Tag Archives: Random Acts of Kindness Foundation

Receiving Kindness

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Hi Folks:

In our We Have Huggers!! post we highlighted our latest escapade to encourage people to share hugs and spread kindness by creating a hugging spot on the sidewalk. The latest iteration looks like this (previous versions can be seen in the above post link):

Group Hugs

While we know that people have stopped to share hugs with each other (or themselves), made images and sometimes just smiled as they walked past, we’re not aware of them unless we happen to be out front or near the window at the time. Nonetheless, everyone who engages with our chalk art adds their energy to our garden and our lives, and we very much appreciate it.

We have received two more tangible gifts, however, and we wanted to take a moment to say thank you to the donor(s) who secretly left them for us. The first is a Kindness Stone someone left on top of our gate:

Kindness Stone

The second is a note someone taped to the inside of our gate!

Kindness Note

Whoever left these for us, we wanted you to know how much we value your acts of kindness. Made our whole day!!

Hugs,
M&M

P.S. It’s easy to find ways to spread kindness to others in your world, but if you’re looking for inspiration, check out The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation and Ripple Kindness Project as great places to start!

It’s Random Acts of Kindness Week!!

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Hi Folks:

Yesterday marked the beginning of Random Acts of Kindness week, so of course we went out hugging!! The credit for the saying goes to Anne Herbert, who in 1985 suggested committing “random kindness and senseless acts of beauty” in her book, “Compassion 101.” Since then the idea has taken on a life of its own, but it needs all of us to keep it alive! It need not be difficult or complicated. Kindness is always a good idea! However, if you’re looking for some ideas, be sure to check out the Random Acts of Kindness.org site and their sister site, PassitOn.com. Great stories and resources, including kindness kits for teachers, can also be found at the Ripple Kindness Project site.

Take the opportunity to be kind today! And tomorrow. And… you might just find it growing on you. As for our continuing hugging adventures, so far this year we’ve shared hugs with Ambassadors from 12 countries (this is our 10th year; so far we’ve hugged people from at least 82 countries in total) and yesterday we shared our first hugs with visitors from Canada’s Nunavut territory! They didn’t seem to mind the absence of -50°C temperatures. 🙂

Hugs,
M&M

Random Acts of Kindness Day

Celebrate World Kindness Week!

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Hi Folks:

According to the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, this is World Kindness Week! How are you celebrating kindness today? Kindness can be a part of anything or everything you do; it’s not something you must go out of your way to achieve. And the more you practice kindness, the more relaxed and open you become. The winner of the RAK’s ‘Extreme Kindness Challenge’ is a woman named Madison Steiner, who runs a small non-profit called ‘Peach’s Neet Feet‘. Basically what they do is to purchase kid’s size canvas tennis shoes and hand paint them, then donate the shoes to children who have cancer or other medical challenges. Each pair of shoes is designed for one specific child, and celebrates things that are important to that child. You can see more by clicking on the link below.

Peach's Neet Feet

Peach’s Neet Feet

If you’re not sure where to start with sharing kindness, try checking out some of the RAK’s Kindness Ideas! You can also read some of the stories shared with the Ripple Kindness Project. Need something really simple? Smile at a stranger. Do it again. And again Now tell someone you love that you love them. Share a hug. Allow yourself to open, expand and breathe. Practice kindness every day!

Hugs,
M&M