It occurred to me a while ago that in a world full of some really awful things there are only two things that I as a mother can control; my own actions and attitude, and the actions and attitudes of the children I’m raising.
I can’t come up with a solution for world peace, and I don’t have endless amounts of money to help end world hunger. My income and resources are limited, as is the amount of spare time I have to offer. But what I can do, and what I can teach my children, who are the future, to do – is to always be kind.
I can show them how to actively look for opportunities to show kindness in the simplest of ways. To show compassion to others, and to be friendly and warm. This doesn’t mean spending money that you can’t really spare or volunteering time you don’t really have. This means simple, small acts, as often as you can find the opportunity, which create ripples of kindness and make even the smallest difference to someone’s day.
In a similar way to our Random Acts of Kindness Summer Project, I’ve created this calendar as a way to show that when it comes to kindness – grand gestures aren’t always required. Some of the activities involve more time than others, some of them take just a few moments from your day, and all of them are great fun. It may seem like such little acts won’t make much difference, but if we all took a few steps by doing something small, it could become something really powerful.
No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted. And each act creates a ripple effect that has no logical end. This means that something as small as smiling at a stranger in the street could lead to so many more people having their day brightened, and that just proves how powerful kindness can be.
Whether you want to follow these activities along with us, or you want to choose just a few that you have time to do, or if you have your own ideas for random acts of kindness this Christmas, all I ask is that you get involved where possible. Find the joy of being kind, spread a little warmth and some Christmas cheer, and help teach the next generation that kindness is the most powerful value you can possess.
Follow along with us on here and over on Instagram, and if you get involved tag me and use the hashtag #thejoyofbeingkind to help inspire others to take part. Looking forward to seeing what you all get up to, and wishing you all a very happy December!
Update: to check out what we’ve been getting up to so far check out our Week 1 Kindness Advent Update and Week 2 Advent Update.
