Something Other Than Valentines
No kind action ever stops with itself.
-Amelia Earhart
It’s the shortest month of the year. We are that much closer to summertime.
I know the easy path to take would be to focus on St. Valentine’s Day as a topic for this month’s blog post, but that’s been done. Better than some inward-focused Hallmark holiday, what if we took a moment to look around us?
It just so happens that February 17th is Random Acts of Kindness day. Although it began as a late-summer event, specific to New Zealand, it has since become an international holiday, to celebrate each other and the goodness among us. Given the pervasive discontent, which is so often the focus of our attention, how wonderful to have the opportunity to flip the script!
This doesn’t need to take tons of focus or cost lots of money, but simple kindness can go such a long way. Yes, it is a popular idea to pay for the order of the person behind you in a drive through line. However, what if you made it your goal to make eye-contact and smile at every person you crossed paths with today? What if you held a door for just a few more people, instead of passing it off to the next person behind you? Instead of walking past the fast-food wrapper on the ground, what if you just grabbed it and tossed it in a trash bin?
Want to up the ante? There are plenty of places, locally, that could benefit from a little love, especially now that the generosity of the holiday season is behind us.
The Regional Food Bank needs everything from canned tuna and peanut butter to diapers and toothbrushes. The Animal Shelter would be happy to accept a donation of food for the animals in their care. The Council on Domestic Violence accepts a wide variety of items for women in crisis.
Most any social service organization will tell you that there is a need for disposable feminine hygiene products. Huh?
You heard me. Tampons.
Folks don’t often think of it, but this is a niche donation that is most certainly needed and often overlooked. This is a nearly universal truth, across the country. Leigh Brown, a Realtor from Charlotte, NC, recently talked about the need in her community, as well as in Texas. Watch that video, here!
If straight-up altruism isn’t your thing, the silver lining for you is, most of these donations are tax-deductible, so be sure to get a receipt. I’m sure there will be plenty of social media hashtags, so if you need more ideas or want to share your experience, check out your favorite platform. Here are some of my favorites:
#randomactsofkindness #morethanhouses #raok #powerofpositivity #payitforward
Selfless promotion: It would be an incredible act of kindness for you to drop my name to someone you know who may be thinking of buying or selling a home. 🙂
If all else fails, love one another.
