Driving down Pacific Coast
Highway the other day, I was surprised to see that the large light-board sign
plunked in the median strip near a major cross-street read, “Don’t text and
drive.” For the past many years, that sign read, “Don’t drink and drive.”
Apparently texting has replaced drinking as the primary cause of accidents on
that roadway.
Which brought to mind the
many times I’ve found myself having to slow to a crawl when walking through the
mall, or down a sidewalk, because the individual in front of me was walking
verrry slowly as they texted away. Or stood immobile, unaware of how they were
obstructing the shopper flow in a crowded supermarket.
No, this is not a rant
against texters! Texting has many benefits, and I certainly enjoy those. But
what it reminded me is how important it is for us to remain conscious of our impact on others.
Recently, I discovered the Great Kindness Challenge, started by Jill McManigal of Carlsbad, California, which
encourages school kids to be kind to one another (and to themselves!) by
performing as many acts of kindness as possible every week, chosen from a list
offered by the Challenge, free of charge. Performing those acts helps the
children be more conscious of how they are treating themselves and others.
Which has already proven beneficial in creating a more joyous and harmonious
environment, which in turn is conducive to a better learning environment.
Now
then . . . what if we adults did the same? Became more conscious of how we treat
ourselves, and how we behave toward others. Not just towards the significant
others of our lives, like spouses, boy/girlfriends and family, but towards the
people we encounter in our day to day. Many of the Challenge items would work
just fine for grown-ups, anywhere, anytime, such as: “Smile at 25 people,”
“Compliment 5 people,” “Make a new friend,” “Hold the door open for someone,
“Pat yourself on the back.”
Making
the world a better place most often starts with each of us making our own world
- the one we live in day after day – a better place.
My
personal challenge (given my passion for appreciation) is to thank people who
don’t expect to be thanked: the maintenance worker in a public restroom
(“Thanks for helping us stay clean!”), the police officer taking a Starbucks
break (“Thanks for keeping us safe!”), the Caltrans workers who remove the
mudslides on our California roads (“Thanks for cleaning up our roads!”) I get
an awful lot of surprised looks, almost always followed by a very pleased
smile.
What’s
yours? How would you best like to implement a Kindness Challenge in your life?
Different from performing random acts of kindness (as wonderful as those are!),
a Kindness Challenge is directly addressed to specific people, there’s nothing
random about it. Above all, what it accomplishes is to increase our awareness
of the impact we have on others.
We
are an interconnected world, and kindness breeds more kindness. Thank you,
Great Kindness Challenge, for reminding us of the power of ordinary, everyday –
kindness!
