acts of kindness – Page 2 – make today happy

Day 52: Rose garden

Being kind by thanking a neighbour for their delightful rose garden:

On my walking meditations, I always look forward to passing a rose garden in my neighbourhood.

One particular day when I was feeling a little low in spirits, I took myself out for a soul stroll in the hope that it would make me feel better.

And it worked a treat.

I took my usual route through the trees and along the brook, but decided to take a different way back home using a cut-through.

As I came out onto the street, I walked straight into the heavenly sweet scent of roses coming from a delightful garden full of rose bushes.

With roses of yellows, oranges, reds and pinks abound, the garden was a joyful treat. It was absolutely glorious.

It literally stopped me in my tracks and reminded me of the expression: “Stop and smell the roses”. The perfect reminder to slow down and take the time to appreciate the beauty of life.

And I think of this every time I pass this blissful garden, and it always lifts my spirits.

So today I decided to thank the owners for their well cared for garden. I posted a Kindness Card through their letterbox with these words written on the back:

“Thank you for your delightful rose garden. I walk by most days and your colourful roses and their heavenly scent always lift my spirits.”

So with this in mind, my happy for today is being kind by thanking a neighbour for their rose garden.

Day 51: Kindness messages

Being kind by leaving kindness messages around my city:

I took myself off for an Artist’s Date brunch today and to sprinkle some more kindness magic around my city.

I wrote messages on the back of my Kindness Cards, and here’s where I left them:

Message 1: “You are perfect, just as you are 😊. Have a lovely day Xxx”
Hidden in-between the condiments at my brunch café.

Message 2: “You have a beautiful smile 😊. Have a lovely day Xxx”
Stuck on the bathroom mirror of the café.

Message 3: “You are truly loved, just as you are 😊. Have a lovely day Xxx”
Stuck on a lamp-post in the busy city centre.

Message 4: “Make the leap, it could be amazing 😊. Have a lovely day Xxx”
Hidden inside a pair of tights in my fave shop.

Message 5: “You don’t ever have to worry, it’ll all be ok 😊. Have a lovely day Xxx”
Left on a bench in the main shopping centre.

Message 6: “Everything will always be ok 😊. Have a lovely day Xxx”
Left on a bench at the bus stop.

Again, I wrote this blog address on the card, just in case the finder wants to have a peek. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they did, and even wrote a comment below, oh my!

I was caught red-handed by a lady as I was leaving the last message at the bus stop. She gave me such a big, warm smile; it felt amazing to know that I’ve made one person smile today.

And I smiled all the way home.

So with this in mind, my happy for today is being kind by leaving kindness messages around my city.

This morning I took a soul stroll in the rain into my local town centre. As I was cutting through the town’s biggest car park, I decided to put some money in the ticket machines to pay for someone’s parking.

The idea is that the next person coming to the machine to pay would find they had two free hours of parking to enjoy on me! And to help explain this Act of Kindness, they would see my Kindness Cards with the message:

“Enjoy some free parking time on me! Have a lovely day Xxx”

I did this for all three of the ticket machines in the car park, in the hope of making three locals smile on this dreary wet Monday morning.

I also wrote this blog address on the card, just in case they are curious. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they visited this blog and left a comment…

But if not, that’s absolutely fine too – my intention is to spread kindness in my community without expecting anything in return.

So with this in mind, my happy for today is being kind by paying for a strangers car parking by leaving money in the ticket machine.

Day 33: Checking in

Being grateful for my happy days so far:

I can’t quite believe I’m already one third of the way through my ‘100 days of happy’ project.

Wowser.

I can honestly say that I’m glowing with happiness and gratitude from the inside out and that feels really amazing.

I’m thrilled that I’m managing to write most days, and grateful that I’ve given myself permission not to write if I don’t feel up it.

I noticed after the first couple of weeks that I was putting myself under too much pressure to post something every day; my CFS symptoms flared up and I had to take a break.

After I’d paused for a breath or two, I knew I needed to be gentler and kinder with myself. I accepted that it’s completely ok if I miss a day or two. And if I do, I’m comforted in that I still look for my happy during those days and instead of writing this blog, I write a couple of lines in my gratitude journal.

