Happy Random Acts of Kindness Day!

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Now this is a holiday of which I wholeheartedly approve!  No mass marketing. No retail giants trying to make me part with my money.  Just celebrating and encouraging people who practice random acts of kindness.

Remember the movie Pay It Forward?  It's easy to do.  There's a great list of 29 ways to celebrate today on www.lifehack.org right here - these are some of my favourites:

• Make a card at home and send it to a friend for no reason.
• Give a compliment about your waiter / waitress to his / her manager.
• Send someone a small gift anonymously.
• Pay for the drinks on the next table at a café.
• Hold the train door open for someone rushing to get in. (Or any door for that matter.)
• Give up your seat for someone, not just an elderly person.
• Talk to a homeless person and have a “normal” conversation.
• Buy an inspirational book for a friend.
• Send a thank you note to a person who has helped you in the past.
• Smile a lot.

To celebrate today, I'm going to challenge you to practice a random act of kindness today and leave me a comment about your RAK.  Because I really believe in this practice and want to encourage everyone to try, I will send a little something to everyone who leaves a comment on this post today from now until 11:59pm EST!!  It could be anything from a handmade card to chocolate to a stack of scrapbooking paper!  Just please remember to leave your name and email address so I can contact you for your mailing info.

And if you so choose to practice this great act more often, here's a great site that posts daily Kindness ideas to inspire and motivate you.  And to help spread the word, this site has free printable cards you can download!

So go out today and practice a little random act of kindness - and make the world a happier place.