Tina's blog

Here we have yet another treasure trove of generosity. I discovered Karen on Twitter after reading her inspirational tweets. Interested in her thoughts, I went to her blog and found issues such as education, global concerns, philanthropy (of course!) listed among her socially conscious categories. Her posts are clearly written from a warm heart and passion as she praises other individuals and organizations while actively practicing kindness in her own little corner of the globe through anonymous gift giving.

Individuals like Karen are making the world a better place. One by one, if we can poke our heads out of our little cocoons, we realize the seeds of change are within us. With our own small acts, we start them growing.

I have discovered some wonderful blogs written solely with the intentions to commit, encourage and report RAOK, Random Acts of Kindness. Through social media I have learned that there are many patrons of philanthropy in the blogosphere who are simply trying to spread kindness one heart at a time. I've blogged before about Operation Nice, Operation Smiley Face, and many organizations with kindness missions. Here is one more I hope you'll follow. Kindnessgirl.com practices Guerrilla Goodness. This could be in the form of ding-dong ditchin' (leaving behind fresh cut flowers and a note), handing out lottery tickets to service people, leaving coins in gumball machines, placing Starbucks gift cards with kind notes all over town, in other words...RAOK.

I love Halloween. Seeing the little ones dressed in creative outfits is my favorite part. We've got a lot of small gremlins on our street between 1 and 5 years of age. It is so fun to see what kinds of costumes the parents come up with each year. Last night, I spent the evening making Halloween treat bags with kindness quotes attached. Looking forward to passing them out!

This has absolutely nothing to do with the theme of this blog (kindness). It is just fun. Here is our Halloween pumpkin. By day we call him JACK OF wALL street TRADES. By night: Scary Economy

I'm a huge advocate of any action taken to help curb the age-old problem of bullying. That is why I was quick to commend our community middle school's focus on the negative side effects of this ever-present issue. All of us have at some time dealt with bullies in varying degrees. By working together, we can find solutions to reduce interpersonal violence.

Do you remember my post about Operation Smiley Face last month? Well, this anonymous good samaritan spreads happiness by giving away (FREE!) smiley buttons that she makes herself. In addition to the buttons, this month she is sending "Happy Halloween Mail" treat packs to create big smiles on little faces! Currently, she is trying to raise money to purchase an embroidery machine to make the smiley pins faster so she can spread more smiles. She has given away 366 pins this year. Here is her blog post and mailing address if you want to be one of her partners in KIND! Mailing stamps, candy and smiley stickers are always needed too! I wouldn't ask something of you that I wouldn't do myself, so I sent her a little "Happy Halloween Mail" treat. =->

http://operationsmileyface.blogspot.com/

Operation Smiley Face
PO Box 470283
Celebration, FL 34747

When I was in college, I used one Saturday afternoon a month to spend with a nursing home resident. Many people in adult nursing homes have very few visits from anyone. This is understandable since a nursing home is not some place you go to "feel good". Nonetheless, If you are up for the challenge, this is one of the best and most appreciated uses of your volunteer time.

First I met with a director of a nursing home and told her I wanted to do some volunteer work. She assigned me a lady who was having difficulty transitioning to her new home and community, and was feeling very isolated. The director said this lady was feeling lost and needed human interaction-someone to listen. Well I still remember my Saturday afternoons with Ms. Dollie Emmons.

I can't stop thinking about the horrific incident that took place in Florida this past week involving 5 teenage attackers dousing another teen with rubbing alcohol and setting him on fire. I try to keep my blog on the positive side of life and focus on kindness, but who in their right mind could find anything positive in such a nightmare? Surprisingly, I did find kindness in the heart of this grieving mother.

Valerie Brewer, the mother of the victim, was on the GMA Show Thursday morning. She spoke directly to parents, asking them to wake-up and do something about childhood violence (i.e., step up to the plate and get involved in raising your own children, teaching them right from wrong-my words, not hers). There wasn't anything vitriolic in her words. She simply pleaded that we love our children and love EVERYBODY's children. I think she nailed the problem on the head here. If these boys had been taught and shown how to love and respect ALL people, this could have been avoided.

I was (past tense I hope!) the worst at not paying attention to the person to whom I was engaged in doing business with...clerk, teller, service person, etc. Answering questions with a barely audible "yes please" or "no thank you" without looking directly into their faces. Eyes were usually directed down into my purse as I scrambled for the right card or ink pen, towards a clock on the wall or wrist watch, or embarrassingly starring off into space while contemplating dinner plans or something clearly more important, or so it seemed. This wasn't done from a place of superiority, I'd rather blame my lack of attentiveness on the fact that I've always been a bit of a social dork. You know the type, painfully shy beyond reason.

Melissa of Operation Nice is up to her same ol' shenanigans, in a NICE way of course. She is participating in a nice-blogging-supergroup called RAOKA, Random Acts of Kick Arse. The participants perform a positive act each month according to a theme. How each player interprets and follows through is the interesting part. She is asking for help coming up with creative ways to demonstrate each theme. This month the theme is KINDNESS. She is taking suggestions in the comments section of her blog post and is looking for 10 fresh ideas to exhibit kindness.