World Kindness Day

Three days ago on November 13, the world celebrated World Kindness Day. Don’t be embarrassed if you are unfamiliar with this little known but vitally needed holiday. I had never heard of it until a few hours before it began last Saturday.

The first World Kindness Day was celebrated in 1998 as part of the World Kindness Movement. On that inaugural day, people from around the world were encouraged to do at least one planned and intentional act of kindness.

Years before, my life had been impacted by people doing kind deeds in memory of my precious father. In July of 1982, my dear father had died and Mother had requested in our local hometown newspaper that “in lieu of flowers, people do a kind deed” in memory of my father. For months Mother received telephone calls from people telling her the kind deeds they did in memory of Daddy. I remember one person called Mother in November four months after Daddy died and told Mother that she had gone to a local homeless shelter and helped serve Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless in memory of my father. The lady had tried to think of an appropriate kind deed to do. Suddenly she remembered how homeless shelters needed people to help them out on Thanksgiving Day and she knew she had the right deed to do. It seemed fitting to serve those who needed kind deeds the most so she fed the homeless in memory of Bud Harder. Mother and I were deeply blessed by that kind deed!

I want to leave you with these words: “Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them and they bless you the giver.” James Barry’s used to say, “Always be a little kinder than necessary.” Let’s write that on our hearts and live it every day!!!!