Deliberate Acts of Kindness

There always seem to be calls for people to exercise "random acts of kindness" and while I appreciate the heart that they're speaking to, I prefer more deliberate ones.

Being kind should not just be about being opportunistic but rather a cultivation of an other-focused mindset. The people in our lives that we are typically LEAST kind to are the ones closest to us. They're the ones that bear the brunt of a bad day, a rant about someone else, or even a misplaced outburst when we find we've simply had more than we can take. These are the very people that we should work to be kind to. Our family. Our co-workers. The people we interact with every day. Today, I'd challenge you to learn someone's name and use it. To find something kind to say about the job that they're doing. Share what their efforts mean to you and how it impacts you. These are the little things and they're what actually matter.

That said, I suppose random beats none at all...