Smart Mouth

It started last December… while I was flitting about town, looking for people to help me get Stacey’s gift to her by Christmas.  In the months that followed that incredible example of Christmas Spirit I continued to witness Stacey’s impact on people.  It seemed like every person that heard her story was inspired to be a better person, to do whatever they could to be kind to her and to help support her in her battle against Leukemia.

I was talking to Rikki and told her something that I have never said out loud to anyone.  Since I was little, I have had a dream… a dream that I never thought would come true.  I didn’t tell anyone about it, because I thought it was just a lofty aspiration, something I would never achieve.  But because of Stacey, now I feel like I have an opportunity to make it come true.  Stacey has taught me that one person can make a difference.

I hoped I could leave the world a little better place because of something I did, because of the person that I was.  FTC started as a little joke, something to make Stacey laugh and it has turned into this BIG thing… this way to reach so MANY people.  It has become a way to educate and inform people and maybe even save some lives.  All because of one little thing.

It has filled me up with a positivity that is almost foreign to me.  It changed the way I look at people.  All of those people that helped me at Christmas time, did it because they were inspired to be kind.  They did it with no expectation of getting anything back, with no promise that their life would be better for having helped me.  I’m sure they had no idea that they changed something in me.  That they made me feel like jumping around clicking my heels together and shouting “I LOVE PEOPLE!”  (I know.  That is VERY scary coming from ME!)

So, Rikki and I started talking about how it has taught us the importance of being kind, the importance of looking for opportunities to make someones day a little brighter.  It inspired us to find ways to perform Random Acts of Kindness.  (RAK!!!)

Have you ever helped someone, just because?  Have you ever held a door for someone?  Helped someone reach something off a high shelf?  Have you ever flagged a car down to tell them their tire was flat?  Have you ever surprised a friend/neighbor with an anonymous gift?  (and no, I don’t mean a flaming bag of poo!)  Have you ever done something just to be KIND?  

Random Acts of Kindness are contagious.  You brighten someones day, and they are inspired to do the same for someone else, and so on, and so on….  

Random Acts of Kindness make you smile, they fill your heart up with some much joy you feel like you are radiating sunshine!  So, go out into the world and find some ways to perform Random Acts of Kindness and then tell us about them every Monday!  Tell us what you did or tell us what someone else did for you.  If you write about your RAK, put a link to your blog in the comment section of every other person that writes a RAK Monday blog…  that way people will be inspired to write an entry of their own!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So!  For my RAK entry this week, here are the things that I did…

~ Remember the singing Wal-Mart greeter that I talked about?  I went to Wal-Mart the other day and told him that every time I come to the store and he is singing it brightens my day.  I look forward to seeing him and I can’t help but smile when I hear him.  I told him I think he is a wonderful singer and I hope he never stops singing at Wal-Mart!

~ I sent an anonymous cookie basket to the vet clinic that worked on my bunnies.

~ When I was planting bulbs yesterday I snuck over to my neighbor’s yard (the people building the house, and yes! It is THAT neighbor!) and planted bulbs around her mailbox.  So even though her yard is a mess and she has no landscaping yet, she will have beautiful flowers around her mailbox!

~ And if I am brave… I am going to go to Starbucks today, to go thru the drive thru and pay for the coffee of the person behind me in line!  Wish me luck!

OK!  Now it is YOUR turn!  Let me see YOUR RAK!  And don’t forget to stop by Rikki’s page and check out her RAK too!