Kindness Calendar – January 2017

I am absolutely astounded and deeply heartened by the incredible response to my Kindness Advent Calendar and the amazing kindness ripple effect it has created.

With nearly 340,000 downloads, a potential 8.5 million acts of kindness have taken place around the world.

☆ Eight and a half million acts of kindness ☆

How brilliant is that!

My heart is overflowing with gratitude to everyone who has taken part… and have shared the calendar with others. I’d like to say a huge THANK YOU to every single person who has completed even just one more act of kindness…  thank you for making a difference, you really are AMAZING.

I’ve absolutely loved reading about your kindness experiences and hearing how much you’ve enjoyed doing them. And I must confess, I’ve often shed a happy tear or two.

Hand on heart, I truly believe that together we are making the world a kinder place.

And so, why stop there?

I’ve been thinking how a kindness calendar doesn’t have to be just for Christmas, and how absolutely amazing it would be if we kept this huge kindness ripple effect going throughout the whole of 2017.. and beyond!

So, I’m going to be creating a Kindness Calendar each month and would love for you to join me.

Here is January’s Kindness Calendar…

Kindness Calendar January 2017

To download your free copy, please click on this link: Kindness-Calendar-January-2017.pdf (63707 downloads)

Again, I’ve made each kindness act quick, easy and mostly free (or really cheap!) so anyone and everyone can take part.

You may want to mix it up and swap the acts around, or even create your own kindness acts. And don’t worry if you can’t do an act of kindness every single day, sometimes it’s just not possible as I know too well with the nature of my CFS flare ups.

Every single extra act of kindness counts, so let’s get as many people as we can involved.

It was because of lovely you so kindly sharing the Kindness Advent Calendar that helped keep the kindness ripple effect going and reaching so far and wide.

And so I’d like to ask for your help again. It would be really brilliant and deeply appreciated if you could share this with family, friends, work colleagues, classmates… and share all over social media too 🙂

And don’t forget to join me on my kindness community page on Facebook, and I’m even on Twitter too (although I still don’t really know what I’m doing, but I’ll get there!).

Let’s have fun, and let’s remember to be kinder to ourselves as well, we are definitely worth it!

Thank you so much.

☆♡☆

A LITTLE EXTRA NOTE:

I’m going to be taking a little break from my blog and social media in January.

Unfortunately my Chronic Fatigue Symptoms have flared up after all the activity and excitement of the last few weeks. I have to practise kindness to myself by concentrating on my health and feeling the best I possible can, so I can come back ready to continue spreading a little more kindness.

Please do keep on sharing your kindness experiences, thoughts and ideas – I know how we all love to read them, and they really do help keep us inspired.

Have a wonderful and kind January.
Big hugs to you, love Helen Xxx

To download your free copy of January’s Kindness Calendar, please click on this link: Kindness-Calendar-January-2017.pdf (63707 downloads)

Merry Christmas!

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”

And at this most magical time, I would like to say thank you.

thank-you1

Thank you for all your support this year, it means so much to me. I’m especially grateful to everyone who subscribes, letting me pop up in your inboxes every now and again.

Thank you for your comments. Reading your kind words always puts a huge smile on my face, boosts my spirits, and inspires me to keep going especially when my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome symptoms have flared up and I’m feeling really rubbish.

And last but definitely not least, a HUGE thank you to to everyone who’s joined in with my Kindness Advent Calendar this year and has been spreading a little more kindness throughout December.  You really are AMAZING and I’m so excited that together we are making the world a kinder place.

Wishing you all a wonderfully magical Christmas and a brand new year filled with all that you wish for, and so much more.

Image-1(2)

Festive love+hugs, Helen Xxx

 

Act of kindness #27: Lotto luck

Day 23 of my Kindness Advent Calendar is to “buy a lottery ticket and give it to a friend, loved one or stranger”.

So this morning I bought a few lottery scratch cards and popped them in a bag along with a little chocolate bar and one of my Kindness Cards with the message: “I hope this brings you a little lottery luck! Merry Christmas.”

IMG_6237.JPG

I then randomly placed them on windscreens of cars parked in my local town.

