Acts of Kindness
“Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty.” ~Anne Herbert
The other day when I was out running errands, I stopped at the Starbucks drive-thru for my usual coffee drink. When I got up to the window, I told the barista that I also wanted to pay for the order of the car behind me in line. Sometimes I do that, when I think about it– which probably isn’t often enough. The barista asked if I knew the man in the car. I said no– I just wanted to do something nice to maybe start his day off well.
At my next stop in the grocery store, a woman and her toddler passed me in their shopping cart. The mother was focused on her shopping list and looking at the shelves, so she didn’t notice that the child was (in a very determined manner) working hard on taking his socks and boots off and dropping them on the floor out of his mothers’ sight. I nudged her gently and pointed out that they were leaving a trail behind them. In the parking lot of the grocery store, I walked past an elderly couple just finishing putting their bags in the trunk of their car, so I asked if I could return their cart for them.
And your point is?
Dear readers, I’m not writing this to make you all think I’m terrific or great or anything like that. I’m telling you this to illustrate a point about mindfulness and generosity and spreading a little love around. Out of those 3 situations, only one of them cost me any money (and it wasn’t much at all). All that was required of me in those situations was to be present in the moment and notice what needed to be done. To be outside my own Self for a few minutes and pay attention to the happenings in the world around me. So often I hear people say that they can’t perform random acts of kindness because they don’t have the money for it or they don’t have the time. Perhaps, fundamentally, they don’t have the mindfulness.
Absolutely there are days when I do my grocery shopping and I don’t look outside my Self and see what’s going on in the world. Sadly, I’ve probably walked past other elderly couples in the parking lot and haven’t offered to return their cart because I was too involved in my own thoughts and worries. And honestly, the times I haven’t paid for the coffee of the person behind me in the drive-thru far outweighs the times I have. My point here, for you and for me, is that it only takes a slight shift in thinking and awareness to perform random acts of kindness.
Go forth and practice them.
If you’re curious about how music therapy fits into the mindfulness picture, contact me for more information. I’m always happy to answer questions!
