Random Acts

[arana]

With Thanksgiving coming up here in the U.S. I wanted to wish all those a Happy and Safe Holiday and say how thankful I am to Drew for starting this site. It has been a great place for me to learn, meet wonderful people and have a good time without judgement.

A lot of bad things have happened within the past few years around the world and too many have endured much heartache. I hope that those of you who have suffered tragedies are able to find peace and happiness in your lives once again.

Those who are able please share your spirit with loved ones and those who are less fortunate. I'd like to challenge those at this site to do something nice for someone over the holiday season. A Random Act of Kindness (RAK). It can be something as simple as smiling and saying "Have a nice day" to people for a day. A smile can be infectious you know. Write a note to some establishment you went to recently where the person who served you was extremely good and let the manager know that (don't forget to notice the employee's name) or even someone you notice that is extra curteous or helpful. These are things I do all year long but I'm sure you can think of lots of other things as well and could even post suggestions for everyone. I know that M.I.H.H. and Gina open their home to friends and family every year as well as those who they know can't be with family because they do not want them spending the holiday alone. I have great admiration for their generosity and warm hearts.

How does everyone plan to spend their Holidays BTW???

Happy Holidays!!!

[csrakate]

What a lovely post Arana and so appropriate for this time of year. It is certainly a wonderful way to show our appreciation for our good fortune by expressing it throught random acts of kindness. I will take your post to heart and find ways to do so.

Our Thanksgiving tradition lets us stay at home for the big meal which I, for one, am quite thankful for. I may have to do that cooking, but i don't have to fight the traffic traveling the busy roads. Instead i get a lovely day at home with my husband, my two sons and their girlfriends. The day after Thanksgiving we watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation to get us ready for the next phase...Our trip to the tree farm. We go to a local tree farm where we pick our tree and have it cut down. Of course, having just watched Christman Vacation, and having two very dramatic sons, we often have a few dramatizations of the Griswolds going out to chop down their Christmas tree.

I wish each and everyone of you a safe and happy holiday season.

Hugs,
Kate

[jo69guy]

What a wonderful idea!

[Michael623]

Gawd Kate I love that movie. We also watch it every xmas.

[wellred]

Thank you once again, Arana, for starting another wonderful thread.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite occasions. I'm a vegetarian, so it is not about the turkey etc. -- though I do enjoy putting togther special meals.

Attributes that I try to impart in my expressions of gratitude are mystery and surprise. For example, I try to give thanks to people who don't normally expect it or, more satisfying, is doing so without the person knowing that the gift or expression of gratitude is from me. Happy Thanksgiving!

Some things that have worked well:

- paying for a stranger's meal at a diner as you leave, not letting them know that their bill has been covered until you are gone.

- shoveling someone's sidewalk before they awake.

- sending home-made cards or notes of gratitudes.

- adopting a family, buying for and sometimes preparing a meal for them, delivering it time for Thanksgiving.

- putting together a small basket that stimulates the senses: a scented candle, body lotion, a favorite coffee/tea or alcholic beverage, a good book...

- reversing the normal order in a restraurant visit by spending only what you normally leave for tip on your meal; and leaving the waitperson the amount you would normally spend on the meal.

- leave a small gift for the person who cleans my office.

- going to a discount store and buying as many gloves, scarves, and hats as you can afford...then taking them to the street people.

- take flowers or a snack to those people who work the holidays -- firemen, EMT's, convalescence homes, etc.

- use your computer to make a batch of business size cards, that have affirmations or statements of gratitude. Leave them randomly with those you meet.

- when you travel (especially over the holiday season) leave a bit of packaged chocolate with those behind the counters at the airport or in ground travel.

- surprise someone who lives alone, with a visit and small gift or gift certificate.

(If you cannot afford to do some of these things on your own, build a partnership and conspire together to express gratitude to others.)

Enjoy!

[Lisa (va)]

You are such a wonderful person Arana.

