Random Acts of Kindness

Today is February 14th...Valentine's Day...a day filled with love, flowers and candy.  It is also the first day of Random Acts of Kindness week.  The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation  is inviting everyone to take the Extreme Kindness Challenge.  They suggest an act of kindness for the day, and you go do it.


As nice as the idea is, it can really feel like one more obligation, one more thing on your to-do list.  Valentine's Day can feel the same way since it seems to have grown to be a very celebrated holiday.  There are all of the Valentine's Day school obligations (boxes, cards, candy, party treats), cards and gifts for family and significant others and the madness of getting a dinner reservation or cooking a full course meal at home.

Be randomly kind to yourself!

It's enough to make you want to boycott a day that should be giving you a warm fuzzy feeling. 

So how can you "feel the love" and even be part of a random act of kindness without adding stress? 

Start with yourself first.

That's right.  This Valentine's Day kick off a week of being randomly kind to yourself.  You can use the suggestions from the Random Acts of Kindness website or make up your own.  Your list could include:

• A long bubble bath
• A glass of wine and 30 minutes with a favorite book
• 15 minutes sitting in the sun (it's finally getting warm enough to think about this!)
• A solitary lunch at a favorite cafe (take a book if you want)
• Lunch with a friend that just seems to keep getting postponed
• A Skype date with a long-distance friend or relative
• Whatever makes you smile!

What ideas can you come up with on your own?  Which one are you going to do first?  I would love to hear what your ideas are and how they turn out.

Happy Valentine's Day!

P.S. - Of course, you can be randomly kind to others too!  Just don't forget to fill up your own tank along with everyone else's...