On the importance of Kindness

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Nowadays it seems that every single day has a celebration attached to it: moustache day, everything on pizza except anchovies (yes, it exists) and even black cat appreciation day –what can I say, I’m partial to this one-.

Yet among these there are some more meaningful celebration days. The nicest one is coming up in a few days which is why I am bringing it to your attention. It takes very little effort to join this celebration and you will feel great about doing it.

Leaving change for the next person on
the vending machine is a nice gesture.

Every year, on November 13, it's World Kindness Day.

It’s the one day of the year in which you are asked you to overlook borders, race, beliefs, age and gender and just make one simple act of kindness towards another human being. Your action will be your declaration of kindness to the world.

Kindness is the act or the state of being kind, marked by goodness, charitable behavior, pleasantness, and/or the overall concern for others. It is known as a virtue, and recognized as a value in many cultures and religions. By making one act of kindness you will inspire others to do the same.

The idea for World Kindness Day originated in Japan in a conference of the Small Kindness Movement in 1998. Currently it is celebrated officially in 21 nations.

Here in Finland the small non-profit that I run is running an advertising campaign of World Kindness Day to remind everyone that kindness is free, it goes a long way, and there are thousands of ways in which we can show kindness and make someone else’s day a little bit brighter.

NYPD officer Larry delpino became famous
a couple of years back when, not knowing
that he was being photographed, he
bought socks and boots for a homeless
man that he saw during his rounds.

You can do the same, you can make small notes explaining World Kindness Day, that you leave in random places where people will see: the elevator, bus, gas station pump, or your building’s garbage room.

And when November 13 comes around, just remember to do something (or many things) and when someone smiles at you and thanks you, just smile back and answer “Happy World Kindness Day”. Who knows, maybe you and the one(s) you are kind to will consider trying to do random acts of kindness not once a year, but every day.

Here's a list of various things that you can do to make a difference during World Kindness Day:

1. Prepare a meal for a homeless person
2. Put change in the washer/dryer for the next person
3. Fill an expired or about to expire parking meter
4. Leave some extra money in the vending machine
5. Buy a little extra grocery for the local food bank
6. Plant a tree
7. Send your favorite school teacher flowers
8. Write a thank you letter to your parents
9. Tape a nice saying or thought to a bus window
10. Instead of just thinking it, compliment someone
11. Ask someone “how are you?” Mean it. And listen to the answer
12. Make some baked goods for your neighbor(s)
13. Hug your loved ones for no particular reason
14. Make breakfast for your partner or housemate
15. Call someone you haven’t talked to in a while
16. Give someone a flower …or a dozen
17. Offer someone else your seat on the bus/train
18. Visit a senior center or nursing home and volunteer a day
19. Say “thank you” for the otherwise routine, mundane
20. Pick up trash that you see in the street
21. Collect clothes to take to a local shelter

    

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22. Leave your favorite book in a public place with a note
23. Donate books to your local library
24. Visit an animal shelter and ask to volunteer to help one day
25. Call to volunteer for a day at a soup kitchen
26. Pay for the person behind you at your morning coffee place
27. Buy dessert for someone eating out alone
28. Leave a snack with a note for the mailman
29. Send anonymous flowers to your office receptionist
30. Buy an extra umbrella on a rainy day and give it to someone getting wet
31. Give your waiter or waitress a huge tip
32. Don’t lose any opportunity to say: i love you
33. Leave a funny or kind note in an unexpected place
34. Rake someone’s yard
35. Be a courteous driver
36. Hold the elevator
37. Take some soup or hot chocolate to a homeless person
38. Leave a collection of positive news clippings in a waiting room
39. Run an errand for someone
40. Invite someone who is alone over for dinner
41. Share your secret recipe with a friend
42. Write a letter of appreciation
43. Put up anonymous, lovely post-it notes for strangers to find
44. One time, stop everything to help someone else