IMG_6249.JPG

IMG_6250I really hope they bring someone a little lottery luck this Christmas.

☆♡☆

A warm and grateful heart

Being grateful for receiving kindness from big-hearted folk:

Oh boy, what a month it has been in the life of my Kindness Advent Calendar; it honestly feels like a huge ripple effect of kindness is spreading out all over the world. I’ll write more about this once I’ve got over the shock!

I also would like to acknowledge all the lovely folk who’ve recently signed up to receive my blog posts directly into your inboxes – a huge twinkly, jingle bells of a HELLO to you and I wish I could give you all a great big THANK YOU hug.

Seriously.

But for now, it’s back to today’s post…

All this excitement and activity has unfortunately – well, rather predictably – brought on my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome symptoms 🙁

I’ve been feeling utterly wiped out and unable to get out of bed for a few days, and last week I had to switch off from social media for a little while. This frustratingly meant I couldn’t respond to all the amazing blog messages and posts and tweets coming in, of which I’m seriously loving reading each and every one.

But I realised that I needed to be kinder to myself and take the time to rest, recover and recharge – my 3Rs.

And on one day last week, when I was feeling particularly rough and low and sorry for myself, I received a wonderful act of kindness. My folks weren’t home and my mum told that she was expecting a package (cough cough = a little white lie!!) and would I answer the door – which I normally wouldn’t do.

And I’m so glad I did.

Standing at the front door were two lovely staff members from my local Co-op delivering a bag of sweet festive treats.

Co-op Facebook post 2 12th Dec 16.jpg

You can see from the photo just how rough I was feeling that day, but it was such a magical surprise and I’m deeply grateful for their kindness.

My sleep has also taken a kicking and is being really rubbish, leaving me feeling more fatigued on top of my existing chronic fatigue.

Urgh!

A lovely friend suggested a massage might help, and although it’s way out of my budget, I realised that it was worth a try.

As I was trying to find an affordable practitioner through an online search (a wood-through-the-trees scenario!), I saw that I had a new message on my Facebook community page: spreading a little kindness.

It was from the big-hearted Sue Fisher, a mobile reflexologist who is doing the Kindness Advent Calendar. She saw that I lived in the same neck of the woods, and generously offered me a free session.

Seeing it as a sign, I gratefully accepted and Sue came by the following day.

She explained how she specialises in lymphatic drainage reflexology which has been shown to help people with auto-immune conditions, including CFS.

reflexology.jpeg
[image: In The Zone Reflexology]

It was pure heaven and I’m deeply grateful to Sue for her kindness. I’ve since invested in a further two sessions, and am feeling the benefits as well as it all being rather blissful.

I am so thankful for the kindness I’ve received, although I have to confess I find it so much easier to give kindness than it is to receive. Hmmmm.. a poignant lesson for me to be learning right now.

☆♡☆

Act of kindness #26: Food bank donation

I’ve been really looking forward to doing this act of kindness, which is Day 3 on my Kindness Advent Calendar.

I received one of my own a few years ago when I was really struggling financially, whilst living in Germany. My kind and thoughtful sister filled a box full of my favourite food and gave it to me on one of my visits home. I’ll never forget how touched I was and can honestly say it remains one of the most memorable gifts I’ve ever received.

And so, I’m really excited to be ‘paying it forward’ by preparing a box of my own for a family in need over the festive season.

I wanted to give a family supplies for each meal of the day and snacks in between. Of course they need to be non-perishable items, which I thought would be a little challenging for me as I’m a big fresh food lover, but I think I did ok… here’s what’s in my box:

Food bank donation

Kicking off the day with cereal and a cuppa tea; lunch could be a flavourful tin of soup; for an afternoon snack I’ve put in a packet of tasty biscuits; for dinner there’s a choice of rice or pasta with tinned veggies, tinned tomatoes or baked beans, and tuna; for pudding there’s a tin of fresh fruit which can be served with a tin of custard; and finally, for an evening treat there’s some yummy chocolates to be washed down with another cuppa!

I’m going to pop by box down to my local food bank today. I really hope it helps brighten a family’s Christmas.

☆♡☆

ps I’ve made a little video of what’s in my box, if you’d like to take a peek, please click here 🙂