I’m fully
aware that ‘Random Act of Kindness’ sounds like a phrase that can only be pronounced
with a cheesy American accent (for any readers from the States, this is not a
bad thing, just an acknowledgement that in general, Americans appear far less
cynical than us Brits when it comes to self improvement). But I like the idea
of it. And I warn you before you read any further that I am going to wholly
subscribe to the concept of it, without apologising, for the rest of this blog
post.
So, what
is a random act of kindess? Wikipedia describes it as…
a selfless act performed by a person or people wishing to either assist
or cheer up an individual person or people. The phrase may have been coined by Anne Herbert,
who says that she wrote "Practice random kindness and senseless acts of
beauty" on a place mat at a Sausalito restaurant in
1982 or 1983.[1][2]
So far,
so open to whatever I want it to be.
My idea
to have ‘Perform a Random Act of Kindness’ as one of my Firsts in the Hat was
inspired by people like this and this, who go out of their way to do amazing
things for others in return for what appears to be very little (aside from the
giant ego boost of being a generous person).