And that’s ok.

I’ve accepted that my blog doesn’t have to be perfect. I’ve accepted that I don’t have the time to edit and re-edit, again and again. And that sometimes my energy battery has just enough in it to write a few lines. I’ve decided I can revisit certain topics I’d like to expand on, after the 100 days.

I initially worried that what I wrote was a load of rubbish and not worthy of anyone else’s eyes. But then I realised it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea.

And that’s ok too.

I’ve noticed how ‘100 days of happy’ project has already had a hugely positive impact on my state of mind:

Being grateful helps me see there is so much to be thankful for, and helps me keep a positive mindset, even on the most difficult days.
Being mindful helps me stay grounded and present. It also helps to realise there is so much joy and beauty surrounding us, we only just have to take a moment and open our eyes to see it.
Being kind gives me such joy and a sense of purpose. It’s true what they say about the giver benefits as much as the receiver.

I love doing my anonymous acts of kindness. It’s so much fun and if I can make the recipient smile, then that’s brilliant. If the recipient then pays it forward, what more can I ask for.

What I have found more challenging is being kind to strangers face-to-face. It’s pure ‘out of my comfort zone’ stuff. As I gently, and sometimes not so gently, nudge myself to do them, I feel so happy afterwards. That’s after I’ve got over my initial embarrassment of course. But I know this will get easier the more I do.

I’m also surprised by how kindness has come back to me in terms of others’ reactions to my kindness gestures. I hadn’t considered this before, and it’s a beautiful bonus.

All in all, I’m chuffed to bits that I thought of this project and started it. And here I am, 33 days on. I’m really looking forward to see what the next 67 days of happy will bring… and beyond.

So for today, my happy is being grateful for my happy days so far.

Day 31: Hidden messages

Being kind by hiding messages for people to discover:

Time for another Act of Kindness.

Yippeeeeeeee!

Inspired by hiding messages in my returned library books last week (see Day 26), I wrote some messages on the back of my Kindness Cards (see Day 3) and decided to hide them around the city for people to discover.

It’s like a treasure hunt, but they don’t know there’s any treasure until they find it! Or something like that…

Anyway…

I set off into the city excited about my mission and began to think of all the places I could hide my messages. Here’s where I settled on:

Message 1: “Make the leap… it could be amazing 😊 Have a lovely day Xx”
Hid behind the sugar bowl on my table in a café.

Message 2: “You have a beautiful smile 😊 Have a lovely day Xx”
Stuck on the bathroom mirror in a café.

Message 3: “You are perfect, just as you are 😊 Have a lovely day Xx”
Popped inside the front pocket of a beautiful bag in a shop.

Message 4: “You are an incredible person 😊 Have a lovely day Xx”
Left on a bench in the city centre.

Message 5: “Everything will always be ok 😊 Have a lovely day Xx”
Placed inside the local paper on an article about Good Deeds!

Message 6: “You are truly loved, just as you are 😊 Have a lovely day Xx”
Also placed inside the local paper on an article about Good Deeds!

Message 7: “You don’t ever have to worry, it will be ok 😊 Have a lovely day Xx”
Left on the bus.

WooHooooooo!

I also wrote this blog address on the card, just in case the finder wants to have a peek. Wouldn’t it be cool if they did, and even wrote a comment, oh my!

It’s true what they say about the giver benefits as much as the receiver. I hope I’ve helped to make a couple of people smile today, as much as I have while doing this fun Act of Kindness.

So with this in mind, my happy for today is being kind by hiding messages for people to discover.

Day 26: Kindness bookmarks

Being kind by hiding a message inside library books:

Today’s happy is short and sweet and happy.

I wanted to leave messages inside a couple of library books I was returning for the next reader to find.

On the back of my Kindness Cards, I wrote: You are in incredible person. Have a lovely day.

I decided to write my blog address on the back too, just in case the finder is intrigued to visit. Wouldn’t that be the cherry on the cake.

But again, I let go of all attachment to the outcome. My intention is what counts: to make someone smile.

So with this in mind, my happy for today is being kind by hiding a message inside a library book.

Tag: acts of kindness