We have plans for a simple Thanksgiving; Jeff, Pamela, Jeff's pop and myself will be enjoying Thanksgiving at my parents, along with my brother and his family. Most likely I will be helping mom clean up after dinner while the guys watch football. Jeff likes having dinner at my parents, mom is a much better cook than I am, and she cooks a lot. I'm thankful to just be able to relax and enjoy time with my whole family.
Then comes Firday, time to start shopping :) ! Here in our neck of the woods we have a thing called the angel tree. we get to pick a few names from the tree and get them some gifts they might not otherwise be able to have.

Anyway thanks for such a warm post.

Lisa
hugs n kisses

[Michael623]

My plans for Thanksgiving are simple. Dinner out with my wife as we haven't any family close. Christmas the same except for more activities with our church. It is a time for me to reflect on how fortunate I am. The best gift you can give anyone is to salute their divinity within and show kindness to all.

Wishing you all joy and love,
Michael

[texasman6172003]

Hi Arana.As the others have said this is another good thread. Well as far as my thanksgiving day goes,Istart out buy working as i have for the past 26 years,lol. then when i git off work we head to her brothers house for the family dinner,and football,lol. I agree with you that we all should try to perform some kind of act of kindness. Allthough our intentions may be well guided,they are not allways carried out. I hope each and evryone here a safe and happy thanksgiving.

[csrakate]

Wellred,
Leave it to you to suggest such wonderful ways to perform Random Acts of Kindness. You never cease to amaze me with your expressions of insight and clarity to any given situation. Your suggestions are ones that don't take much money, but display a great deal of heart and kind intentions...truly ways to "do good"...to be a good deed doer instead of just being a do gooder. Gee, I sure hope that makes sense!! LOL!!

And as I said to Arana, I will take your suggestions to heart and hopefully find a way to incorporate them in my personal attempts to "give back" as an expression of gratitude.

Hugs,
Kate

[wellred]

Wellred,
Leave it to you to suggest such wonderful ways to perform Random Acts of Kindness. You never cease to amaze me with your expressions of insight and clarity to any given situation. Your suggestions are ones that don't take much money, but display a great deal of heart and kind intentions...truly ways to "do good"...to be a good deed doer instead of just being a do gooder. Gee, I sure hope that makes sense!! LOL!!

Hugs,
Kate

Dearest Kate,

Your comment is so very sweet. These are activities that have warmed my heart and hopefully have brought joy to others.

Hugs to you!
Red

[Mrs.F]

Well, it is that time of year when we all need to look back at what we have and be thankful! There are so many people in the world who have lost so much and need so much.
Our Thanksgiving this yr. will be spent at our house with my family. Flounder and I will be cooking this yr. Kind of scary....we have not done major holidays much but we decided we wanted to this yr.
Then for Christmas my family usually draws names for gift exchange. This yr. we decided to only by for the kids and just pick angels off the tree and buy for seniors and children who don't have much. Flounders family wants to do the same next yr. Buying for each other is getting more difficult because we already have most things we need. But the holidays are so special for children....why should they go without!! This is a great way to give back to your community and make someone's holiday more special!

Thanks Arana for the great post. Happy Thanksgiving to all! :angel:

[arana]

Wellred Those are wonderful suggestions, and so "you"! I've done something similar to your paying for someone's meal, but in grocery stores. If someone doesn't have enough money for some of their groceries and has to put some back, especially if you can tell it's someone trying to make ends meet, I will help them out. The card idea is something I try to do all year long since I make cards, thought I have been getting behind a lot. :( It's a great way to let people know you're thinking of them. I know Michael623 does a lot of things throughout the year that he should share with us also.
I love doing the "Angel tree" like Lisa suggested. I usually pick names off every year. The place I use to work at would call the Red Cross, churches and similar places to ask if they had families that they knew would need help over the holidays. Once we had information on them such as number of adults, childrens ages and their likes we would get everything together from groceries to gifts for them. It was a blast. Since I didn't have much growning up I love doing things for others to help make their holidays more festive. Thanks everyone for sharing your lives with us! Please don't forget people need kindness all during the year too. :tong:

