{"id":25253,"date":"2012-10-26T05:54:29","date_gmt":"2012-10-26T09:54:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/?p=25253"},"modified":"2013-12-15T18:19:04","modified_gmt":"2013-12-15T23:19:04","slug":"random-acts-of-kindness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2012\/10\/26\/random-acts-of-kindness\/","title":{"rendered":"random acts of kindness"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the Corner Perk Cafe<\/a> in Bluffton, SC, an anonymous donor pays for the coffee of anyone in line behind them until the funds run out. Two years ago this idea caught on and now people donate regularly, or even stop by to donate without buying anything. It made us wonder about the principle of random acts of generosity \u2014 just because<\/em> \u2014 with no obvious return other than the pleasure of giving freely, making someone happy, or making something better.<\/p>\n

We recently took a walk in the park across the way and thought, ‘hmm, what would happen if we just started picking up trash?<\/em>‘ \u00a0We would be surprised if we saw an ordinary person doing it; wouldn’t it surprise others?\u00a0 Could this become contagious? What kinds of little kindnesses can you imagine doing just for the hell of it?<\/p>\n

It could be as small as a smile at a stranger, a door held open, or a couple of bucks given to a homeless person or a busker. As a birthday present to herself last year, The Improvised Life’s assistant Dese’Rae<\/a> gave a homeless person a twenty, instead of the standard single. Maybe pay a toll for the car behind you, or give a lotto ticket to a stranger, improvise…<\/p>\n

We once read a story about someone giving $5k to a homeless man she was familiar with, which then allowed him to find a home. That stuck with us. What if a random-act-of-kindness-a-day was at the top of everyone’s priority list? It feels just as good to help someone else as it does to help oneself: kindness as a habit.<\/p>\n

via GOOD<\/a>;\u00a0photo courtesy of Magical and Otherwise<\/a>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Related posts: neil gaiman\u2019s benediction for new year\u2019s (or any other time)<\/a>
\nanne herbert\u2019s wise + teeny meditations<\/a>
\na doctor\u2019s improv rx: jive aces \u2018bring me sunshine\u2019<\/a>
\nchuck close\u2019s \u2018note to self\u2019 (eight perfect rules for living)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the Corner Perk Cafe in Bluffton, SC, an anonymous donor pays for the coffee of anyone in line behind them until the funds run out. Two years ago this idea caught on and now people donate regularly, or even stop by to donate without buying anything. It made us wonder about the principle of…<\/p>\nRead More<\/a>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":25860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6549,90],"tags":[5289,5290,5204,5059],"yoast_head":"\nrandom acts of kindness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What if kindness was at the top of everyone's priority list? 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