Tuesday, 20 January 2015

A Year of Kindness (Week 3)

Doing something kind for someone you love may be the most conventional theme we'll have in this year-long activity. I offer it as an opportunity to relax a little after what may have surprised people last week, completing a kind act for oneself.

Having said that, I know that it is sometimes hard to complete an additional kind act (remember, one "requirement" of these themes is that you do something you would not otherwise have done) for those we love and for several reasons. We may already be doing kind things for those closest to us so finding an additional thing is a challenge, we may take for granted some of the kind things we do, we may actually not want to do anything additional (we might love them but perhaps don't like them much in a given moment, day, or week), and we may think an additional act needs to be something big.

On that note, I regularly stress that the small acts of kindness are often the most significant. Small acts for those we love require paying careful attention. Timing can really add to these acts, too. As we move forward, beyond this week, keep looking for those small acts of kindness you can do for those people you love. These definitely come back as kind acts to yourself. They make you feel good and they help build stronger relationships with those closest to you. The stronger these relationships are, the stronger you become and the more positive impact you carry in the world.

After having completed your act, summarize it for yourself in your journal. Was this assignment easier than doing something kind for yourself? If so, try to do another kind act for yourself this week AND a kind act for someone you love.

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