Sunday, February 13, 2011

The Single's Awareness Day Challenge

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Valentine’s Day for me as a child always seemed to be fraught with bright cards with cartoon characters emblazoned upon them, packages of sugar-encrusted candy, boxes decorated with tissue paper and glitter, and the revelation of secret crushes amongst friends

Funny how things don’t really seem to change - well, except for maybe the glitter…and the candy tastes better.

It seems to be that for some, Valentines Day is a continuation of this selfsame holiday with little to no variation. While for others it has transformed into a day of veritable gloom and depression - of inward loathing, self-disappointment, and longing for a special someone that never seems to arrive.

While I cannot do anything for those in the latter category to make their Valentine wishes come true, there is something that I – that each of us - can do…whether or not we have a special someone to share the day with.

Do you remember last year? Do you remember the challenge I issued to my class? Do you remember the challenge I asked of you? Do you remember how you were able to change the lives of the people around you? Often complete strangers?

Excellent. (But if you don’t remember, you can read about it here).

This year, I’d like us to treat Valentine’s Day as something a little bit different. I’d like to challenge you to expand it just a bit, and have it be a day of increased kindness to others. And I’m not necessarily talking about to just your family members either (though this would be nice). What I’d like to ask is that you reach out and do something for someone who is not your friend, child, parent, husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, or significant other.

In other words: a complete stranger.

After all, why don’t we just do nice things simply because it’s a day of love and kindness?

So, here’s the challenge:

  1. Perform a random act of kindness for someone else sometime this week.
  2. Come back when your act is complete, and comment about it anonymously.

This is my goal for this week. This is also something I will be challenging my class to do yet again (with slight variations because – after all – they’re only ten years old and for kids that young, strangers can be creepy).

You never know just how far this simple, little act will carry; you may never realize the power of your kindness on somebody else.



Image source: carsongarrisonivan.blogspot.com

20 comments:

Kalei's Best Friend said...

NOW, that is a commercial I have never seen.. How sweet! (no pun intended)..
Kindness does go a long way and has no boundaries.

grinNberrett said...

Does slicing a sacrificial goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and taking to the streets, gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goathide strips count as a random act of kindness?

http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day

Connie said...

Great challenge. The world would be a better place if we all showed a little more kindness.
Fun commercial.
Happy Valentine's...week!

tammy said...

I'm such a boob....that video made me cry. Maybe because when I dropped my son off at school today and watched him walk away, I thought, There goes my heart.

Great challenge. I remember it from last year and I can't wait.

Kristina P. said...

Sounds like a good challenge!

Rachel said...

So, you want me to pay it forward to three people and then they'll pay it forward to three people and.. :D Sorry, just watched that movie.

Good idea as always TF. Will be back to report... later...

Rachel said...

P.S. Sniffle..... that comercial made me cry.......

Nuttley said...

Count me in.

Anonymous said...

I gave flowers to a gal at work today she walked in and saw them on her desk and about flipped.

Karen M. Peterson said...

I think this sounds like such a great idea. At first I thought I'd gotten out of it since it's already 9:15 on Valentine's Night. But then I realized you said "sometime this week." So I guess I'm not off the hook after all!

Anonymous said...

I bought ice cream for the 4 people behind me in line very quietly and then left before they could order.

Anonymous said...

I paid an extra $10 for the help fund for those in need with public utilities.

Cheeseboy said...

Love the Anonymous ones already posted.

Challenge: Accepted!

Anonymous said...

Instead of making one big cake for the hubby, me and the kids make a bunch of little ones, decorated them and gave three of them to our neighbors. They loved having the kids give them the cake and getting so excited to pet their dogs. Hope we can become better friends.

Anonymous said...

In class today I slipped a candy bar inbetween another student's books when they left their stuff for a few minutes in class.

Anonymous said...

I saw an employee who got reamed by somebody else earlier today and i felt bad for them so i snuck a soda and a candy bar on their desk i also put the same note from the book you talked about with it. i didnt stay to see what happened.

Anonymous said...

I gave one of my kids $5 and told them to do something nice for someone at school - anonymously. She came back and reported that during P.E. she left the money in a girl's shoe with a note that said, "Lunch is on me!" because that girl never seems to have any lunch.

Sarah said...

Greatest idea ever!!! *running off to do something for someone this week*

mCat said...

Obvio - I am very behind on reading and just catching up now. I would like to say I have done something anon for someone this past little while, but to be honest I am sucked into a vacuum of a little piece of hell that I like to call "my life" right now.

That being said - I am taking the challenge TOMORROW - yeah you heard me.

Great post

Anonymous said...

I left random valentine's in books at the library and at work.

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