A few days ago I decided to go back and add up all my acts of kindness. Turns out I'm almost done my requirement! Crazyness. In some ways this requirement has been really easy, I like doing nice things for the people I care about, I can still do them if I'm injured, and they don't take up much time. In other ways it has been quite challenging, it takes some of the naturalness out of the acts and I feel sometimes like taking "credit" for things like this is contrary to the point. It has been interesting to think about. At first I had a hard time deciding what a "real" act of kindness is. Should I not count things that I would normally do? Should they be for strangers only? I ended up counting things that are not part of my usual daily routine and are for anyone, including my family and friends.
There are a few things I've learned from this. Acts of kindness benefit the giver as well as the receiver. I feel really good about myself when I make an effort to help someone else. People really appreciate it. I can't count how many people have thanked me profusely for the small things that I've done for them. Usually they seem surprised that anyone even took notice of them and they also seem to think that I'm a really great person. It doesn't change their minds to tell them that I am required to do things like this, they are still surprised that I would choose them over anyone else to show kindness to. I am realizing how little we normally go out of our way for someone else. It seems like most people spend a lot of time looking out for number one and not taking much time to think of others.
I hope that when this requirement is completed I can continue to do acts of kindness and know that I am doing it from my heart and not because I feel that I have to. I've developed a taste for kindness. And like a taste for blood, it can only be sated with one thing.....
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