Almost two years ago, my pastor challenged our congregation to commit 100 acts of kindness in one year. I took the challenge and started this blog. Then, I got a promotion at work, and my kid started school, and the hubs started traveling more for work, and blahblahblah. Of course, life got in the way.
And then one day last week, I found myself standing in front of the TV shielding my kid from the carnage of the Dallas shooting. And I wept. I don’t usually get emotional at the news; I’m a journalist, and I tend to consume news as such. But on that day, I was a mother. I asked myself, “How am I going to explain this to my kid?”
My son is growing up in a world where the concept of “good guys and bad guys” is a complicated subject. I can’t put him in a bubble, and I can’t stop the violence.
But I can get back to kindness.
I’m back.
The best thing I can do for the Little Guy is commit to kindness. I can be a more patient mother. A more tolerant wife. An more understanding boss. A friendlier co-worker. A better friend. A kinder person.
I know some people feel that publicizing acts of kindness is self-indulgent and defeats the purpose. But I’m not doing this to brag; I’m doing it to set an example. Committing 100 acts of kindness — real acts of kindness that require thought and effort — is hard. Trust me, I tried. But if I do it and talk about it and share my experiences, perhaps someone will read about it and think, “I could do that,” and pay it forward.
And someday perhaps my son will read these and have a clearer understanding of what the good guys look like. Don’t get me wrong…I’m no good guy. I’m human and my virtue is as flawed as the next guy’s. But maybe he’ll see these as case studies in kindness and realize a framework for being his own version of a good guy.
That’s my hope, anyway. But in the short-term, in the simplest form, this world needs good now more than ever, and I’m choosing to see all the turbulence in the world as an invitation back into this project.
The first Do-Over starts tomorrow, and I know just the thing. Stay tuned!
One Hundred Kind 