Leigh Ann, such a nice story. Such a good deed! Thank you for telling (and inspiring) us …

Lovely Leigh Ann, it doesn’t always have to be big and it doesn’t always have to be financial to be a moment of caring for others. Little bits of thoughtfulness, freely given, can make large differences in our feelings during a long hard day.

Leigh Ann what an incredibly kind thing to do (and to be honest from your photo, you look like the type of kind person that would do that) for your co-worker. It really is all about random acts of kindness. Doing things for people that in the grand scheme of things seem small and insignificant, but can mean the world to those on the receiving end of generous acts. Isn’t it more gratifying to know she has not a clue you did it for her? On some level when a kind act is kept anonymous, it adds to the specialness (is that a word :-) of the random act. Thanks for sharing your story.

Leigh Ann, How very kind and what a great inspiration to the rest of us. Something that cost you nothing but a few minutes made such a difference to that woman. I hope we all become more aware of such opportunities.

We all need to do these things much more often than we think! This kindness makes things better especially for those who “do,” the act. Thanks for encouraging others, and sharing your inspiring story!

I am humbled by the blog and all of your comments. I guess I have always been a giver by nature. I suppose that is why I am an RN as well. I just enjoy sharing love and joy with people. A couple more little examples of random kindness: - I got off the freeway and was at the stoplight. There was a haggard man there with a sign, asking for money or a job. All I had for him was an apple and $5. He was so grateful. - When I used to work downtown, the parking was bad, and the parking police were even worse. I was walking back to the office from lunch and I saw the parking police heading down the street. I quickly dropped quarters in all the expired meters the rest of the way to work so the vehicles wouldn’t get ticketed. Those tickets were expensive! - I have paid the toll for the car behind me at the toll booth. - I was on vacation with my family in AZ and met a homeless man in a parking lot. He reeked of alcohol. His shoes had no soles left on them. I just remember thinking of how treacherous that must be walking around on the hot pavement with bare feet. He wanted money and I had to say “no.” We went into a flea market. I bought him a nice pair of leather shoes and a bag of fruit (something that would not spoil easily). I didn’t want to give him money to spend on more alcohol, but I did want to help. The kids though that was the neatest thing ever. I am sure all of you do nice things for others without even thinking about it. Just volunteering your time as a mentor for kids, a companion for an elderly person, or (like Belinda is doing) helping people revise their resumes to help them obtain employment - these are all acts of kindness. Every little bit helps. Every minute counts. You are all amazing women. I feel very privileged to be ‘surrounded’ by your positive and uplifting spirits.

A few years back, when i was still teaching elementary school, i instituted a program called ‘Random Acts of Kindness.  Each classroom had a slotted box into which children would write a sentence or two about a kind deed they had done for someone.  Each day, one such act of kindness was read durng morning announcements.  While i understand that the ‘act’ was done from the heart, i rewarded the child with a ‘no homework pass for the day.  At the end of the year, we published an illustrated book that we sold and thereby made a few extra pennies for the school’s kitty.