Everyday Kindness

India has decided to cancel the debt of small farmers.

This act of kindness will cost means that farmers with less than 2 hectares will no longer work just to pay their debt.  Further, the Indian government pledged to put money into infrastructure, increased funding to education and healthcare.

The goal?

India would like to become self sufficient in food-grains.

Family farms is where is all starts.

Pretty cool, eh?

Oh, don’t worry, one small act of kindness a day.  THAT is still happening.  I

I’m not certain what to do with this blog.  I’ve bored myself to death with my own tales of kindness, so I can imagine I’ve bored you as well.

I’m thinking of making the blog a resource for kindness.  Here’s my idea, I will post

• International stories about kind acts,
• Resources such as simple ways to be kind to soldiers, doctors, support the poor, etc.
• Various other people’s efforts including a sprinkling of my own.
• Continue to report on my journey of simple kindness.
• Invite people to guest post.
• Continue to come up with memes about kindness.

What do you think?  What might be helpful to you and your journey?

I thought this was such a great story that it deserved a run over here at Everyday Kindness.

Marine Maj. Brian Dennis, 36 years old, made friends with an abused, traumatized dog he called “Nubs”. More than once, he saved the dog’s life. And now, Nubs is coming to live in San Diego with Capt. Eric Sjoberg until Major Dennis returns in March.

Now how cool is that? (Click here to read the story.)

With a little luck, they will both live happily ever after.

Have you ever had the experience where you are trying to be kind to everyone, then someone gets on your last nerve?

ARG!

There, in the middle of my Kind Claudia day, I’m trying to run over someone in the cross walk or thinking evil things about the person in front of me in line.

It’s almost as if I agree to be kind to everyone except….

My exceptions are always entitled people… oh and martyrs.

How about you?  Who do you find the hardest to be kind to?

In celebration of random acts of kindness week, I thought I would start a few memes.   Hopefully this will help us focus on being kind.  Plus, I get to learn a bit more about people!  Yeah!

Kind Fives

1.  List five kind things you for yourself.  List five kind things you for your closest friend, partner or child.  List five kind things you have done for a stranger.

2.  Tag five people.

Easy, right?

Five kind things things I do for myself:

1.  Try to workout at least four times a day.

2.  Forgive myself when I make a mistake.

3.  Take a break when I’m tired.

4.  Practice active understanding and kindness to my inner critic.

5.  Interact with positive, kind people.

Five kind things  I do for my closest friend, partner,  or child:

1.  I make my husband’s lunch every day.  If I didn’t, he wouldn’t eat.

2.  I try to say at least one positive thing about him every day - ‘You look nice’, ‘Thank you for doing that’,  ‘Well done’, etc.

3.  I work to listen when he talks.

4.  I stand to greet him when he comes home.

5.  I never speak negatively about him to other people.  Ever.

Five kind things I have done for strangers:

1.  I regularly let people with less items in front of me at the grocery or at Costco.

2.  Denver’s streets are small.  You end up  face to face with someone coming in the other direction.  When I’m in this situation, I always smile at the person coming in the opposite direction.  They are always so surprised at the smile and smile back.

3.  I routinely invited people to dinner who are single or don’t usually have dinner plans.  Then I send them home with food.

4.  I work to leave positive supportive comments on people’s blogs.

5.   I pray for people I don’t know.  Sometimes I see them at the gym or on the street.  Sometimes I read about them on weblogs or in the newspaper.  I try to send love and light, even a hug, when I see someone who needs it.

I tag:

• Jill at Another day in the same life,
• Chuck at Foster me up,
• Sacred Ruminations,
• Julie at the Compulsive Worrier
• Waking up in Portland.

and anyone else who would like to do it!

Click image twice to see larger picture.  This came in my email from Emma Hand at ActsofKindness.com.  Check it out!

Daniel Goleman discusses why we aren’t more compassionate in this talk at the Ted conference. He shares recent brain research as well as psychological research into compassion. The talk is 13:13 minutes long and well worth it.

I realize the topic does not sound inspiring. I thought about this talk quite a bit after watching it. Let me know what you think!

I recently received a Blog Blessing from Story Teller at Sacred Ruminations and Small Reflections.

