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