Ok well over the last few days I've done so many things to make others smile. Gone up to strangers and wished them a Merry Christmas and even spent my Christmas with a friend who had no one to spend it with. So how about we all make it our job this Christmas holiday to do one or two really good deeds for others. Random acts of kindness and see how it goes. You never know what one act of kindness can do. I know this may sound silly, but your random act of kindness could just make the difference in someone else's life. So just give it a try. Post back in here and let everyone know how it goes as well. You don't have to but it'd be interesting to see how it does go though. Torana
That's so funny because yesterday my mum bought me a bumper sticker that said 'Practice random acts of kindness and other good deeds' I promptly put it on my car
I gave a bag of homemade cookies to the caretakers of my dormitory a few days ago for a Christmas present. Does that count?
haha I should so get one of those stickers for my hunka junka, it'd look awesome on her And Dom yeah that counts. It is little things like that, which make the biggest impacts on people. Sometimes even saying hello to a complete stranger makes the world of difference. I go out of my way all the time to do random acts of kindness. It isn't hard to do.
Eh... I don't like bumper stickers. I have forums and online social accounts to voice my opinion, I'm not messing up my car. Though, I did happen to dent it recently. I'm not sure what RAoK I've done... perhaps it's time to think of something? Do it in my dorm or something.
Yeah well if my car weren't a hunka junka I'd probably feel the same way adamant. And yeah why not see what you can do in your dorm. RAoK can be done anywhere at any time. You will be surprised how good you feel for doing it to be honest.
I spent some time searching the internet the other day for a cd that my sister in laws, father in law had been hunting for for the last ten years. I found it for him and it's now ordered. He stopped by yesterday just to say thankyou. It was a pleasure for me to look for it for him, but for him to make a special journey to come and say thanks really made my day. I hugged a stranger in the street one day too. He waved at me from the other side of the road and then approached me to apologise because he thought I was someone else and said it was a shame because he was needing a hug from that particular person, so I gave him a good hug anyway. This is a lovely thread Torana. It's the smiles you get for random acts like this that make everything so special, not all the gifts. I feel like hugging everybody now.
Sounds like a new pick-up line in the making, haha. This thread is reminding me of the Kleenex commercials where they randomly solicit people to sit on their couch and talk with them. Eventually, they start crying and they can use the tissues.
When I was at the museum the day before Christmas Eve, there was a guy with a stroller who got up and left the restroom area. A few minutes later, I saw a blanket on the floor- a gut feeling told me that it was his. So I ran across the first floor searching for the guy with the stroller, but when I found him, he didn't speak any English- only Chinese. But the thing was, I speak Mandarin, and he spoke Cantonese! Luckily, his wife who spoke a little bit of English was there to take the blanket from me. "Thank you very much." she said. It made me feel good that I did something nice for someone else. ~ My sisters and I don't have a very good relationship, but when I was Christmas shopping for my friends, I bought gifts for them. (For my nine year old sister, I gave her slippers from her favorite show, and I gave to my five year old sister some paints because she loves art) ~ My friend's mom got drunk on Christmas Eve, and he gets really upset whenever she does that. So I comforted him a bit, and we spent the whole time on the phone after he vented and cried to talk about things that made us feel good- like getting into a humorous conversation about what it feels like to get kicked in the *****.
I volunteer and help sick kids at a hospital. I was there on Christmas Eve handing out home made presents. Also I went to a retirement home and gave them some of my homemade presents.
I do it because I know how it feels to be sick. And no one visits you. Or non of your friends visit you I should rephrase. Also I understand how troublesome being old can be.
Does not killing a slow and stupid clerk count as a random act of kindness? Actually my act was inviting a friend over to give her lots of advice on dealing with Fibromyalgia. She was just diagnosed and is already losing friends because of the way it affects people. So I gave her a couple of my books and a list of things she should and shouldn't do. I also invited her to join my board on the internet for fibro people. Have never done that for someone in town before. It is kind of my space to escape the town.
