood and simply pull over and give them to the first person I seen. Being it was a fairly nice day & middle of the afternoon I thought it would be a cinch to find someone outside. (Easier said than done I soon found out.) The first two people I seen were guys and when it comes to flowers I figured a woman would appreciate them a whole lot more. So up & down the streets, around the blocks I kept driving slowly looking for a mom outside with her kids, a woman taking groceries inside or an elderly lady sitting on a porch swing. But I had no such luck- I only seen 3 people total and all were men. With my time, and gas, running out I changed tactics and headed downtown where I knew there had to be people. I spotted a young woman coming out of the post office and quickly parked, grabbed the flowers & hopped out. I thought I was going to miss my opportunity because she was getting in her car by then, but I got her attention and handed her the flowers simply telling them they was for her. She thanked me with a slightly stunned smile and I quickly walked back to my still-running van with my own happy grin.

I’ve been happy & smiling ever since. GFTAS just makes me feel so good- I’m so glad I get to celebrate it monthly instead of just once a year! If you’re new and want to know more about this Kindness Holiday- click here to read more about a wonderful lady and the kind act that started it all.

Pick-Me-Up Gift for a Friend

My friend MB is an awesome upbeat & happy person and one of the nicest people I’ve been blessed to know. She is an assistant teacher that works in our public elementary school with the kids that need a little more special attention than others. The powers that be at the school have changed things around this year- so MB is in a new classroom, has other different EA’s (educational assistants) that she has to learn to cope with and quite a few new difficult children to deal with. And on top of all that they’ve changed rules & procedures a few times already! Suffice it to say she’s been very stressed these first two weeks of school.

So when I read on her Facebook status that they’ve changed her schedule yet again & she’s struggling dealing with some hard people at work- I knew she needed a pick-me-up. Luckily with some things I had on hand & a quick stop at the dollar store I was able to put together a surprise gift to lift her spirits. I took a Milka Bar of Chocolate, a can of her favorite pop & an encouraging teacher book and wrapped up them all in tissue paper & tied with curling ribbon. I added some happy messages to the packages by attaching some Kindness Cards I downloaded for free from Kind Over Matter.

A quick trip across town and my anonymous surprise gift was delivered- with assurance from the wonderful school’s secretary that the giver will remain a mystery. I can’t wait to see how much of a happier FB status MB will have tonight! :o)

Flowers for a Stranger

I’m subscribed to a few different Kindness blogs and really enjoy the ideas and uplifting experiences I read about through them. I was inspired by a fellow Kindness Blogger to do my first real RAOK (Random Act of Kindness) to a total stranger today. Betsy, from The Kindness of Strangers, has declared the 27th of each month “Give Flowers to a Stranger Day.” She enjoyed it so much when she did it originally on April 27th that she’s done it every month since. So when I seen her reminder post last night in my Google Reader I just knew that I wanted to be a part of it too. :o)

This morning I decided that it would be good to include the kiddos in my RAOK. So my normal Friday solitaire trip running errands turned into a family excursion that hopefully opened my children’s eyes to the magic of kindness. First stop was Kroger's where I was hoping to find a beautiful bouquet of flowers on mark down, because while I love being nice- I am on a budget after all. Unfortunately the only bunches they had were too costly for my wallet. Not to be deterred- I picked up 2 pretty white flowers that were inexpensive. (It’s the thought that counts- not the price, right?)

Back in the van we attached a simple note card that I printed for free here from Frog Prince Paperie. I wrote a message on the back explaining that it was a RAOK and encouraged the recipient to carry on the kindness.

On to Wal-Mart we went, where we was faced with the challenge of finding the stranger to give our flowers too. I didn’t want to bother anyone that was sitting in their cars- I was afraid it would creep them out if a stranger came tapping at their window. I tried to engage the boys in helping me find someone. We decided that it would be best to give the flowers to someone that was leaving Wal-Mart and that a woman would appreciate them more so than a man. With that in mind we moved by the doors and waited outside.

When a mother with her young son in the cart exited I decided she would do just fine. I do have to admit it took a bit of courage to get her attention and give them to her- I had no idea what type of reaction I would get. But I just decided what they heck & to go for it and got her attention. Then I simply told her these were for her and handed them to her. She didn’t ask why or anything and simply said thank you. I didn’t quite know what to do then, so my boys and I continued inside to the store like it was a normal thing to give strangers flowers. I had hoped for a little more of a reaction from my first total RAOK, but when I glanced back as I was walking in and seen the big smile on the little boy’s face as he watched me leave I felt happy. And I realized that it wasn’t about me, wasn’t about personal gratification- it was about giving freely and completely without expectations. And hoping others get even a small fraction of joy I feel from it.