On her internationally known
talk show, Oprah Winfrey declared Feb 15th 1994 “Random Acts of
Kindness Day.” This sparked a movement
that quickly blew across the country, probably the world. A follow-up show highlighted some of the ways
people took action to show kindness to others, mostly strangers.
In 2006,
John Mayer had a hit single titled “Waiting on the World to Change.” Note: I
hate that song. I have always hated that
song. The first time I heard that song I
thought “Why don’t you get off your butt and be the change you want to see in
the world?”
On Day 13 of Purpose Driven
Life, John Warren describes different ways people worship God. When I read the words “Activists love God through confronting evil, battling injustice,
and working to make the world a better place.” I thought “Yes! That’s me!”
It costs little to nothing
to show kindness to someone. The other
morning I was in line at a truckstop to pay for a few things when a man came in
the door, carrying a plastic bag with things he’d already purchased. He grabbed two bananas and got in line behind
me, making the comment “I knew I was forgetting something.” When it was my turn to be rung up, I asked
the man “is that all you forgot?” He
said yes, so I told the cashier to ring his bananas up with my stuff. She looked surprised and he said, “you don’t
have to do that.” I said, “well I know
that, but I want to.” After a little
back and forth, I paid for his bananas and we both went on our way.
That little interaction cost
me $1.50, whoopee. I recovered that
before I drove to the other side of Tucson.
My hope is that my small act of kindness set the tone for his day. I also hope it sparked him to do something
nice for someone else.
There is so much discussion
about how bad the world is getting, how we long for the “good old days” when
people treated each other with kindness and respect. Can we be the change we want to see in the
world? I admit, there is a lack of
consideration in our society today, but that will never stop me from being nice
to people. This is just who I am. I certainly don’t have the influence that
Oprah Winfrey has. I will probably never
start a global movement, but I will always work to make my little corner of the
world a better place.
Will you join me and look
for some opportunities to commit some Random Acts of Kindness this week?
