Random Acts of Kindness Week

Did you know that the week of February 13th is Random Acts of Kindness Week? Or that February 17th is Random Acts of Kindness Day?

I know, it seems like we live in a world in which every day, week, and month  is marked off as a celebration of some seemingly arbitrary moment, action, person or thing.

Many times these “celebrations” are the creation of marketers hoping to cash in on an increased bit of attention – National Broccoli Month (March) comes to mind for some reason.

Or, they might be a well-intentioned attempt to shed light on a real issue, as with World Autism Awareness Day (May 2nd).  Whether they’re “official” or not, many of these holidays do indeed get our attention and sometimes they work their way into our collective calendars as fixed and important.

Personally, I hope this is the case with Random Acts of Kindness Week (or RAK Week as it’s called by the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation).  During this week, or if you prefer the single day approach so be it, we’re encouraged to do something simply and kind each and every day – adding a bit of pleasantness to others’ lives.

It can be extremely simple and even a bit anonymous, like stopping to let someone pull out of her driveway onto the road in front of you.  It can be more personal and more elaborate, like sending a care package to a college student or soldier you know.

You can find some inspiration, read stories of kindness, find free resources and even share your own stories at the RAK Foundation website.

Whatever the action, the sentiment is right on target.  It certainly fits with our Unitarian Universalist Principles.  And a little extra attention given to something we should be doing more of anyway can’t hurt, can it?  Who knows, perhaps we’ll graduate to a Random Acts of Kindness Month soon!

In kindness,

Mark LaPointe, DRE