She received this award from A Room of Mama’s Own. She, in turn, gave the award to:

• Rachael (otherwise known as Magpie Girl) encourages Small is Beautiful and Passionate Blogging.
• Carla (at zena musings and Women at Rest) inspires and challenges bloggers to explore through My Sacred Life and Sacred Life Sunday.
• and me! She said: “Claudia (at On a Limb) started Everyday Kindness as a way to invite and inspire fellow bloggers be mindful of small ways to encourage and support one another in the real and virtual worlds.“

The blessing started with Ukok and we are each to bless three people:

The idea… it’s a game of tag with a difference, rather than looking inwardly, we look outside ourselves and bless, praise and pray for one blog friend. By participating in this endeavour we not only make the recipient of the blessing feel valued and appreciated, but we are having some fun too. We’re going to see how far the bloggin’ blessings can travel around the world and how many people can be blessed! Recipients of a bloggin’ blessing may upload the above image to their sidebar if they choose to. If you receive a bloggin’ blessin’ please leave a comment on this thread here so that we can rejoice in just how many blessings have been sent around the world!

I am changing the rules a bit. (Yes, I know you’re shocked!) I’d like to give this blessing to everyone in our Everyday Kindness community for all of your efforts. I have been blown away at the level of commitment. Whether the acts are big or small, whether you talk about what you are doing or keep it to yourself, you are a blessing to the world, and to me.

We end the month of January with twenty-five bloggers doing small acts of kindness every day.

Twenty-five!

Every week, our worldwide neighborhood does more than 175 acts of kindness.

We have two bloggers in the UK - one in Scotland and the other in Cheshire (which borders the Irish Sea and Wales - I looked it up!). We have a couple bloggers Canadian Bloggers. And our bloggers in the United States stretch from the East Coast to the West with bright spots along the south and of course, I’m in the center of the country in Denver. We are also joined by a friend in Malaysia and another in Indonesia.
We’re growing, slowly, but at a definitely clip. I continue to be awe struck by the power of one act of kindness every day.

Here’s some highlights from around our neighborhood:

• Jill at Another Day in the Same Life shares her challenges with being kind to her difficult boss.
• Believer in Balance is learning ways of being kind to herself through enjoying her life more.
• Harlekwin at Bohemian Rhapsody found the kindness in her heart to go on a journey with someone who hurt her. It reminds me of Christina Aguilara’s “I hurt myself by hating you.” Kindness is a pretty amazing thing.
• Coco returns to blogging after transforming her life by quitting her job, getting a new circle of friends
• Conspiracy of Blessings is working with her own style of doing burst of kind activity with periods of rest. She found a couple interesting sites for us to connect to: Acts of Kindness and Jen Lemen’s Love Notes to a City.
• Jeni at Down River Drivel continues to remind us of our communities and our hearts with her lovely essays about her life and the world around her.
• Even sick with the crud for two and a half weeks, Janet at Fond of Snape continues to care for her elderly father, her two dogs, and maintain a smile at her Clark Kent Job.
• Dianne at Forks off the Moment reminds us: “any small thing you do for one another is important. Every connection you make is critical. Every thread you strengthen keeps the tapestry intact.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.
• Furious Ball continues his kind endeavors in supporting his small children through the transition of his divorce.
• Heart in San Francisco continues to support her friends by using her talents to support their job endeavors. She also slogged out in the rain for Girl Scout cookies.  Self kindness?  Girl Scout kindness?  Probably both.
• Amy at Lives Less Ordinary continues her journey through days of rain and the Natural History Museum.
• Squirrelly at Lone Grey Squirrel celebrates his success in helping create a state park to protect tigers, rhinocerous and elephants.  He continues his work on an adjacent park to continue to conserve.
• Amy at Living Out Loud continues her kindness journey in silence saying that she prefers the privacy.
• Myanderings reminds us of the beauty of a simple song and poem, as well as the dangers of worms.
• Nikki at My husband calls me weird continues her journey on her Everyday Kindness page  logging her kind efforts.  You’ll be inspired.
• Odat continues to inspire us with her fabulous stories and funny jokes.
• Christie at One Step From the Edge continues her journey toward health through the kind act of caring for her eyes, her butt and stopping drinking.
• Small Town RN at A Place I call Home reminds us of the modern day saint that was Mother Theresa.
• Linda at Raven’s Road continues her commitment among her friends and family.
• Even with her life challenges, Vixen at Vixen’s Den continues to do one small act at a time.
• Waking up in Portland is turning over a new leaf with the father of her children - thanking, rather than blaming.

We have a few new additions.

• Rhonda at Foster Me Up! joined us a couple weeks ago.  She has already encouraged massive Techorati score expansion among her friends.
• Julie Mann joins us with her three projects: The Compulsive Worrier, Julie Mann Photography and the Photographer’s Corner.

Keep up the awesome work.  One kind act at a time, we are making the world a kinder place.