[2021-08-07] Random acts of self-kindness
Today, I came across a brilliant idea in A Year of Positive Thinking, under the heading "An exercise in self-kindness":
Spend 10 minutes writing a few kind words about yourself on small pieces of paper. Place these notes in unexpected places, like in your wallet, on your bathroom cabinet, and in your favorite coffee mug. Finding them later will offer reminders of how extraordinary you truly are.
This reminded me of something a former colleague did on her last few days in the office before going on a sabbatical. She posted three inspiring notes on the backdoor of the stalls in the women’s washroom with messages such as "You are enough just as you are." The idea for the notes came from a site called Operation Beautiful, whose aim was "ending fat talk one anonymous post-it note at a time." It was a simple concept: write an inspirational note, post or leave it somewhere, take a picture before you depart, and send the picture to the editor of the website. Some of the stories on the site were from women who had left inspiring notes for other women to find, while other messages were from women who had found them and been touched by them.
Over the years, I've heard similar stories of people who have left inspirational messages inside library books, or a woman who offered to send a handwritten letter to anyone who requested it, or an author who leaves copies of his book in bus shelters or phone booths, or a woman who sends cards and small gifts to seniors who are isolated. My husband used to put positive messages in our lunches (mine and the kids), which were always a lovely surprise. And I had great fun, a few years ago, writing inspirational messages in the dirt at the Bruce Pit dog park. A few weeks later, a friend wrote to me to say that one or more people had written messages in chalk on the sidewalk of her neighbourhood, such as one that encouraged residents to "be grateful, eat more vegetables, love others."
What all these random acts of kindness have in common is that they are unexpected and often incredibly meaningful to the recipient, providing a boost precisely when needed.
For those who don't have someone special in their lives to leave them notes of affirmation in their lunch or who don't happen to come across them in a library book or bus shelter, there's always the do-it-yourself option. It's as Mark Twain said: "If you can't get a compliment any other way, pay yourself one." If you need a boost, pay yourself a compliment by writing it down and tucking it somewhere to be found later. You might think it's impossible to surprise yourself, but just think about how many times in your life you've found a bill in your pocket and forgotten that you had ever placed the money there.
I asked my son whether he remembered any of the notes that his dad had left in his lunch. He recalled this one:
On the front of Shane's lunch bag: "How do you keep an idiot in suspense all day? (Answer on the bottom of your lunch bag.)"
On the bottom of Shane's lunch bag: "I'll tell you tomorrow."
Be kind to yourself.
