Often times the cruelness of this world is numbing, heartbreaking, and an extremely sad reminder that our lives are fragile and our time here limited. I always find myself watching the news when a tragedy happens and thinking to myself, “I wish I could do something to help.” I often times feel as though I simply can’t help, that it’s greater than my ability to help. That’s where I’m wrong. The things we do throughout our day, the random acts of kindness we choose over simply not doing anything at all, the love we spread, the helpful hand we can reach – even if it feels small – is helpful! We cannot rid the world of evil, but we can absolutely contribute.

Here are a list of 35 random acts of kindness you and I can choose to do today that will make this world a better place, even if it only reaches out to one person. You never know how much that one person may have needed an act of love and kindness in their life today, you never know how much that can truly turn their day around for the better:

1. Choose to make eye contact with someone you pass on the street, and smile at them!
2. Say hello!
3. Say please and thank you
4. Hold the door open for someone
5. Offer to help someone put their groceries in their car, or to take their cart for them
6. Volunteer somewhere local
7. Go through your clothes, food, house, etc. and donate anything you may not use anymore
8. Offer for someone to go in front of you in line somewhere
9. Pay for someone’s meal behind you in a drive-thru
10. Help a neighbor: take their trash, shovel their driveway, rake their leaves, etc.
11. Leave a positive sticky note in a random bathroom
12. Pay someone a compliment
13. Ask someone sitting alone if they’d like to join you
14. Leave an anonymous ‘thank you’ note on a worker’s car, thanking them for all they do
15. Help someone pick up something they’ve dropped, or reach something they’re struggling to reach
16. Make a small monetary donation to a charity
17. Feed the birds
18. Leave a flower on a stranger’s car
19. Pick up trash in the parking lot on your way into a store
20. Leave a few dollars in a Redbox movie for the next person who rents it
21. Tip your waiter/waitress more than the average percentage
22. Post something positive on your social media, choose to ignore something negative
23. Mail someone an unexpected card telling them you love them
24. Put a positive note in a random mailbox
25. Thank your parents for all that they do, give them an extra hug
26. Leave a gift card in a random place for a stranger with a note encouraging them to take it
27. Visit a nursing home, give away free hugs, listen to someone’s story
28. Leave a coupon on an item in the store
29. Leave quarters in a gum/toy machine
30. Gather rocks, write positive words on each of them, leave them in random places for strangers to find
31. Spend a day picking up trash wherever you may see it
32. Go to an animal shelter – give each animal special attention
33. Offer detergent and quarters to someone at a laundry facility
34. Share encouraging words with someone
35. Leave a special treat and note in the mailbox for your mailman

To do a random act of genuine kindness, anonymously, without sharing with anyone what you’ve done, is an amazing feeling that helps someone else, but helps you, too!

Let’s share a helping hand with the world today. Let’s choose love. Let’s choose kindness.

Have a great day!

Written by: Ginny Reavis Thiele