The Kindness Challenge - A Review

I have to say, all in all, I think the December Kindness Challenge was a great success.  Committing Kind Acts are a lot like watching a snowball roll down a hill.  You pack the snow nice and tight, until the fluffy white matter makes a nice compact ball, then you release!  The ball continues to get bigger and pick up momentum, as if it has a mind of its own.  I felt this same energy building with each random act of kindness I completed during the month of December.

I started small.  I let a person go in front of me in the line at the grocery store, I put a $5 bill in the red Salvation Army tin and I bought a coffee for the person behind me in line at Starbucks.  These were all quick, simple acts that took minimal effort on my part.  I felt a twinge of happiness after each of these acts and had a silly little grin on my face for a few minutes.  I also found myself thinking, “Ah, this is going to be a piece of cake.  I can do stuff like this for 31 days, no problem!” 

I felt motivated to do more and felt the holiday cheer coursing through my veins.  Jingle Bells?  Absolutely!  Deck the Halls?  Sure, bring it on!

Then it happened, the holiday cheer evaporated.  I felt Grinch and Scrooge roll into one evil being

and take root in my soul.  In my defense -- I was starving, running late and frustrated by all the mall traffic that seemed to have emerged overnight.  With Adele despondently singing “hello” in the background, I found myself bellowing at the rearview mirror about how people simply don’t know how to drive anymore. My frustration was palpable, but I used every reserve of self-control I had, pulled out all of my training and started practicing deep breathing.   I managed to muster a smile and a wave as I let an old Chevy truck inch into the too small space in the long, unmoving line in front of me.  My frustration did not disappear and my mood did not suddenly lift.  However, I found myself thinking that, of all the good deeds I had done, this one had to be earning me some karma points or something!

Then, a magical thing happened, the next morning I awoke and the stress had dissipated (probably helped along by the food in my belly and a good night’s sleep) and I felt motivated to get back out there and continue my kind gestures.  The acts of kindness got a little bigger and Will Ferrell as the character Elf returned to take my soul back.

I knew I wanted to complete larger acts of kindness during the month, but I didn’t realize that opportunities for some of those larger acts would emerge on their own.  These “larger acts” required more time, money or personal effort.  I donated $50 to the USO for the holidays without thinking twice about all the gifts I still had left to purchase.   I wrote letters to elderly individuals who no longer have family to spend the holidays with (through Love for the Elderly – an awesome site I highly recommend).  My husband and I spent a Saturday morning unloading and organizing a shipment of food and household goods for Wake Relief. 

These acts brought me a bit more joy.  I suppose it was simply because I knew I was giving more of myself. But, I still felt that I could do more.  I could give more of myself and really make a difference to others, which I knew would in turn greatly impact my whole view of this experience. 

This is when I could feel the snowball get really big.  

Noah and I created bags for the homeless.  As I prepared for this project I did some research and came across some varied opinions about “blessing bags.”  Some seem to feel that blessing bags are useless and in many cases insulting to the homeless.  This article argues that most blessing bags end up going to “beggars” and not the “homeless.” Some recipients may have diabetes or bad teeth and can’t eat what you give them.  Money would be most helpful and yet many hesitate to hand out dollar bills.  I can’t say what is right or wrong in this case, I can only share my own experience with this experiment. Noah and I have attempted to hand out eight Blessing Bags this month, with seven of them being accepted. The bags were each filled with small snacks, juice boxes, water and a pair of socks.  Each accepted bag was met with a genuine smile and heartfelt thanks.  One elderly man expressed adamant joy at the small bag of SunChips in his bag, “this is my wife’s favorite, she is going to be so happy…” and another middle aged man immediately ripped open and began devouring a package of beef jerky (one of the highly recommended items for a Blessing Bag) before we even had a chance to roll up our window and drive away.   I felt good about what we were doing and I would do it again.  Some may say this is the wrong way to help the homeless, but I was glad that we had taken the time to create something we could keep in our car and I saw appreciation in the eyes of all we offered them to.

My absolute favorite random act of kindness came on an unseasonably warm Saturday afternoon. Noah and I met a local Relief Center and rolled up our sleeves to begin dishing out food donated by a local healthy food chain, bGood.  As we ladled out bowls of chili, handed out fresh baked rolls and served heaping piles of salad, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. We had conversations and shared laughs with countless individuals during the two hours we were there.  My heart swelled as I watched Noah play catch with a young boy who was visiting the food line and I felt immense tenderness as I talked to a young man who pointed with pride to his young pregnant wife and explained that they would find out next week the gender of their unborn child.  I spent several minutes talking with an older gentleman who wanted to know all about my life and what we were doing at the Relief Center.  His heartwarming thank you brought tears to my eyes.  I felt deep gratitude that I had the opportunity to meet these remarkable and strong individuals and that I was able to bring them some comfort, even if just for a moment.

Obviously some days were easier, and some acts of kindness brought me more pleasure, than others.  However, at the end of the day I learned some invaluable lessons about life, people and myself.

To be kind, is to be human.  The best thing we can do to live a fulfilling life is to give of ourselves and help others.  Nothing else will make us experience such a deep level of gratitude and life-satisfaction.  I am glad I did this Challenge during the holiday season, but I now know I will make it my mission to complete a small random act of kindness every day of the year, because… well, why on earth not?