From our Asheville North Carolina New Earth AVL Realty family to yours… Happy Valentine’s Day and Random Acts of Kindness Week.
Valentine’s Day, February 14th, was on a Friday this year. For some people, Valentine’s Day has lost some of its charm as it can feel very commercial. We’re told through advertising that we need to buy cards, flowers, candy, and even jewelry to show our loved ones how much we care.
However, in February there is another observance that is intended to send a very different message. Random Acts of Kindness Day is February 17th and many people honor the entire week as Random Acts of Kindness Week. So, what is this and how can you focus more on kindness this February?
What is Random Acts of Kindness Week?
It was a doodle on a restaurant receipt that started the whole thing. “Perform random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty,” quickly took off and was printed on t-shirts and bumper stickers that were popular throughout the 1980s.
In the early 90s, at a college in California, a professor challenged his students with going out into the commUnity and performing these random acts of kindness. The stories quickly spread. Random Acts of Kindness Day was born just a few years later and eventually spread to the entire world in 2018.
Kindness is a Shape of Love
We do tend to focus on Love in February. We are reminded everywhere we go. At the supermarket, on TV advertising, and even on the street corners in our commUnity.
Love is in the air, and it’s a great reminder to share our love and appreciation for those special people in our lives! And, let’s remember that there are forms of love other than romance.
Kindness is just one kind of love. Kindness toward others in our family, our commUnity, and even the earth gives us a stronger bond and improves our empathy. If we are kind toward one another, we can understand the world around us.
Random Acts of Kindness Ideas
I challenge you, and myself, to perform random acts of kindness this month and all year long. Some ideas include:
Kindness toward others:
* Volunteer in the community
* Pay for a stranger’s lunch or coffee
* Hold the door
* Pay an expired parking meter
* Leave a kind note for someone to find
Kindness toward the earth:
* Pick up trash
* Plant flowers or a tree
* Rescue a shelter animal
* Find out how to recycle difficult materials and do it
* Donate to an environmental organization
Being Kind to Yourself
Also remember yourself for Random Acts of Kindness Week. Sometimes we are able to perform acts of kindness for others but avoid being kind to ourselves. There are so many reasons for this. Maybe you don’t feel worthy of kindness. Maybe you don’t like attention. Maybe you don’t feel like you have the time. But self-love is essential for your own personal and spiritual growth.
* Forgive yourself
* Treat yourself
* Honor your dreams
* Make time for yourself
How can we be more kind and loving this February and throughout 2020? What will you do to show kindness and appreciation to the world around you this year?
I AM grateful for all of you in my life; as friends, family, and clients!
And, grateful for the opportunity to support you in finding love and kindness in your life!
Here’s a little video I found online for you:
How one act of kindness a day can change your life | Mark Kelly | TEDxTallaght
With Love, Gratitude, and Joy,
Jason “Papa Jah” Martini & the New Earth AVL Realty Team
New Earth AVL Realty – We are committed to Turning Your Dreams into Reality!
PS. Please LIKE this post… Comment and below about your thoughts and feelings of this post, let us know your ideas of Random Acts of Kindness, or things you have done in the past to be kind to others, yourself and the Earth. Then Share this post and spread the love around.
