Spread the Love: Random Acts of Kindness

via Lara Casey

I'm taking a little break from blogging about design to share something pretty special to me! Just about two years, I had the coolest thing happen. I've blogged about this before, and will probably blog about it every year around the time it happened, because it was so inspiring and I want to be reminded to share the love.

 I was out to dinner at a really nice restaurant and had our ENTIRE meal paid for by the couple behind us.  It was the craziest, kindest, most amazing thing someone's ever done for me. Even more, I didn't take the time to look around the restaurant, so I'm not even sure what the couple looked like. Wow. What a gesture! I SO want to be able to give that to someone someday, don't you?! 

You may think it's silly, but I'm planning on paying it forward on the year anniversary of this day. Even if I can't pay $80 forward (that's how much the meal cost!) I do think it's important to give back to people in unexpected and kind ways. I want to serve others, show God's love and grace, and truly make someone's day a bit brighter, if even for a minute. God's really been teaching me to love and serve people with nothing in return, and this is another way to do that.  You know what my favorite part of giving is? The way your heart feels after. Overflowing. I could be having the worst day then pay for someone's coffee in front of me at Starbucks, and immediately I feel an overwhelming sense of joy. It's God's way of reminding me that this life is not about me. It's about others. It's about serving. It's about making other people smile, sending friends a note, baking cookies for neighbors, buying dinner for the homeless person on your way into a restaurant, loving those who are hard to love, and loving without getting anything in return.  That's making love, life, kindness, and joy really happen. 

So this coming week, I'm going to pay it forward with a few random acts of kindness. Here are some fun ideas I thought if you want to join me! Some are anonymous and some aren't:

- Strike up a conversation with someone and ask how their day is.  They'll feel important!

- Go through a drive-thru and pay for the person's food behind you.

- Give a homeless person a gift card to get a meal.

- Leave a sweet note on someone's car in a parking lot.

- Mail your old a friend an encouraging letter.

- Buy flowers for your neighbor or friend.

- Send out a text telling your friends and family how much you love and appreciate them.

- Pay for the person's Starbucks drink behind you. (I just put 5 dollars on a gift card and give it to the cashier and tell them to let the person a few folks behind me use it.)

- Simply smile at the person who you pass in the mall. They'll be caught off guard.

- Offer to get groceries for your mom.

- Let that person pull out from the parking lot and get in front of you on the road.

- Call your grandma!

- Buy something simple for a friend or loved one...just because. 

- Pay for someone's parking meter.

- Do a random act of kindness that you get no recognition for, but brighten someone else's day.

Who wants to join me in doing a random act of kindness? Let me know if you do something!

Happy Tuesday!
xoxo

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