Random and Spontaneous Acts of Kindness

The other day while driving home from the Y, I noticed that the car in front of me had a tire with almost no air left. Now how do you let that person know? If you use the high beams, they just get annoyed, thinking you are telling them to go faster. I had to make a decision, do I turn to take the way home or do I follow the car and hope the driver is not on the way to somewhere far and away? If I just mind my own business and something happens to the driver? So I decided to do the right thing and followed the car. We stopped at a light and for a moment I considered to jump out, but it looked as if the red light was at the end of it's cycle and behind me were two big and powerful cars of german engineering with important -and impatient - looking men. So I kept following that slow, old, white car with the very erratic driver. To my relief the driver stopped soon in front of a store, because she was lost. I stopped right behind her and to my surprise she apologized to me for holding me up. I told her about her tire, helped her with directions and then told her where to get air for the tires.

Maybe you have seen the bumper sticker with the phrase "Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty" attributed to peace activist Anne Herbert. I love that phrase and it's message. I have always liked helping people, it is in my nature. Usually most helping out pertains to friends and family, it feels really good though to help strangers, as it appears completely selfless. Or is it? If we all put in our best effort towards strangers, we are making this world a kinder and better place and in turn we benefit from that as well. When I was a teenager, my mother and I spent one Christmas eve dinner with people from the old folks home in our community that had nobody to celebrate with. It was one of my best Christmases ever. I read somewhere to do one selfless thing a day, I think that is a great advice.

Check out 'the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation' or 'the Good Deeds Organization'.