bonus_2Today I am in Chicago and was walking back to my hotel when I saw a homeless man on the sidewalk.  Every single person that walked by him avoided eye contact and did not offer him anything.  When I got up to him, I handed him some cash, looked him straight in the eye and said, “Have a nice day!”  He seemed very grateful and told me “thank you, now I can buy me a sandwich.”

Everyone no matter who they are deserves someone to be kind to.  Just remember that and do your kind deed with a smile and love in your heart.

Peace and gratitude,

Bill

This morning I went for a jog on the beach like I have done every days since arriving in Destin, FL.  While  jogging I IMG_1854was thinking about kindness and realized that I had pushed myself too far yesterday.  That sure was not being kind to myself.  So today I decided to cut my jog a little shorter and be kind to myself.

The payoff was good.  While it was a good exercise, I did not have the symptoms from yesterday’s walk such as sore and swollen knee or cramps in my thighs.  Then I noticed that the day just got better and better after that.  SA-WEET!

With gratitude and kindness,

Bill  

P.S. The picture was taken during my morning jog.

You know, kindness is a lot like a garden hose.  What?  Did he just say that?  Yep, I did.  After my morning jog today I Waterhosenoticed a garden hose that had a pinch in it.  When I turned the faucet on, there was a pressure build up at the point of the pinch.  This meant very little water came out of the nozzle.

So, what does all this have to do with kindness?  During the past month of doing the kindness challenge, I have noticed that when I am consistently thinking about kindness I am presented with kind deeds to do.  Once done, it seems that others do kind things for me.  It is a natural flow of giving and receiving.  However, when I resist doing a kind deed because I am tired or just don’t feel like it, it is like I am pinching off the natural flow much like that garden hose.  Things just don’t seem to flow like they do when I am doing kind deeds.

Stay in the flow today.  Decide to do at least one kind deed a day for the remainder of the kindness challenge (and beyond if you like).

With peace, gratitude and being pinch-less,

Bill

When I was thinking about the kindness challenge today my mind would just not stop.  I kept remembering something IMG_1817to do, another task to complete or someone to call.  I realized that I would be doing myself a kind deed by taking time to write down every item on my to do list.  After I did that exercise, I felt instantly better.  It is amazing to me how much energy I was wasting by not getting them down on paper.

Enjoy the picture of tonight’s sunset.  Simply amazing!

Love and gratitude,

Bill

IMG_1768Today was my first day on the beach and had a lot of time to think about the kindness challenge.  As I read my Daily Positive Points (free subscription) email, it got me thinking.  In case you haven’t subscribed to it, here was the quote of the day:  “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.” Abraham Maslow  (Psychologist, 1908-1970)

So, it got me thinking.  Isn’t kindness just another tool you can claim for yourself?  I have discovered that the more kind acts I do (for others as well as myself), the better positive attitude I have.  That’s a very Sa-WEET trade-off, isn’t it?

Grab your toolbelt and remember, you make the world a better place, one kind act at a time.

Peace and gratitude,

Bill

Today I was once again thinking about giving and receiving. If you have read any of my earlier posts, you will know that I believe that giving and receiving are one and the same. So, ponder this: When you give, you actually give to yourself.

Peace and gratitude,
Bill

Today we have been receiving off and on rain showers.  Some of them have been quite strong.  I noticed a number of car crashes while I was out and about today.  Each time I would typically say a prayer for the Ambulance2people involved as well as their families.

I drove a bit to go have lunch with someone today and on my way back there appeared to be a huge crash.  Two firetrucks, an ambulance, and four state troopers.  I immediately started my regular prayer for those in need.  When I arrived at the scene, it was a single car and there were no signs of a crash.  I finished some special thoughts and prayers for that person an their families and then started thinking.  You know, you never know when your time is up.  Imagine if you were having a lousy STINKIN’ day and then have something like this happen. 

No matter how bad you have it, you can bet that there is someone who has it even worse.  So, I say be grateful for all your blessings.  It doesn’t matter how big or small, just be grateful.  When you feel down a bit, do something kind for someone else and watch your energy shift.

With peace and blessings,

Bill

Today was a day committed to helping others in any way possible.  My son had shoulder surgery and I was grateful to be able to be with him most of the day.  It was nice to be of some help even though it didn’t feel like enough.  I was thinking about negative thinking after they took him back.  I started to get worried that something could go wrong.  As soon as I had that thought, I changed my thinking to seeing him in recovery and then even later with a perfectly healed arm.  It sure made me feel much better at the time.   Turns out that he was in and out of recovery and heading home very quickly after we got the surgeon’s report.

IMG_1007I also had a kind thing done for me today.  My son let me take home his pup, Rooney.  I absolutely love watching over her.  She is my best friend and I am excited to have her with me for the next several days. 

Remember to take some time to do kind deeds today while remembering to give gratitude for everything you have.

With peace and gratitude,

Bill

P.S. She made it into our comic strips and she really, seriously loves to play soccer.  She uses her nose to pop her small soccer ball and then chases after it.

It has been almost a month since the challenge began and I have had some very interesting experiences.  You may have read about some of them already but here are a couple of things learned this past week.  I struggled a bit in not being able to accomplish big, elaborate kind acts.  As I stated in an earlier post, I started doing lots of small kind acts.  Today I realized that it may seem small to me but it could be HUGE for the recipient of the act. 

Another thing that I realized is that as I did more small kind acts, they became second nature to me.  I recall the other night when I was thinking about my day and the kindness done, I initially thought that I didn’t do any kind deeds.  Then one by one I started recalling all the small acts.  I believe these kind deeds have given me a boost in positive energy.   A nice side-effect!

Peace and gratitude,

Bill

Well, I haven’t posted in a few days because I was waiting for that huge kind deed to occur.  What I have quickly stanky_1discovered is that no kind deed is too small.  Also, no kind deed is wasted.  For the past week I really do not have any major kind act to report, just lots of small ones.  But you know what?  That is not bad at all.  Typical daily kind deeds for me are things like answering my phone giving a compliment, slowing down to let people merge in front of me on the road, practicing forgiveness, calling family and friends, sending positive emails, etc…

Maybe my next post will have a gigantic kind deed that changed someones life.  But then again, maybe not.  I will, however, continue to live kindness each and every day.

With peace and gratitude,

Bill