Kindness Reminders

Remember the Kindness Ring experiment? I had this idea to follow the chain of kindness to see it grow by giving a complete stranger a String-Ring with this message on the box: You've been chosen to receive this String-Ring, the Kindness Reminder Ring, to wear because you've been caught being kind. Since kindness is contagious, please Pass it On! When you witness a stranger doing something kind, pass the ring on to them and send me a message about your experience. Hopefully, they too, will Pass Kindness On.

I've been following Secret Agent L (a.k.a. Laura Miller) on Twitter for some time now and I wanted to share this interview she did yesterday on CNN. I just love when she says, "Giving has the ability to heal."

I made a post here two weeks ago about being inspired by a group of ladies celebrating their birthdays with not-so-random acts of kindness. Committing one act of kindness for every year you have lived is such a beautiful way to show gratitude and celebrate. Well, my son turns 13 this Sunday and I thought this would be a great exercise in giving for him and an opportunity to get in a little practice for my next birthday by joining him. After all, 13 acts of kindness will be much easier than 45.

We are giving away a String-Ring this Saturday, July 31, to one of our facebook friends. I'll randomly pick a number via random.org and announce the lucky winner.

Drawing held this Saturday, the last day of July. Merry Christmas in July!

This month BloggersUnite is asking bloggers to raise awareness about the struggles people with disabilities face in order to gain access to the same resources and opportunities as those without disabilities. After signing up to participate, I got in touch with my niece who was in an automobile accident last summer, leaving her 12 year old daughter paralyzed from the waist down. I asked her for a little insight into her life now with her daughter, Angel, concerning things that many of us take for granted like easy access to public events/places. What are some of the things she would like to see changed for making life a little more "user friendly" for those in wheelchairs? Here are a few things she brought to my attention:

I'd like to update you on a new program from Rachel's Challenge. I've done several blog posts about the positive vision of the Rachel's Challenge project and would like to promote their good work anyway I can. Rachel's friends and family have successfully impacted the culture of schools across the country, and now Rachel's Challenge is now taking Rachel Scott's mission to create a culture of KINDNESS into the corporate world.

Corporate culture is a learned behavior and can be molded by simple acts of kindness such as saying thank you. Kudos to Rachel's Challenge for taking a little kindness as far as it can go!

The trend in "greener" alternatives has most of us acting more socially responsible as consumers. We've been making little changes in our lives in an attempt to leave less of a carbon footprint. I've blogged about building a compost recently, and yesterday I was pleased to make another earth friendly change. I've always used disposable air filters without giving much thought about adding yet more garbage to landfills. Now that I'm more aware of my environmental impact, I was thrilled to find a reusable cut-to-fit filter that would not only save me money on replacement filters but is kinder to the earth by reducing landfill consumption.

I turned 44 yesterday. While I was reading Michelle's post from So Wonderful So Marvelous last week about performing a random act of kindness for each year of her life in honor of her birthday, I clicked on the link to her inspiration Robyn from Mix Mingle Glow. Robyn, along with her 3 daughters and husband, had her best birthday celebration ever by committing 38 random acts of kindness on her 38th birthday and sharing it on her blog.

Need a healthy dose of inspiration for the mind and soul? I recommend a visit to my friends Amanda and Jenn's site at Kind Over Matter who happen to be experts on Feel-Good Nouns (I just love saying that phrase: Feel-Good Nouns, Feel-Good Nouns, Feel-Good Nouns).

Don't forget to enter this week's Giveaway Thursday for a chance to win a String-Ring.

Kindness is all that matters ~ Kind Over Matter

Conscientious handbag designer and animal lover Susan Nichole has a strong belief instilling values of respect and love of life in a proactive approach. She has designed some of the most elegant handbags without the use of animal products, and has recently started a generous Haiti Relief program in which she will match each donation. What a fabulous company!

From the website:
Handbags for Hope Campaign

If you would like to participate in the Handbags for Hope campaign delivering relief aid to the tent cities in Haiti, you may send any new or used handbags, backpacks or tote bags, as well as any unopened personal hygiene or toiletry products to the following address by August 1st:

Handbags for Hope
attn: Karen
1426 - 133rd Ave.
New Richmond, WI 54017