On the Receiving End

   

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wbeem/6854174252/">wbeem</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/">cc</a>

      Earlier this week I was feeling on the glum side. Chalk it up to a trip to DC and being faced with throngs of rude, oblivious, tourists (Yeah, I don't do well with crowds), listening to several horror stories about malicious behavior, and watching part of the most recent Hunger Games movies. I was convinced that everyone on the planet was completely self absorbed. This is not my normal state of mind. I am totally a glass half full kinda gal, and it bothered me. Thankfully the very next day, I was on the receiving end of several acts of kindness from random strangers, a free admission to the indoor playground, a fellow mom who gave my son her Frosty card at Wendy's when they were out of the boy kid's meal toys, and an awesome waitress who made my family's fine dining experience truly special. I like to believe that what happened was an answer to prayer. My prayer to restore my hope for the world. Whether it was or not, it did the trick. So for all of you doing acts of kindness who wonder if they make a difference I will tell you they do! If each small acts in some way can restore someone else's hope it's worth every bit.

More Street Art

    

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wy_jackrabbit/4564912966/">Wyoming_Jackrabbit</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>    

     Yesterday the kids and I were enjoying the beautiful weather outside and still feeling the urge to create some random art, we graffitied the neighbor's sidewalks with sidewalk chalk. I opted for quotes about peace, hope, and love. We only chose neighbor's whom I knew wouldn't mind. There are so many quotes that I love, but I found I couldn't remember too many of them at the time. If given some chalk and a sidewalk what inspirational would you share? Wouldn't it be fun to write them all over?

Random Acts of Art

     Last week my daughter and I installed this random act of art in our neighborhood park. She's been on a painting kick and I had been inspired by other random acts of art I had seen on Pinterest. Since I don't knit, yarn bombing wasn't an option. We used recycled items to make flowers and butterflies. We certainly had fun creating it and I hope that seeing it made someone else smile. That was the point after all. I've noticed it's starting to fall apart now so I will be taking it down soon. It was only meant to be temporary. Maybe if you are feeling glum due to all this rainy weather we've been having you'll be inspired to go create your own random act of art and make someone else's day. For more inspiration check out my kindness board on Pinterest. I've pinned several fun random acts of art. So go ahead. Get artsy and bring a smile to someone's face.

Kindness on the Road

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     Tonight I gave a friend a ride home and after I dropped her off and got back on the road the person behind me got very agitated. They were obviously in a hurry and even flashed their lights at me a couple times. It is easy to get caught up in a pattern of aggression. I often find myself calling another driver a name because they do something that aggravates me. Quite often my back seat drivers will call other drivers jerks, even when unwarranted, and I realize they are simply following my bad example. In order to help me remember to be a better model for my children I placed a sticker of Mother Teresa on my driver's side window. Each time I get behind the wheel I see it, and hopefully remember to treat those I meet on the road with kindness. Simply allowing another car to go first or giving up the right of way can cause a chain reaction and hopefully reverse the pattern of aggression so often found on the roadways.