[wanderingrichard]

wellred hit pretty much some of the things i do over the course of a year while on the road on business.. tho i have another that may surprise a few.. i spend a LOT of time in hotels near the holidays.. it's the nature of the beast.. and we all know that the folks working domestics at a lot of the hotels around the country dont get paid a lot.. so, i've started leaving cash tips in an envelope marked with the name of the person who takes care of my room while i'm there on the desk on the way to check out.. if i know that that person will not be there that day, i give the manager the envelope and ask that it be given to that person when they come in.. inside is usually a little thank you note along with the cash. [ and yeah afte the 2nd time i did this and found out the person had a sub working that day i made sure the sub got a little too ]

when i'm home, i go to the red cross or salvation army and ask who needs help.. see , my employer gives us a butterball turkey certificate each year for the holidays, and well being single and i usually end up on the road or at some one else's home during those days, i go get the bird and other things traditional to help make the meal, then deliver it in person.. it's not a huge outlay, but having been in serious need myself a time or two and growing up somewhat poor i know how much of a lift it can be to a family to have this total stranger show up with the makings of a feast..

so, from reading previous posts , i see we all have some pretty good, novel and wonderful ideas on helping those in need.. and big hearts too..

[m.in.heels&hose]

Hello everyone
As arana had mentioned, gina & i pretty much have an open door to anyone who might be alone or little to no family around, our normal thanksgiving guests include our neice (who gina & i have legal custady over) and gina's grammy as for my folks, they prefer to be at their camp up north and gina's parents have passed on, but anyone is welcome to come to our house to have dinner or if they want to come after dinner and visit and have snacks and left overs too thats always fun too!
As for the meal goes, i do all the baking (pies, breads and i even make a great fruit cake too) and i like to peel the veggies (carrots potatoes, and chop up the turnip when we have it)
and yes we do try to do little random acts as kindness
one that i really try to do is look someone in the eyes when i tell them to have a nice day,weekened, or night and to let them know i do mean what i say and i do hope they are to have a nice day,evening,week, etc.


thank you all for taking the time to read this!!! and everyone have a great holiday season!!!
all my love m.in.heels&hose :grouphug:


P.S. wandering richard(rich) if you ever get up to S.E. NH please let us know, so we can give you a good home cooked meal (im pretty sure those are few and far between for you)

[arana]

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!!

[bellandbillbi]

What a wonderful thought. We like to take this time of year to reflect on all of thet good that is going on around us in the midst of those who for what ever reason may be in need, alone or without the love and support of family and friends. Last year, feeling that we have been blessed with so much, we opted to make food baskets for the needy in our small town. Well what was to have been ten, ended up with more

Much love, comfort and care to all,

Belle and Bill- Two Who Care

[texasman6172003]

Hi arana,and everyone. Well Arana i took yur RAK suggestion to heart the other night. There is a firefighter that works for my city that i have known since we were in grade school. He is a great friend. As some people know you dont make alot of money even as a firefighter. Well he also has a young handicapped child that they are raising to. So i know him and his wife dont git to go out to eat much,and so on. Well i and the wife were at our favorite tex mex restarauant the other day. we go there QUITE a bit,and they all know us by name. Anyway as we were there bout halfway thru our dinner i see my friend walk in with his family. They stopped and chatted for a bit,then took there seats. Well we finised our meal and went to pay our check. Itold my wife i was going to pay for theres to. She just smiled as we paid for both. Itold the cashier if what i gave her wasnt enuff to let me know. But she knew it was by what they had orderd. But it did both of us a lot of good to follow yur sugestion. And i think more of us should if we can. Just thoughtb id let yu know.,,Tex

[usedbear1950]

Thank you Arana, sometimes we need a little reminder to do what should be done. My granfather used to say that no good deed will go unpunished, his quirky way to say pay it forward. I have always believed that the only way to increase one own's power is to give it away. Everytime you smile at someone, help a family through hard times, visit the sick and yes, no matter where you fall on the issues, remember the men & women who are in harms way, you are giving some of your financial, spirtual or emotional strength away...you get stronger. The more you give the stronger you get and the next time you have more to give away. Amazing ain't it!