Thursday Thought: Kindness

Last week was Kindness to Strangers week. This post was written for Thursday last week but another post ended up being more important at that exact moment. So, even though it isn't RAK week anymore, this is still a good Thursday Thought.

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.
Aesop, The Lion and the Mouse

You know the tale of the lion and the mouse right? The mouse woke the lion one day while playing and the angry lion nearly ate it. The mouse begged for its life and offered to be the lion's friend for life in exchange, on the premise that the mouse might one day save the lion's life. Because it's idea was so funny, the lion let the mouse go even though he knew the mouse would never save his life. Days later, the proud lion fell in a hunter's snare and the mouse did indeed save his life by gnawing through the ropes. The lion admitted that the mouse was useful and all was well again.

The moral of the story is that anyone, great or small, can be helpful and that kindness will bring its own rewards. I really like this story and think it illustrates the today's Thursday Thought very well. Can you think of any recent events of someone being kind for kindness sake?

Friday Five: Showing Kindness

Today is "Random Acts of Kindness" Day! Check out RAK, a website built around a week of Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) for all kinds of ways to jump on in. I try to be kind to folks whenever I can, but RAK week is pretty important to me. I started a tradition of "celebrating" RAK week back in my last year of college when I volunteered for Big Brothers Big Sisters. Check out today's Friday Five for my list of RAK week activities, organized by day.

• Monday: Let a senior lady go ahead of me in line at the grocery store. Thanked a soldier for his service.
• Tuesday: Donated used books to the local library. Left a large tip for a waitress. 
• Wednesday: Picked up trash outside my office building. 
• Thursday: Offered positive encouragement to a struggling coworker. Spent a few minutes with a neighbor's child so her mom could run an errand.
• Friday: Today I will smile at everyone I see. I will hold doors open each time I go in and out. I will wish everyone a safe and enjoyable weekend.

None of these things took (or will take) much effort on my part. Yes, letting the old lady go ahead of me in line ended up making me wait another 20 minutes to be checked out. Oh the horror. No, I didn't want to pick up other people's cigarette butts off the ground when the wind blew our ButtKeeper over. I had gloves and the time so why not? The things for today are easy enough, since I try to do all that anyways. What RAK have you made into a habit? My habit is smiling and saying hello to people (even strangers) and leaving decent tips on the rare occasion that I eat out.

RAK week ends Sunday night so you have plenty of time to do kind things that you don't ordinarily take upon yourself. You don't have to spend a penny to smile at someone, let someone go ahead of you in a line, or to donate used items to others. Try it out!