Today is World Kindness Day
My spiritual idol, The Dalai Lama, says:
"When we feel love and kindness towards others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace".
Very wise words.
And my Grandmother, who always encouraged the attitude of kindness without expecting something in return, would wholeheartedly agree. The best way to make kindness a habit is by pledging to be a Kindness Ninja.
Who is a Kindness Ninja?
You cannot see the Ninja. But you can see or feel the kindness the ninja brings to the world.
You will not see a kindness ninja showing off, because her goal is to make others happy without expecting anything in return.
Kindness ninjas believe in the power of kindness to spread happiness. This unifies the world, cultivating positive leadership, and human connection.
Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see ~ Mark Twain
So, how to be a kindness ninja?
As a practising Kindness Ninja, here are my suggestions. I am sure you can add a few hundred more!
- Smile at someone at the supermarket
- Leave an encouraging message on the windshield of a random car
- Bring coloring books and crayons to children hospital
- Spend time with people at your local home for the elderly
- Compliment the first person you see today
- Share your cab with someone for free
- Teach someone somethingcoc
- Donate your skills & talents to people who need it
- Write a nice note on the back of the bill
- Help someone with their heavy bags
- Comfort someone in distress, if only by holding hands or with an hug
- Visit a local hospice and spend some time, listening, chatting
- Tell a street performer how amazing he or she is
- Post inspiring post-its for strangers to find around the city
- Write an inspiring message with chalk on a sidewalk
- Make a helpful introduction
- Smile and wave from your bus window to someone riding to the opposite direction
- Stand at a public place and hand out short encouraging notes.
- Give up your seat to someone in the public transport
- Leave an inspirational note in a library book
- Hold up a sign saying 'You are perfect' on the side of the road
- Donate books you have read to a library
- Leave flowers on someone's doorstep
- Put a kind note into a random mailbox
- Let someone go in front of you at the checkout line
- Give high-fives to people going opposite direction on escalator
- Make a video to cheer someone up
- Offer to take a picture for tourists
- Pick up trash around the park, beach or your block
- Offer your friend / neighbor to pet walk
- Invite your neighbor over for a meal
- Read a book to someone
- Make kindness stones and leave them at a park
- Help an elderly person or someone in need to cross the street
- Write a hand written note of appreciation to someone you care about
- Ask an elderly person to tell their life story
- Offer a couple of hours of free babysitting to parents
- Bring a treat to a retirement house
- Make someone laugh
- Eat lunch with someone new
- Apologize to someone you have wronged
- Compliment someone to their boss
- Forgive someone and never bring the issue up again
- Sign up to volunteer at a non-profit
- Send a message to someone just to wish good morning or good night
- Donate your unused clothes
- Send a post card to a long lost friend
- Give away balloons to kids you meet on the street
- Say 'thank you' to a bus driver
- Do a favor to your busiest friend
- Call a homeless shelter, ask what they need and bring it
- Write to partner/best friend a list of what you love about them
- Plant a flower in a public area
- Thank your father / uncle for something he has tought you
- Send a greetings cards to lonely people at the retirement / nursing home / sick children's hospital
- Call your parents or family and say you love them
- Send a compliment to a person you don't really get along with
- Tell your mother / aunt what you appreciate her for
- Leave a positive review about your favorite place
- Give a small gift to someone, just because
- Put up a "Take a smile!" tear-off poster
- Allow someone to help you
- Donate pet food to a local animal shelter
- Invite someone who is alone over for dinner
- Write a reference for someone even if they are not looking for a job now
- Call an elder relative and let them know you wanted to hear their voice
- Buy someone a coffee
- Thank a policeman or fireman for the work they do to keep all of us safe
- Give someone a gratitude journal to collect their happy moments in
- Pause, to help someone with something, even if you're in a rush
- Gift life. Pledge your organs/eyes
- Send a message to someone saying you're thinking about them
- Tell someone you are proud of them
- Give a flower to a stranger
- Leave a treat at a neighbor's doorstep anonymously
- Call a person you haven't spoken to for a while
- Write a thank you letter to someone who made a difference in your life
- Stop to have a conversation with a homeless person
- Make a thank you sign for trash collectors and leave it on your trash bins
- Send a letter / postcard to someone who needs support now
- Donate a toy or table game to an orphanage
- Set out seeds for the birds
- Help a friend to pursue their passion / hobby / what they are good at
- Tape signs to bathroom mirrors that say - "You are beautiful!"
- Help a mother with her baby stroller
- Bring coffee to someone studying in the library
- Leave a bouquet at the hospital - the nurses know who needs it the most
- Write someone a silly yet encouraging poem
- Thank the people close to you for simply being who they are
- Send a message to a friend sharing your favorite memory of them
- Email or visit an old teacher or mentor, and thank them for all they did for you
- Donate blood
- Help someone to make their wish come true
- Bring flowers to the maternity hospital to congratulate new parents
- Do an act of kindness to yourself
- Listen to the stranger's story about their happiest moment in life
- Kiss your Mom's hand, or the hand of someone you love
- Spread the word about the cause you believe in
- Create your own act of kindness and perform it
- Challenge your friends to take this kindness challenge
Cool, eh?
My religion is very simple - my religion is kindness ~ The Dalai Lama
Are you ready to be a Kindness Ninja?
Writer, editor, blogger, social media enthusiast. Love DIY, Coffee, Music, Reading, Photography, Family, Friends and Life. Mantra: Happiness is a DIY Project. In my free time I play with my dust bunnies and show my diabetes who's boss. Tweet as @vidyasury
