Over the past two weeks i have witnessed and been a recipent of generosity and kindness. I shouldn't be surprised, as i would expect there are a number of individuals who make daily choices to help others. It does warm the heart to see first hand how acts of kindess can go a long way in lifting another person up. This is why i continue to love my resolution and stick with it!
Sometimes the littlest acts are the ones that we appreciate most. I had a friend stop by this week so our girls could have a playdate, and she texted me the night before asking if i wanted a starbucks that morning when she was coming over. It sure felt great for her to think of me and it was just an added sprinkle of sugar to my day! She is also the same friend who a week prior, dropped by with homemade cupcakes all iced beautifully for us. She had thought of us as my girls has been sick that week. When i scan through facebook and see all the "friends" that others have, i stop and wonder how many of those friends are true. Would they stop by and drop off dresses for the girls, or bring cupcakes or starbucks? I feel very fortunately and appreciate the kindness that i have received.
My act of kindness last week was to pick 5 of my FB friends that i don't always chat with and let them know how much i like reading their status updates and staying tuned with their life. It gave me a chance to reconnect with them and let them know that they are on my "friends" list for a reason. I am not the type of person to have hundreds upon hundreds of friends. The ones i do have and have kept are because i appreciate them show an interest in their life. I hope that those five that i connected with had a smile from my messages.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
The last 3 weeks of kindness
My weekly posts need to become more of a priority. I apologize for the lack of time i have put into posting, however this does not affect my intentional acts that i continue to focus on each week.
I have truly found this to be one of the most challenging resolutions i have set for myself. I'm sure some would scoff that and say "how hard can helping others be?" and honestly it isn't the fact of helping others, but more so coming up with intentional acts that i deem worthy, and being consistent on my follow through. I have found that by focusing on others, i feel better about myself and the role model that i set out to be for my kids. I have noticed how my oldest daughter is starting to make more of an effort to help those around her - which can be a difficult take for a 4 year old (when they feel that the world revolves around them). The other day as we were going into her school, she held the door open for at least 10 others that passed through. Each one acknowledged her helpfulness and commented. She replied to one lady "I am just beng kind, like my mommy". Defiantely a heart-warming moment for me.
The last three weeks of kindness have been wonderful!
Act 7: My daughter came home for school and remind me how much she loves to learn. The level of enthusiasm that i see on her face daily when she is able to correctly add a few numbers, or identify some of the newest shapes she has learned, or read a word in a book, solidifies to me that she has "wonderful" teachers that care about her. I asked my daughter what she wanted to do to celebrate her teachers and she told me that flowers would be nice and smell good. So off to the grocery store we went and purchased 3 sets of flowers for the teachers. Breana picked each set out and wrote a little note saying "Thank You for helping me learn". A little gesture goes a long way!
Act 8: This was one that i can not take any credit for and wasn't even present, but my daughter's teacher explained the story to me. It was just after circle time at school and one of the little boys was looking a little sad. Breana went up to him and asked him if he needed a hug. I guess he accepted and Breana held on for longer then would have been deemed acceptable. When the teacher approached Breana informing her that she needed to let go, she responded that if she hugged him longer then he would feel better and she wanted to see him smile again. I heard that and my heart smiled!
Act 9: As with everything in life, there needs to be BALANCE. I made the decision this past week to focus on personal kindness as an opportnity for self growth. I believe that in helping others, we also need to recognize the importance to help ourselves as well. My intentional act was to take some time and write a letter to myself. This may sound strange, but in end, i found it truly rewarding and thereputic. I wrote a letter to myself with the purpose of forgiving myself for a past regret. I wanted to tell myslef it was okay to be forgiven instead of beating myself up with negative self talk when i am feeling down. As a person who deals with depression on a daily basis, medication can only do so much, it is important to look at myself in a positive light and recognize that i am worthy. This was a milestone that i needed to pass and in turn have let go and forgiven myself.
I have truly found this to be one of the most challenging resolutions i have set for myself. I'm sure some would scoff that and say "how hard can helping others be?" and honestly it isn't the fact of helping others, but more so coming up with intentional acts that i deem worthy, and being consistent on my follow through. I have found that by focusing on others, i feel better about myself and the role model that i set out to be for my kids. I have noticed how my oldest daughter is starting to make more of an effort to help those around her - which can be a difficult take for a 4 year old (when they feel that the world revolves around them). The other day as we were going into her school, she held the door open for at least 10 others that passed through. Each one acknowledged her helpfulness and commented. She replied to one lady "I am just beng kind, like my mommy". Defiantely a heart-warming moment for me.
The last three weeks of kindness have been wonderful!
Act 7: My daughter came home for school and remind me how much she loves to learn. The level of enthusiasm that i see on her face daily when she is able to correctly add a few numbers, or identify some of the newest shapes she has learned, or read a word in a book, solidifies to me that she has "wonderful" teachers that care about her. I asked my daughter what she wanted to do to celebrate her teachers and she told me that flowers would be nice and smell good. So off to the grocery store we went and purchased 3 sets of flowers for the teachers. Breana picked each set out and wrote a little note saying "Thank You for helping me learn". A little gesture goes a long way!
Act 8: This was one that i can not take any credit for and wasn't even present, but my daughter's teacher explained the story to me. It was just after circle time at school and one of the little boys was looking a little sad. Breana went up to him and asked him if he needed a hug. I guess he accepted and Breana held on for longer then would have been deemed acceptable. When the teacher approached Breana informing her that she needed to let go, she responded that if she hugged him longer then he would feel better and she wanted to see him smile again. I heard that and my heart smiled!
Act 9: As with everything in life, there needs to be BALANCE. I made the decision this past week to focus on personal kindness as an opportnity for self growth. I believe that in helping others, we also need to recognize the importance to help ourselves as well. My intentional act was to take some time and write a letter to myself. This may sound strange, but in end, i found it truly rewarding and thereputic. I wrote a letter to myself with the purpose of forgiving myself for a past regret. I wanted to tell myslef it was okay to be forgiven instead of beating myself up with negative self talk when i am feeling down. As a person who deals with depression on a daily basis, medication can only do so much, it is important to look at myself in a positive light and recognize that i am worthy. This was a milestone that i needed to pass and in turn have let go and forgiven myself.
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