CHS300 Discussion Random Acts of Kindness

Overjoyed

Overjoyed. That’s one word to describe my take away from my random act of kindness. My neighbor was so overjoyed to come home and see his yard had already been cut. It was definitely a great feeling. I’m not sure who enjoyed it more him or me. It’s amazing how a kind gesture can change someone’s day for the better. This particular gesture was one of the ones I enjoyed the most. This one act of kindness changed my entire outlook for the day. I was both thankful and grateful. I was literally on a natural high. I believe I ended up doing two more gestures that same day. “The thing about kindness is that it’s just about the only thing in the world that doubles when you share it. Studies have shown that if you perform just one random act of kindness a day you will reduce your stress, anxiety, and depression. And, your body is flooded with the same hormones that make you and the person that you helped calmer, healthier, and happier.” (The Science of Kindness 2017)

Awareness of other people around me and what their needs are. You think you know someone yet it’s completely possible to be unaware of what they are going through on a daily basis. They could be carrying all sorts of worries, anxieties, and fears yet they could be wearing a smile. This is why acts of kindness are so important. Another act of kindness I did was to help my mother clean out her garage. My mother is truly the definition of a hoarder. She has held onto all sorts of items over the years, but that’s a topic for another day. While she is able-bodied, some things are just too heavy for her to lift. I finally got my brothers together to help me out with this good deed. She was happy because she’s wanted this done for quite some time. Deep down I think she was happier to have all her sons at her house helping than to have her garage cleaned. The look on her face was pure joy. Honestly, this assignment was just what I needed to help make this a priority because I had been putting it off. It was a wonderful opportunity, and I truly enjoyed spending time with my family. We laughed the entire time. “According to research, there is also a ripple effect with kindness, but the difference being that instead of spreading emotions such as fear and anger, these ripple effects spread emotions such as love and compassion.” (Emery, 2018)

My Take away from these good deeds would be that even when you’re feeling down and out a good deed that you do for someone else to make their day can also be yours as well. You never know what a kind gesture can do to someone’s day. A good deed can start a ripple effect. And if enough of us did a good deed and then that person follows behind us and does a good day this world could be greatly impacted

Random Acts of Kindness. (2017). The Science of Kindness. YouTube. https://youtu.be/O9UByLyOjBM.