i'm glad to see some of you have been doing good deeds, but why limit good-doing to this holiday season?... that's so hypocritical, imo... why not do it all the time, in all your waking hours, every day of the year?... if it's worth doing for a few days during a single religious belief's prime holiday, why not make it the way you live your entire life, no matter what your creed, or whether you even follow one?... for the record, i don't believe in any god or religion, don't do holidays at all [especially not this one], yet i help others all day, 365 days a year... and have been doing so for over a decade now, ever since i gave up the material world/life along with 'self'... i started and run a books and donation center in my home, for all the needy folks on this island; help writers by email and in person full-time; am working to establish a series of women's shelters worldwide and an international peace center here on tinian... before coming here i lived with and helped the homeless for a couple of years in 3 states, lived with and helped the hopi on their bleak land in the desert, and ghetto kids in the south bronx... and, oddly enough, anything i've needed to survive or to help others always just dropped/drops in my lap, exactly when i need it... so, if you want to try doing good, don't be a hypocrite and just do it 'for christmas' or for a 'new year's resolution'... do it as a way of life!... you don't have to give away your home and all your worldly goods as i did, but can just do whatever you can every day, wherever you are... i guarantee you'll be amazed at what will result... love and hugs to all, maia [btw, i don't mean to imply that torana's a hypocrite, just that doing 'good' only part of the time, or on special occasions is hypocritical... hope no offense will be taken, as none is intended... m]
I believe in taking opportunities to make someone else's day better, every day. I suppose it started when I joined the Boy Scouts a few decades ago; a good deed every day was one of the principles. Never being very good at keeping track, I never felt any great need to stop at one. Essentially, I feel that if enough people take that philosophy, the world is that much more pleasant for everyone. Besides, it makes my life more enjoyable.
maia you make a really wonderful point about doing RAoK all the time, but the main reason I started this thred was just to give people the inspiration to start. Many people do and I am not saying they don't. But a little incentive goes a very long way that you have to agree with. A friend of mine was broke this year and couldn't afford to buy for her children. So for Christmas I gave them $600 so that they could hopefully have a wonderful day and go somewhere today. They are now on their way down the coast to have a big day out with their family. Little things always make a difference
Far out. $600 is a bit much! I understand the meaning behind it, but the most I could do for a broke friend would probably be $100 and that's pushing it. I'm not being mean, just poor! But I would also invite them for chrissy dinner etc!
Well they were doing it really hard this year so I gave out of my holiday fund for the UK. It was well worth it and I know they are always there for me when I need the help. And DOZ that is always a nice thing to do.
I try to be nice all year round as well. I will usually say thank you and at least try to smile at people who are doing something for me, be it servers, clerks, or cleaners. This is seen as very strange here in China where they are usually ignored. And if people drop something without noticing I will pick it up for them, or if I don't know who dropped it pick it up and put it somewhere close by in a visible place (I'm talking gloves and small inexpensive things here not money or phones). If Christmas is needed to inspire some people lets use it for all its worth.
Yeah, a smile is worth a lot more than money- I try and be nice when I can. UNless the people are just tooo rude then I am rude to them. After trying to be nice that is. Oh god I am bored.
One time I was at a supermarket with my mom, and I found a 50 dollar bill on the floor, totally random but I thought "Oh! Maybe someone up there is being nice," so I kept it. Moments later while we were paying, a few cashiers away was a lady looking for something, so I walked up, showed her the money and asked if it was hers. The lady was so overjoyed to get her money back, she said thanks and hugged me and I went back with my mom. Afterwards, we were walking back to our car when the lady came running to me and gave a ten dollar bill as thanks for helping her. *~*~* A few months ago I got really lost while driving. It was late, so I asked help to an old man on the street who was selling candy. I asked him to get on with me so he could give me directions and he said 'okay'. While driving, he told me some history about the buildings and roads we went through, I asked him how long he'd been living around and we started talking, he told me a little of where he lived when he was young, how he came here, a little about his parents, about his family. He asked me if I was Christian and I answered 'No, I'm Catholic' and we talked a little about that too, learned a little about were he had worked and what his situation was now. I remember he said, "Today a friend gave me some shoes for my kids, so I left them on the sidewalk while I worked, keeping an eye on them but also fearing someone would take them. And effectively someone did take them, but then you came around, Miss". I don't think I'll ever forget that, those words specially. Eventually we arrived to somewhere I knew better and thanked him for everything he'd done for me, he left me his phone number in case I ever got lost again and I gave him everything I had in my wallet, but I wish it had been more. That experience taught me something.
