World Kindness Day

(Google Image) 

By Diane Forrest,

I get my town's newspaper every morning, but I normally read it online around midnight when they publish the new day stories.  The main reason I continue to get the paper at home is because I have a wonderful neighbor who lives across the street.  He is an elderly widow who walks a mile or two every morning.  During his walks he not only picks up trash along the road, but he also picks up my newspaper and throws it on my porch.  Having my paper available for him to toss on my porch not only allows him to perform an act of kindness for me, but it also allows me to keep check on him.  If my paper is not there for a couple of days I check to make sure he is well.  Last year he was ill for several weeks.  I was able to bring him dinner, bake him treats and check to see if he needed anything.  Finally my paper began to find its way back to my porch and I knew he was better.   I told my daddy he had to get well so I would stop bringing him food!

It is just small acts of kindness that make the world a better place.

When my husband passed away last year I was having difficulty with the insurance company paying the medical bills.  Many of you know that dealing with insurance companies is certainly no picnic.  They required proof that his illness was related to his injury.  Since my husband only had one primary care doctor, it was difficult to find corroborating statements from other doctors, so I asked the emergency room doctor, and the doctor who was on call for his primary doctor at the time of my husband's death to provide a statement for the insurance company.  I received two statements, and needed the third, but after weeks and weeks of calling and stopping by his office, I still did not have the statement.  I was always told that he was busy, that he had a pile of paperwork on his desk to get to, that his office was being done, after my last call earlier this week and getting the same response, I decided that instead of getting mad, I would take him some oatmeal raisin cookies that I had just baked along with a thank you note, taking him for his help.  Within the hour his receptionist called with the letter typed and ready to be picked up.

(Google Image) 

Everyone has a choice in this world.  You can choose to be mean, grumpy, a complainer, or you can choose to be nice, happy and shower the world with kindness.

Today is World Kindness day.  It was introduced in 1998 at the World Kindness Movement (WKM).  The mission of the WKM is to inspire individuals towards greater kindness and to connect nations to create a kinder world.

There was a movie several years ago called Pay it Forward.  The idea behind the movie is if someone does a kindness to you, instead of paying that person back, repays them by doing an act of kindness to someone else, and so on and so on.  So today, on World Kindness Day you have a choice, and I hope you choose to pass on a small act of kindness to someone else.

(Google Image) 

For more information on World Kindness Day visit this site:  http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/