By Alliance Communications Coordinator Amy Durr
As much as I enjoy February’s lesser-known holidays like Super-Puppy-Bowl and Galentine’s Day, the one that captures my imagination and energizes me is Random Acts of Kindness Day on February 17.
Even though it’s nominally about being random, thinking anew about kindness and approaching it with a scout-like spirit of preparedness can turn simple acts into profound gifts.
I’ll end with seven of my favorites – stay tuned.
At the Alliance we know kindness makes the world a better place by improving mental and physical health, strengthening community and breaking down barriers. Acts of kindness fertilize hope, which blooms extravagantly and fragrantly when we choose compassion and love.
Take a Quiz – Discover if It’s Actually Good for You
The Harvard Gazette highlights research showing kindness is good for us not only mentally, but physically as well. How much do you know about research-based science on being kind? Try their brief Why be kind? You might live longer quiz and find out.
We all instinctively know what kindness is, but these days it has a robust and flourishing body of science behind it. Researchers are learning more about how it protects our length-of-life determining telomeres and fortifies our resistance to anti-democratic forces.
Understand Not Everyone Loves Surprises
Studies give us a word of warning as well: most people like surprises, but sadly startling strangers (even from a place of good intentions) may be perceived as a threat by various people, such as those who are neurodiverse.
While there is a lot of joy behind the idea of Random Acts of Kindness, make sure to temper your kindnesses with thoughtfulness and grace.
Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, shares that a study found many people reacted to receiving a random act of kindness with –- suspicion!
“This certainly rings true for me. If someone randomly does something kind for me, I’m on guard. It’s not that I have a profound distrust for mankind, it’s just that I’m uneasy if I don’t understand why someone behaves in an unusual way. It’s not the kindness of the act that’s the problem; it’s the randomness.”
See Kindness as Good Trouble
We are living through challenging times. As many places are threatened with increasing violence and authoritarianism, acts of compassion become an increasingly important form of resistance to oppressive systems:
- Kindness challenges dehumanization
- Generosity undermines systems built on scarcity and fear
- Radical hospitality creates safe spaces
7 of My Favorite Meaningful Random Acts of Kindness
Random or not, acts of kindness impact us, the recipients and anyone noticing. Go forth and be kind! Here are 7 transformative ideas I love that I’ve compiled from various lists (see below):
- Tell a friend what you love about their children
- Send an email to a former teacher to let them know how they impacted your life
- Spend quality time with your pet
- Have a LinkedIn account? Write a recommendation for a coworker or connection
- Learn the names of your office security guard, the person at the front desk and other people you see every day and greet them by name
- Take muffins or cookies to people who serve us, like your local librarians, fire fighters or township employees
- Donate an old cellphone to a program that supports survivors of domestic violence or elders
More Great Ideas
- 50 Kindness Ideas for Random Acts of Kindness Day from the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation
- 50 Acts of Kindness from GivingTuesday
- What’s the Best Random Act of Kindness You’ve Ever Received? from reddit (Read these real life stories and have a box of tissues nearby)
- 24+ Quick Acts of Kindness for Families from Doing Good Together
- Random Acts of Kindness: List of 99+ Ideas and Examples from the Berkeley Well Being Institute