Easter has just past, but what a good time of year to reflect on a selfless act of giving all of yourself, even to death, to help all of humankind.
On a daily basis we are constantly being bombarded with how we should live and be, within this crazy rat race of a world. Unlike my youth, the millennials of today are faced with having to be somebody known, a top You-Tuber for example or to possess lots of materialistic ‘things’ for them to feel successful.
What happened to simply being yourself, helping others, and being remembered for your selfless acts of kindness?
Didn’t Jesus do this after all? The Messiah gave his life to forgive us for our sins and to make our relationship right with the father, God. Spreading kindness is so important, and even more so, in a world of lost souls, confusion and spiritual warfare.
And so, I thought that Easter would be a good time to put together my 5 easy ways of spreading kindness to those around you, be it family, friends or the stranger who passes you by in the street.
5 ways of spreading kindness:
- Firstly choose to carry out a random act of kindness, once a week, for the entire month proceeding Easter Monday. Write a note in your phone calendar to alert you on the Monday of each week to spread some kindness. Choose something different every time, and be sure to include an act of kindness to a complete stranger. After all you may be the only person who interacts with them all week, and gives them some hope that their existence matters. You never know what the stranger walking down the street beside you, may be going through. They may be alone, without any family or home. Imagine what your kind gesture would mean to a person in this situation, when you are conjuring up your ideas for spreading kindness.
- Choose to bless a person, within your community, with an unexpected gift. Wrap the gift and leave it at their door with a note, ‘spreading kindness to make the world a better place’ and perhaps ask them to pass on the same love and kind to another person. Like the snowball effect or the ripple of a wave, kindness will inadvertently spread outwards into the community with such gestures. So be sure to use humility with such an act. If it is not carried out anonymously, and done purely for self-gratification, then dear reader it will not count.
- Practice self-kindness. It is a difficult one to do, I must admit, but you are worthy! Carrying out an act that will allow you to appreciate yourself, will in effect turn generosity inwards.
- Forgive someone. This is one of the hardest things to do but it is such an important act of kindness. Healing your heart is as kind to you as it is for the person you are forgiving.
- Choose to make more connections with people. Talk to someone at work who you have never interacted with, or perhaps a complete stranger. You never know, you may be the only interaction they have had all day! That’s a gift worth giving.
