living
Global
happiness
by Crissy Butts
Random Acts of Kindness
Can you recall a time when a Random Act of Kindness made your day ?! Certainly we all have been the benefactor of someone else ’ s kindness , be it large or small , an act of kindness gladdens our heart . When we first moved to Texas , we knew no one . A neighbor stopped by , scheduled to take me to lunch and show me around . She followed up over the next weeks and months with text messages to be sure I was adapting well . When our children were young in Alaska , we were out to dinner and an anonymous couple paid for our meal before we ever saw the bill . Perhaps you ’ ve been the recipient of fresh vegetables from a friend ’ s garden , a plate of surprise cookies at your door , a smile in the grocery store , a box of donuts at the office , or in the hustle and bustle of heavy traffic , someone waves to you and lets you merge from a parking garage onto the road . I love it when my neighbors wave “ Hello !” as they pass through the neighborhood . Kindness is Sweet ! Kindness ROCKS ! Kindness Matters !
When we are offended & upset , it ’ s easy to want to lock down and withhold kindness . When living in Costa Rica , my husband & boys went to the beach and left some belongings locked in the vehicle . Someone had been hiding in the tall grass and swiftly broke a window in the car and stole whatever they could find including my son ’ s brand new shoes & binoculars . Their natural reaction was anger , but my husband used the oppportunity to
20 iF Magazine | October 2017